Artificial intelligence and Women’s Work: a Review of evidence

Zafonte, F., & Cerquitelli, T.
ICDEW
2026

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the labor market, with effects that vary by sector, skill level, and gender.The literature paints an ambivalent picture. Artificial intelligence has favored women’s employment in some contexts, but they remain exposed to biased algorithmic systems, underrepresented in technology-intensive professions, and significantly less likely to adopt generative AI tools.This vision paper summarizes existing literature on the impact of AI on women in the labor market across three interconnected themes: the gendered impact of AI on employment and skill demand; gender bias embedded in AI systems; and the gender gap in generative AI adoption. We conclude by identifying priority areas for future research: establishing causal evidence on AI’s gendered employment effects, validating fair hiring systems, understanding how LLMs reproduce gendered responses and occupational labeling across sectors, and developing upstream approaches to bias mitigation in model training.

[Zafonte & Cerquitelli, 2026] Zafonte, F., & Cerquitelli, T. (2026). Artificial intelligence and women’s work: A review of evidence. ICDEW 2026, 78–84.