Compared to men, women are more vulnerable to job displacement due to artificial intelligence as many of them perform service, sales and clerical roles, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report last Sunday.
A little over one-fifth of the female population in emerging economies are highly exposed to AI, but possess skills that are not complementary to the technology.
“Men, by contrast, are more represented in occupations that are unlikely to be impacted by AI at this stage, like farm workers, machine operators, and low-skill elementary workers,” IMF said.
However, workers of either gender will remain safe from AI if they are performing managerial roles.
AI works with data and accomplish routine tasks, such as answering questions or writing reports, emails, and other forms of communication.
Based on the 2024 Work Trend Index by Microsoft, 83 percent of Filipinos started bringing their own AI tools to work, but 55 percent of company leaders believed their firms did not have concrete AI plans.
“The concentration of such jobs in Asia’s advanced economies could worsen inequality between countries over time. While about 40 percent of jobs in Singapore are rated as highly complementary to AI, the share is just 3 percent in Laos,” IMF said.
As less developed countries have yet to enhance AI adoption on the corporate level, more women in advanced countries are at risk of losing their jobs due to the technology. Nearly two-fifth of their women are under threat of job displacement due to AI.
To prevent massive layoffs among women in the country, the IMF recommends stronger collaborations between the government and businesses in designing training and employment programs that develop highly specific skills in the labor force.
“There should be education and training to help the workforce leverage what AI makes possible. It will also help displaced workers transition to new roles and support research and development that enhances innovation,” IMF said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the number of unemployed women in the country slightly increased by 4 percent in October last year compared to men’s 3.9 percent.