Women Face More AI Disruption Than Men in the US

Women in the US are less likely than males to believe that technology has had an impact on society

According to a new McKinsey Global Institute analysis, more women are projected to lose their employment over the next decade as sectors contract owing to rapid advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies.

Considering the rapid advancement of AI, it is estimated that around one-third of the working hours in the American economy would be automated by 2030. Customer service, office support, and food services are likely to contract more, while demand for STEM, construction, creative, legal, and business professionals is expected to increase.

According to the estimate, around 12 million workers would be forced to leave declining occupations by 2030. Workers in lower-paying positions are 14 times more likely to transfer occupations than those in higher-paying jobs, suggesting that the economy is shifting in favor of higher-paying jobs. a McKinsey analysis, women are 1.5 times more likely than males to shift employment since they are overrepresented in the constantly declining customer service, office support, and food service industries.

The Influence of AI On Women's Work into Five Basic Areas:

1. More women will lose their current occupations: Women account for the majority of workers in the lowest salary quintiles (those earning $30,800 to $38,200 or less per year). As the office support and customer service sectors contract, women working in these fields are more likely to lose their employment by 2030. These declining industries now employ individuals with less education, particularly women and people of color, with Black and Hispanic employees concentrated in manufacturing and food services.

2. Women may be encouraged to fulfill their home responsibilities: Looking back on the pandemic, more women than males quit the workforce, and it took around three years for the number of working women in the US to equal the pre-pandemic workforce. Women in low-wage jobs frequently have family duties, which may deter them from changing occupations and attempting a new vocation.

3. Women may need to change careers: Although the food, customer, and office service sectors continue to contract as a result of AI, historically male-dominated industries such as construction are confronting labor shortages. Women may fill these gaps, solving challenges of diversity in construction. As the American population ages, so does the demand for healthcare employees, which has been related to structural changes caused by the epidemic.

4. Women may need to improve their skills: Women who want to change occupations must add new abilities to their present skill set. This necessitates training programs, efficient job matching, and alternative recruiting and training procedures on the part of companies. Also, education for women must be prioritized.

5. More women may be able to work in higher-paying occupations: Although our study predicts a loss of 1.1 million employment in the two lowest salary quintiles by 2030, the authors write, jobs in the top wage quintile might expand considerably, by 3.8 million. In this regard, while companies have challenges in educating individuals for desired skill sets, there are opportunities to recruit from forgotten demographics, such as people without college degrees and workers with employment gaps. This might reflect an increase in the number of women working in higher-paying occupations