Is Technology Widening the Gender Gap? Automation and the Future of Female Employment

Is Technology Widening the Gender Gap? Automation and the Future of Female Employment PDF

Author: Mariya Brussevich

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2019-05-06

Total Pages: 37

ISBN-13: 1498303749

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Using individual level data on task composition at work for 30 advanced and emerging economies, we find that women, on average, perform more routine tasks than men?tasks that are more prone to automation. To quantify the impact on jobs, we relate data on task composition at work to occupation level estimates of probability of automation, controlling for a rich set of individual characteristics (e.g., education, age, literacy and numeracy skills). Our results indicate that female workers are at a significantly higher risk for displacement by automation than male workers, with 11 percent of the female workforce at high risk of being automated given the current state of technology, albeit with significant cross-country heterogeneity. The probability of automation is lower for younger cohorts of women, and for those in managerial positions.

Gender, Technology, and the Future of Work

Gender, Technology, and the Future of Work PDF

Author: Mariya Brussevich

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-10-09

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1484379780

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New technologies?digitalization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning?are changing the way work gets done at an unprecedented rate. Helping people adapt to a fast-changing world of work and ameliorating its deleterious impacts will be the defining challenge of our time. What are the gender implications of this changing nature of work? How vulnerable are women’s jobs to risk of displacement by technology? What policies are needed to ensure that technological change supports a closing, and not a widening, of gender gaps? This SDN finds that women, on average, perform more routine tasks than men across all sectors and occupations?tasks that are most prone to automation. Given the current state of technology, we estimate that 26 million female jobs in 30 countries (28 OECD member countries, Cyprus, and Singapore) are at a high risk of being displaced by technology (i.e., facing higher than 70 percent likelihood of being automated) within the next two decades. Female workers face a higher risk of automation compared to male workers (11 percent of the female workforce, relative to 9 percent of the male workforce), albeit with significant heterogeneity across sectors and countries. Less well-educated and older female workers (aged 40 and above), as well as those in low-skill clerical, service, and sales positions are disproportionately exposed to automation. Extrapolating our results, we find that around 180 million female jobs are at high risk of being displaced globally. Policies are needed to endow women with required skills; close gender gaps in leadership positions; bridge digital gender divide (as ongoing digital transformation could confer greater flexibility in work, benefiting women); ease transitions for older and low-skilled female workers.

The Future of Tech Is Female

The Future of Tech Is Female PDF

Author: Douglas M. Branson

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2020-11-03

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1479806048

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An accessible and timely guide to increasing female presence and leadership in tech companies Tech giants like Apple and Google are among the fastest growing companies in the world, leading innovations in design and development. The industry continues to see rapid growth, employing millions of people: in the US it is at the epicenter of the American economy. So why is it that only 5% of senior executives in the tech industry are female? Underrepresentation of women on boards of directors, in the C-suite, and as senior managers remains pervasive in this industry. As tech companies are plagued with high-profile claims of harassment and discrimination, and salary discrepancies for comparable work, one asks what prevents women from reaching management roles, and, more importantly, what can be done to fix it? The Future of Tech is Female considers the paradoxes involved in women’s ascent to leadership roles, suggesting industry-wide solutions to combat gender inequality. Drawing upon 15 years of experience in the field, Douglas M. Branson traces the history of women in the information technology industry in order to identify solutions for the issues facing women today. Branson explores a variety of solutions such as mandatory quota laws for female employment, pledge programs, and limitations on the H1-B VISA program, and grapples with the challenges facing women in IT from a range of perspectives. Branson unpacks the plethora of reasons women should hold leadership roles, both in and out of this industry, concluding with a call to reform attitudes toward women in one particular IT branch, the video and computer gaming field, a gateway to many STEM futures. An invaluable resource for anyone invested in gender equality in corporate governance, The Future of Tech is Female lays out the first steps toward a more diverse future for women in tech leadership

Gender Perspectives on Industry 4.0 and the Impact of Technology on Mainstreaming Female Employment

Gender Perspectives on Industry 4.0 and the Impact of Technology on Mainstreaming Female Employment PDF

Author: Bala, Shashi

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2022-01-07

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1799885968

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Almost all economies have, or are at least starting to, understand the significance of examining and mainstreaming gender issues in the world of work. Sociocultural evolution and various other factors have helped these developments, but there is still so much more work to be done. Technology has played a substantial role in decreasing the gender divide as more households than ever before have access to technology, and the revolution of access to information across most societies has become gender neutral and empowering. While technology can hold the potential to significantly expand the job market and open opportunities for all job seekers, questions surrounding automation and availability of jobs and the accessibility to secure the necessary qualifications and education needed to fill paid jobs rage on, especially when examining those who are typically marginalized. Gender Perspectives on Industry 4.0 and the Impact of Technology on Mainstreaming Female Employment discusses gender perspective and its impact on the fourth industrial revolution, particularly in the realm of employment structure, and analyzes the impact of technology on mainstreaming women in paid employment. In the present environment, organizations are beginning to realize the importance of looking more critically at their workforce and structure and how to better cater to the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement while also productively managing the advancement of new technologies. Covering topics such as sustainable development and the future of work, it is ideal for policymakers, practitioners, professionals, consultants, managers, researchers, academicians, educators, and students.

