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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Economy devider ILO: Filipino women's jobs face higher exposure to GenAI

ILO: Filipino women's jobs face higher exposure to GenAI

Published Mar 9, 2026 12:00 am  |  Updated Mar 7, 2026 01:23 pm

Women in the Philippines are among those most exposed to workplace changes brought by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), reflecting the concentration of female workers in roles vulnerable to automation, according to a report released by the Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO) last week.

In its March 5 research brief titled “Gen AI, occupational segregation and gender equality in the world of work,” ILO said women are more exposed to GenAI than men in 88 percent of countries analyzed, with several economies—including the Philippines—seeing more than 40 percent of women’s employment exposed to the technology.

The study found that female-dominated occupations are almost twice as likely to be exposed to GenAI compared with male-dominated ones. About 29 percent of female-dominated jobs face exposure to the technology, versus 16 percent of male-dominated occupations, while 16 percent of women-dominated roles fall into the highest automation-risk categories, compared with only three percent for men-dominated jobs.

These risks stem largely from occupational segregation, as women remain heavily concentrated in clerical, administrative, and business support positions—such as secretaries, receptionists, payroll clerks, and accounting assistants—where tasks are routine and more easily automated.

Men, by contrast, are more represented in construction, manufacturing, and manual trades where tasks are less easily replaced by AI.

“GenAI is not entering a neutral labor market,” said Anam Butt, co-author of the ILO research brief. “Discriminatory social norms, unequal care responsibilities and economic and labor market policies that do not fully address the needs of women and men continue to shape who enters which occupations and on what terms.”

The report also noted that women remain underrepresented in emerging technology fields that could benefit from AI-driven job growth. Globally, women accounted for only around 30 percent of the AI workforce in 2022, highlighting persistent gaps in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment.

ILO also stressed that technologies such as GenAI are developed and deployed within existing social and economic structures, meaning they can mirror or reinforce biases already present in society.
“The choices made today will determine whether GenAI becomes a force for greater equality or one that entrenches existing gaps,” according to the report.

“The impact of generative AI on women’s jobs is not predetermined. With the right policies, social dialogue and gender-responsive design, we can avert reinforcing existing discrimination,” said Janine Berg, senior economist at ILO’s research department and co-author of the brief.

ILO said the most significant effects of GenAI will likely be felt in job quality rather than the number of jobs, as the technology could alter the nature of tasks, intensify workloads, expand workplace monitoring, or reduce workers’ autonomy.
However, when designed and deployed responsibly, GenAI also has the potential to improve working conditions, boost productivity, and support better work-life balance, ILO said.
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