A silent wave of change is beginning to take hold in the technology and financial sectors, with female workers bearing the brunt of the blow. Women are at greater risk of losing their jobs than men due to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, a recent report has found.
A report by the City of London Corporation in the UK has found that women are more at risk of losing their jobs due to AI and automation than their male colleagues in the technology and financial services sectors, while experienced women are also being marginalized due to “rigorous recruitment processes”.
The British newspaper The Guardian wrote that ‘mid-career’ women with at least five years of experience are being neglected in various digital positions in the technology and financial sectors, sectors where women’s participation is already low.
To change this situation, the organization called on employers to help current female workers acquire new technical skills, especially those in office or clerical positions, as these positions are most at risk of disappearing due to automation.
According to data, about 119,000 white-collar jobs in the technology and financial services sectors will disappear due to automation over the next decade, a large proportion of which will be women. However, if these workers were not laid off but taught new skills, companies would save about £757 million in compensation or redundancy costs.
The report also says that teaching employees new skills will allow employers to focus more on a candidate’s future potential than their past experience.
However, what is worrying is that every year, about 60,000 women leave jobs in the technology sector due to lack of promotion, undervaluation, and inadequate pay.
Dame Susan Langley, Mayor of the City of London, said: “By investing in employees and helping them develop their digital skills, employers can unlock huge potential and build stronger, more resilient teams.
“By focusing on talent, adaptability and opportunity, the UK can maintain its leadership in innovation and remain a global hub for digital excellence.”
Nearly a quarter of UK workers fear they could lose their jobs to AI within the next five years, according to a survey by international recruitment company Randstad. Trade union leaders have urged companies to commit to investing in staff skills development and training.
According to data from the City of London Corporation, there is a strange paradox, where on the one hand, more than 12,000 digital positions were vacant in the sector in 2024 due to a lack of skilled workers, while on the other hand, qualified female candidates were being neglected.
To address the labor shortage, companies are trying to attract workers by offering salaries above the national average. However, the report warns that simply raising salaries will not solve the problem.
The ‘digital talent gap’, or lack of skilled workers, could persist until at least 2035. If this happens, the UK will lose around £100 billion in potential economic growth.
