New Pew Research Center findings suggest that employment trends in occupations exposed to artificial intelligence differ sharply by gender and education, raising questions about who benefits from workplace automation.
Women without four-year college degrees are experiencing weaker employment growth than men in occupations more exposed to artificial intelligence, according to new research examining changes in the US labor market.
A Pew Research Center analysis published October 22 found that the gap between men’s and women’s employment growth widened as occupational exposure to generative AI increased.
The research, conducted by Nicole Smith, examined government employment data from 2017–2019 and January 2023 through June 2026.
While the findings identify important differences in employment trends, the researchers emphasized that AI exposure does not necessarily cause job losses or employment disparities.
Employment Growth Differs Across AI-Exposed Occupations
Pew examined 480 occupations, assigning each an AI exposure score ranging from zero to 3.5.
The scores reflected how much generative AI could perform or assist with important occupational tasks, using information from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network.
For every one-point increase in AI exposure, men’s employment grew by approximately 6.3%, while women’s employment increased by only 0.2% over the periods studied.
The analysis found that men’s employment growth was approximately 24% greater in the most AI-exposed occupations than in the least exposed.
However, employment in highly AI-exposed occupations generally increased rather than declined.
This distinction matters because slower growth is not equivalent to widespread job displacement.
Education Reveals a Sharper Divide
The gender differences were most pronounced among workers without bachelor’s degrees.
Among those with a high school diploma or less, each one-point increase in AI exposure corresponded with 8.8% employment growth for men and a 9.5% decline for women.
For workers with some college education, the corresponding figures were 3.6% for men and negative 6% for women.
Among bachelor’s degree holders, the relationship between AI exposure and employment growth was not statistically significant for either gender.
Pew noted that women without four-year degrees frequently work in administrative, secretarial, reception and customer-service positions, where AI can assist with many information-processing tasks.
Men without degrees, meanwhile, are more concentrated in occupations involving physical work, although relatively few work in highly AI-exposed roles.
What This Means for Technology Companies
The findings raise questions about how businesses distribute the benefits and risks of AI adoption.
For companies building workplace automation, improving task efficiency does not automatically ensure that opportunities expand equally across employee groups.
Developers and employers may need to examine how AI changes job responsibilities, training opportunities and advancement pathways, particularly in administrative and support roles.
However, Pew cautioned that its research was observational. Economic changes unrelated to AI could also have influenced employment patterns during the study period.
AI’s Human Impact Requires Closer Measurement
The research offers a different perspective on the debate over whether artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs.
Rather than showing an economy-wide employment collapse, it identifies differences in how workforce opportunities are developing across groups.
For technology leaders, the central challenge is determining whether AI systems are expanding workers’ capabilities or reinforcing existing disadvantages.
The long-term consequences of workplace AI may depend not only on how many jobs remain, but also on who gains access to the opportunities created as work changes.
