According to a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute, more women are likely to lose their jobs by the next decade, as industries shrink due to swift progress in generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technology.
With the rapid development of AI, it is predicted that about a third of the working hours across the US economy could be automated by 2030. Industries like customer service, office support and food services are expected to shrink further while the demand for STEM, construction, creative, legal and business professionals will be on the rise.
The report said that about 12 million people will have to abandon shrinking occupations by 2030. The economy may shift in favour of higher-paying jobs, with workers in lower-paying jobs 14 times more likely to switch careers in comparison to those with higher-paying jobs.
Women are 1.5 times more likely than men to change jobs as they are overrepresented in the rapidly shrinking customer service, office support and food service industries, as per the report by McKinsey.
The report added that occupational shifts can be traced back to the Covid-19 pandemic when the US labour market saw 8.6 million changing their jobs.
Based on the report, the impact of AI on women’s jobs can be identified under five broad categories.
1. More women to lose their present jobs
Women make up for a major portion of workers who fall under the lowest wage quintiles (those who earn between $30,800 to $38,200 and less in a year). With the office support and customer service industries shrinking, women engaged in these industries are more likely to lose their jobs by 2030. These shrinking industries presently employ those with relatively less education, including women and people of colour, with Black and Hispanic workers being highly concentrated in production work and food services.
2. Women may be encouraged to stick to family obligations
Looking back at the pandemic, more women left the workforce than men and it took about three years for the number of working women to come on par with the pre-pandemic workforce in the US. Women engaged in lower-wage work often have family obligations, which may discourage them from switching careers and trying a new occupation.
3. Women may need to switch industries
While food, customer and office service industries continue to shrink due to AI, former male dominated fields like construction are facing labour shortages. These gaps can be filled by women, addressing issues regarding diversity in construction. With the US population ageing, there is also an increasing demand for health-care workers which is was also attributed by the structural changes brought about by the pandemic. “We anticipate that the two fastest-growing occupations through the end of this decade will be nurses and home healthcare aides,” the authors said in the report.
4. Women may require to upskill
In order to switch careers, women need to add new skills to their existing skill set. This calls for training programs, effective job matching, different hiring and training practices by employers. Additionally, education among women needs to be prioritised.
5. More women could potentially engage in higher paying jobs
“While our analysis shows a decrease of 1.1 million jobs in the two lowest wage quintiles by 2030, jobs in the highest wage quintile could grow sharply, by 3.8 million,” the authors said. In that respect, although training workers for a desired skill set is difficult for employers, there are chances to recruit from “overlooked populations”, including workers without college degrees and workers with employment gaps. This could potentially indicate an increase the number of women employed in higher-paying jobs.
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