Gender, Technology, and the Future of Work

Gender, Technology, and the Future of Work PDF

Author: Mariya Brussevich

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-10-08

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 1484379764

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New technologies?digitalization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning?are changing the way work gets done at an unprecedented rate. Helping people adapt to a fast-changing world of work and ameliorating its deleterious impacts will be the defining challenge of our time. What are the gender implications of this changing nature of work? How vulnerable are women’s jobs to risk of displacement by technology? What policies are needed to ensure that technological change supports a closing, and not a widening, of gender gaps? This SDN finds that women, on average, perform more routine tasks than men across all sectors and occupations?tasks that are most prone to automation. Given the current state of technology, we estimate that 26 million female jobs in 30 countries (28 OECD member countries, Cyprus, and Singapore) are at a high risk of being displaced by technology (i.e., facing higher than 70 percent likelihood of being automated) within the next two decades. Female workers face a higher risk of automation compared to male workers (11 percent of the female workforce, relative to 9 percent of the male workforce), albeit with significant heterogeneity across sectors and countries. Less well-educated and older female workers (aged 40 and above), as well as those in low-skill clerical, service, and sales positions are disproportionately exposed to automation. Extrapolating our results, we find that around 180 million female jobs are at high risk of being displaced globally. Policies are needed to endow women with required skills; close gender gaps in leadership positions; bridge digital gender divide (as ongoing digital transformation could confer greater flexibility in work, benefiting women); ease transitions for older and low-skilled female workers.

Automation Is a Myth

Automation Is a Myth PDF

Author: Luke Munn

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2022-04-05

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1503631435

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For some, automation will usher in a labor-free utopia; for others, it signals a disastrous age-to-come. Yet whether seen as dream or nightmare, automation, argues Munn, is ultimately a fable that rests on a set of triple fictions. There is the myth of full autonomy, claiming that machines will take over production and supplant humans. But far from being self-acting, technical solutions are piecemeal; their support and maintenance reveals the immense human labor behind "autonomous" processes. There is the myth of universal automation, with technologies framed as a desituated force sweeping the globe. But this fiction ignores the social, cultural, and geographical forces that shape technologies at a local level. And, there is the myth of automating everyone, the generic figure of "the human" at the heart of automation claims. But labor is socially stratified and so automation's fallout will be highly uneven, falling heavier on some (immigrants, people of color, women) than others. Munn moves from machine minders in China to warehouse pickers in the United States to explore the ways that new technologies do (and don't) reconfigure labor. Combining this rich array of human stories with insights from media and cultural studies, Munn points to a more nuanced, localized, and racialized understanding of the "future of work."

Research Handbook on the Sociology of the Family

Research Handbook on the Sociology of the Family PDF

Author: Norbert F. Schneider

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2021-06-25

Total Pages: 479

ISBN-13: 1788975545

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Exploring how family life has radically changed in recent decades, this comprehensive Research Handbook tracks the latest developments and trends in scholarly work on the family. With a particular focus on the European context, it addresses current debates and offers insights into key topics including: the division of housework, family forms and living arrangements, intergenerational relationships, partner choice, divorce and fertility behaviour.

The Effects of AI on the Working Lives of Women

The Effects of AI on the Working Lives of Women PDF

Author: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2022-03-08

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13: 9231005138

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This report describes the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of emerging technology such as AI from a gender perspective. The report highlights the need for more focus and research on the impacts of AI on women and the digital gender gap, in order to ensure that women are not left behind in the future of work.

Broadening the Gains from Generative AI

Broadening the Gains from Generative AI PDF

Author: Fernanda Brollo

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2024-06-17

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13:

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Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) holds immense potential to boost productivity growth and advance public service delivery, but it also raises profound concerns about massive labor disruptions and rising inequality. This note discusses how fiscal policies can be employed to steer the technology and its deployment in ways that serve humanity best while cushioning the negative labor market and distributional effects to broaden the gains. Given the vast uncertainty about the nature, impact, and speed of developments in gen AI, governments should take an agile approach that prepares them for both business as usual and highly disruptive scenarios.