The advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies present significant potential for transformation across sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture. However, AI is also poised to reshape the labor market, enhancing productivity, creating new job opportunities, and potentially leading to job displacement as machines and algorithms take over tasks once performed by humans.
The Gender Snapshot 2024 report highlights the impact of AI on the female labor force, showing that women are more likely to lose jobs as a result of AI advancements. According to a survey by UN Women, 3.7% of women hold jobs that could be replaced by AI technology, compared to 1.4% of men who are at risk of job loss. UN Women recommends that inclusive, gender-responsive digital technologies are crucial to addressing this challenge, as they can catalyze progress across multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Closing the gender digital divide, education and training, and gender-responsive labor market policies and social protection are critical to address these risks and realize benefits for women and girls from the digital revolution,” the report states.
It further advocates for targeted measures to create more inclusive digital ecosystems, which would accelerate women’s entry into and retention in the digital economy. This can be achieved by integrating social, economic, and environmental factors into the design and deployment of emerging technologies.
UN Women also points out that existing gender barriers limit women’s roles in science, technology, and innovation. “Women are two times less likely than men to know a computer programming language, based on data from 62 countries and areas with data from 2017 or later,” the Gender Snapshot shows.
To counter this divide, UN Women calls for the inclusion of more women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) research. Their absence in this field has already impacted how emerging technologies like AI support women and respond to their needs. In 2020, women held only one in three research positions worldwide and only one in five STEM jobs. Their lack of presence in the AI industry has already had a negative effect on how well this technology addresses women’s needs.
Due to the lack of inclusion, bias is often evident in the design of AI tools, which are predominantly developed by men. This has raised concerns about the potential for AI technologies to perpetuate gender biases, as these tools may not adequately reflect the needs and perspectives of women.
In response to these challenges, United Nations member states, on September 22, 2024, adopted a “Pact for the Future” during the Summit of the Future held in conjunction with the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. The pact laid a foundation for technological inclusion, where member states committed to integrating human rights into the regulatory and adoption processes for emerging technologies.
“Ensure that those in vulnerable situations benefit from and fully and meaningfully participate in the development and application of science, technology, and innovation,” the nations stated in their commitments for the future.
They acknowledged the existing gender digital divide and recognized that rapid technological change, if not well-governed, could exacerbate gender inequality and pose serious risks to women and girls. As a result, the member states pledged to address gender-related risks and challenges arising from the use of technology.
These risks include online forms of violence, trafficking, harassment, and bias and discrimination, which can be either perpetrated or amplified through the use of technology.
