As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the world, particularly the work sector, growing concerns about job displacement and disruption are more present than ever. Research across Europe and beyond shows that AI won’t affect all jobs equally. While women and men will both see major shifts in employment, the impact depends heavily on the types of jobs they hold. As AI is making its way into the labour market and into companies’ daily life, some roles are highly vulnerable to automation, while others may expand, creating both risks and new opportunities for all.
As we discuss the impact of AI on jobs, it’s essential to distinguish it from automation. While both of these terms are similar, they describe different types of technological change in the workplace. According to the European Union’s Knowledge for Policy platform, automation refers to rule-based systems designed to perform highly specific and repetitive tasks. On the other hand, AI goes beyond fixed routines. It can analyze data, learn from experience, and make decisions based on that learning. This means AI is capable of handling more complex and varied tasks, adapting to new situations it was not explicitly programmed for. In other words, while automation replaces repetitive manual or cognitive tasks, AI has the potential to transform a much broader range of activities by introducing adaptability and decision-making into the process.
Job disruption and gender differences
The labour market is undergoing a profound transformation with the rapid advancement of automation and AI technologies as these tools become increasingly more sophisticated. Women, statistically concentrated in clerical and service roles, are especially exposed. In Europe, for example, 66% of women are employed in the clerical sector. In countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, women represent up to 72% of roles such as administrative assistants, receptionists, data entry clerks, and customer service representatives. These jobs involve routine cognitive tasks that are particularly vulnerable to AI.
The potential for disruption in other sectors in which women are overrepresented is also highly evident in areas such as healthcare and education. While these fields may not be vulnerable to complete AI disruption, some tasks and responsibilities within them could be automated or transformed with the use of AI. In Europe, women make up 93% of the workforce in childcare and teacher’s aide roles, meaning that any changes in these sectors would disproportionately affect women. Additionally, women also represent over 75% of the workers in healthcare in Europe. However, they often occupy frontline positions, such as nursing and midwifery, and are underrepresented in managerial and decision-making positions, making them more vulnerable to automation and AI in these sectors compared to their male counterparts.
Meanwhile, men are more likely to work in routine physical or manual jobs, such as machine operators, craft and trade workers or agricultural workers. In the European Union, they represent the vast majority of workers in certain sectors: 97% in construction, 96% in metalworking and 96% in driving or operating heavy machinery. Like the service roles often held by women, these types of jobs are highly automatable, owing to advances in robots and machinery. For instance, in the construction and logistics sectors, self-driving trucks and AI-powered forklifts are already being deployed. Companies are investing in automated systems that can operate heavy machinery, transport goods within warehouses, and manage inventory without human intervention. By 2030, nearly 40% of jobs in these sectors could be displaced by automation. A joint study by the International Labour Organization and Poland’s National Research Institute found that 3.5% of men’s jobs in high-income countries, defined by the World Bank’s income in 2024 as those with a gross national income (GNI) per capita above US $13,935, fall into the highest risk category for transformation by generative AI. In the European labour market, about 14% of jobs face a very high risk of automation in the next few years.
Overall, AI and automation will not impact jobs in both male- and female-dominated sectors equally, but both groups face significant disruption.
Impact of AI and automation in the work sector
The rise of AI is set to reshape the job market in ways that will not impact everyone equally. Women remain particularly vulnerable to the results of immediate disruptions, which can create the impression that automation primarily affects women’s work.
In the study by ILO and Poland’s National Research Institute, it was found that nearly 10% of jobs occupied mainly by women in high-income countries are at a high risk of being replaced by AI, almost three times the risk faced by men. This disparity is even more pronounced in regions such as Europe and Central Asia, where 39% of sectors dominated by women are highly exposed to AI, compared to 26% for men. One explanation is that women are statistically more concentrated in the service and administrative sectors, where tasks are often routine and therefore more rapidly and easily automated. In 2023, the share of jobs with high automation potential was 7.8% for women compared to 2.9% for men. By 2025, both figures had risen to 9.6% for women and 3.5% for men.
Men, however, are not exempt. Their risk is more long-term, as physical automation continues to accelerate across construction, logistics, and agriculture. For example, Komatsu Europe International’s Smart Construction initiative already deploys AI-powered drones and intelligent machine control to automate bulldozers and excavators. Although these innovations may take longer to fully integrate than office-based AI tools, they have the potential to displace large numbers of male workers. In some of these sectors, nearly 40% of jobs held by men are at risk of being displaced by automation by 2030.
In essence, AI’s impact on employment is a matter of when and where, not if.
The opportunities that AI will create
While automation and AI will displace some jobs, they will also create new opportunities. As highlighted in a previous UNRIC article, AI technology is expected to create entirely new professions, many of which we cannot yet fully imagine. Twenty years ago, we couldn’t imagine having social media managers, let alone influencers. This means that alongside managing the risks, there is a crucial opportunity to prepare workers for these new roles emerging.
Projections suggest that by 2030, sectors predominantly occupied by women could gain 171 million new jobs globally compared to the job market today. A 20% increase from current levels, while sectors predominantly occupied by men could see a 19% increase, representing 250 million new jobs. As economies grow, driven by rising incomes, technological progress, healthcare needs, and overall infrastructure investment, the demand for skilled workers could increase, particularly in highly specialized sectors.
In the future, jobs requiring uniquely human skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, and high emotional intelligence, will become increasingly valuable, as they are challenging to replicate with AI, and often require significant academic and practical training.
AI will increasingly be involved in several key areas, creating new opportunities. These include tech development, AI ethics, the green transition, and healthcare. This shift highlights the need for both men and women to adapt their skills to fully benefit from the AI-driven and automation transformation of the labour market.
Conclusion
AI and automation are reshaping the world of work for everyone. While many women and men face heightened risks of job disruption due to the roles they typically occupy, both are also well-positioned to benefit from the new opportunities that AI can create.
This is not just a moment of disruption. It’s an opportunity to rethink the future of the job market and address existing inequalities. Seizing this opportunity will require deliberate action, empowering all workers with the resources and skills not only to adapt but to lead and thrive in the AI-driven economy.
Source – https://unric.org/en/ai-and-the-future-of-work-disruptions-and-opportunitie/