- Nearly 28% of women's jobs worldwide are at risk from artificial intelligence by 2030
- Women make up 29% of the global tech workforce and 14% of tech leadership roles
- Closing the gender digital gap could lift 30 million women out of extreme poverty by 2030
Nearly 28 per cent of jobs held by women worldwide are at risk from artificial intelligence, compared to 21 per cent of men's jobs, according to a United Nations report.
The report, titled 'Gender Snapshot 2025', tracks progress towards gender equality across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows that 2025 is an important year, with only five years remaining before the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development deadline.
While the digital future could serve as a powerful equaliser, the report calls for urgent measures to bridge the "gender digital divide."
Pointing to existing disparities in the tech sector, the report says that women account for 29 per cent of the global tech workforce and only 14 per cent of tech leadership positions. It warns that "the world faces a new disruption and there's a risk of inequality being coded into the future if we do not learn from past mistakes."
Closing the gender digital gap "could benefit 343 million women and girls, lift 30 million out of extreme poverty, improve food security for 42 million, and spark $1.5 trillion in global growth by 2030," the report said.
To safeguard decades of progress in women's participation in the labour force, the UN recommends investing in women's digital and technical skills, facilitating transitions across economic sectors, and implementing gender-responsive labour and social protection policies.
Several countries have made real progress in helping women join the workforce and balance education, careers, and family life.
Saudi Arabia introduced legal and policy reforms to boost women's participation in the labour force and reduce care-related barriers. As a result, women's participation more than doubled, rising from 17 per cent in 2017 to 35.4 per cent by the third quarter of 2024.
The UN report warned that if current trends continue, 351 million women and girls will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030, putting the SDGs, especially the one which aims to achieve gender equality, out of reach.
