U.S. labor market analysis shows women face higher AI exposure risk

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Women face higher AI exposure

Highlights

Pew analysis finds among workers without four-year degrees, each one-point increase in AI exposure correlates with 8.8% male employment growth and 9.5% female job decline.
Women without four-year degrees face higher AI exposure due to occupational concentration in roles like secretaries and customer service, while men work in lower-exposure fields.
LinkedIn projects only 26% of U.S. AI hires in 2025 will be women, and women hold just 13% of C-suite leadership at AI companies globally.

Employment gap widens in AI-exposed roles

As reported by Axios, citing Pew, the gap in employment growth between men and women without four-year degrees widens as AI exposure increases across occupations. The analysis scores 480 occupations using Department of Labor data and compares employment trends before the generative AI boom, from 2017 to 2019, with trends from 2023 through June 2026.

Among workers with a high school diploma or less, each one-point increase in AI exposure is associated with 8.8% employment growth for men and a 9.5% decline for women. For workers with some college, including associate degrees, men's employment grows 3.6% while women's declines 6%. For workers with a bachelor's degree or higher, Pew finds no significant change for either group.

The study does not conclude that AI itself causes the employment shifts. Still, it points to a clear divergence in how job categories with different task exposure are affecting workers with similar education levels.

Occupational mix leaves women more exposed

Men and women without four-year degrees are concentrated in different parts of the labor market, which shapes their relative AI exposure. Men in this group are more likely to work in lower-exposure roles such as truck driving, construction and freight moving, while women are more often employed as secretaries, receptionists and customer service representatives, where AI can perform a larger share of tasks.

Pew's findings add to broader signs of imbalance in the AI economy. LinkedIn research shows women account for 26% of U.S. hires into AI occupations in 2025, and across 27 countries women hold 13% of C-suite AI leadership positions at AI companies.

Sentiment data also suggests a widening perception gap around the technology. A Morgan Stanley poll released in September finds women express more negative views of AI than men, as concerns over job disruption continue to build.

In our earlier article on CEOs’ early results with AI agents, we noted that large U.S. companies are reporting efficiency and growth gains, but only a small share view the technology as transformational so far. The survey also highlighted that most executives expect headcount to rise, alongside more retraining and sustained investment in AI infrastructure as firms adapt workflows and skills needs.

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