Women are more likely to work in service sectors than men and remain less represented in fields where AI may have less impact, such as construction. Lack of women in the AI industry also poses a challenge for gender equity going forward, according to Goldman Sachs report. — SCMP
Women are likely to be disproportionately impacted by artificial intelligence (AI) automation while women in Asia’s major economies still suffer more from gender disparity in the workforce, according to a report by Goldman Sachs.
Women are more likely to be affected by the changes that AI will bring due to the kind of jobs they do. Women are more likely to work in service sectors than men and remain less represented in fields where AI may have less impact, such as construction and maintenance, according to the Women (Still) Hold Up Half the Sky report.
“The majority of people in the high exposure category (to AI) are women,” the report states, adding that the impact of AI is likely to be higher in developed markets than in emerging markets, given the higher share of service sector jobs in developed economies.
According to a recent report by IT recruiter Venturenix, financial services hub Hong Kong could see a quarter of its workforce being replaced by 2028, leaving 800,000 Hongkongers out of work.
Moreover, the lack of women in the AI industry poses a challenge for gender equity going forward, according to the Goldman Sachs report, as women currently make up only 20% of AI and data professionals.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023, the education sector has the most female AI talent, accounting for 40% of the total. Female AI talent in fields like technology, information, media, and manufacturing remains at less than 25% of the total.
However, one positive area for women, according to the Goldman Sachs report, is that in some female-dominated industries, such as the caring services sector, AI will likely aid people to be more productive and there will be less job substitution.
Meanwhile, women in Asia’s major economies such as India, China, Japan, and South Korea still suffer from a gender gap in terms of job participation and wages, according to the report.
In India and China, the recorded female labour force participation rate (LFPR) has seen a big drop in the last decade. India’s LFPR fell by more than 10%, with a mere 20% of all working-age women in employment.
China also saw a drop of more than 5%, giving the country an LFPR rate of around 60%. But this rate is still higher than in some major developed countries, including the United States, Japan, Australia, and Italy.
Japan and South Korea have the largest gender pay gap among developed economies, even though both countries have seen a significant narrowing of the gap in the last decade, according to the report.
Meanwhile, China and Japan still have fewer women leaders than other major economies such as the US, Germany, Britain, and France. In these two countries, women leaders in major public companies account for around 15% of the total, while this number stands at around 40% in major Western countries, according to the report.
According to World Economic Forum data, South Korea, Japan, and India are among the lowest-ranking major economies in terms of economic participation and the opportunity index. These three countries rank 114th, 123rd, and 142nd respectively out of 146 countries. China ranks 45th.
South-East Asian countries such as Laos, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, on the other hand, have more active female economic participation, ranking 5th, 17th, 23rd, and 24th respectively. – South China Morning Post
