Will the future of work value women or leave them behind? Anjali Malik & Alannah Smyth investigate
Discussion about the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workplace and society ranges from optimism about a more efficient future to anxiety about job displacement and wider disruption. Against an already difficult job market, it is understandable that many workers feel uncertain about what comes next. When viewed through a gender lens, the picture can appear even more complex.
For example, public-facing AI products are often marketed through female-presenting assistants that appear constantly available, accommodating, and free from many of the realities associated with human workers. Given the historical challenges women have faced in establishing and maintaining their place in the workforce, these developments may understandably raise concerns.
The impact of AI is often viewed primarily as a technological revolution, but it may also drive a cultural transformation. As AI reshapes the workplace, it is also reshaping what employers value in people at work, and which skills are treated as genuinely career-enhancing.
