Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the labor market, creating some of the technology sector’s fastest-growing and best-paid jobs. But as companies race to hire workers with AI skills, women are not sharing equally in the boom.
New research from LinkedIn reveals a striking gap in who is being hired for artificial intelligence-related positions. In the United States, women made up only 26% of people hired into jobs requiring AI skills, compared with 50% of hires for positions that did not require those skills.
The disparity matters far beyond representation. AI-related positions often come with substantially higher salaries, meaning women risk missing out on one of the most lucrative areas of a rapidly changing economy.
At the same time, women are disproportionately represented in occupations that could be significantly disrupted by AI. That combination—fewer women entering newly created AI careers while more women occupy jobs vulnerable to automation—is raising fresh concerns about the future of the gender gap in the workplace.
AI jobs are growing—and so is the pay gap
The demand for AI talent has surged as businesses pour billions of dollars into artificial intelligence technologies.
LinkedIn’s research shows that the number of AI-related job postings on the platform has doubled since 2023. These positions are also commanding a substantial salary premium.
A typical AI job listing advertises a salary of around $177,000, compared with approximately $80,000 for a position that does not require AI skills.
That difference makes access to AI careers particularly important. The issue is no longer simply about whether women are represented in the technology industry. It is also about whether they will have an equal opportunity to benefit from the financial rewards associated with the AI-driven economy.
Sarah Steinberg, a LinkedIn spokeswoman, told CBS News that AI is producing some of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs in the global economy. Yet women remain significantly underrepresented among the people being hired, benefiting from the associated pay premium and helping shape the technology itself.
The concern is that the rapid expansion of AI could deepen inequalities that already exist within the technology workforce.
The gender gap becomes wider at the top
The problem does not disappear as women advance into more senior positions. In fact, LinkedIn’s research suggests the opposite.
Across 27 countries, women occupy just 13% of leadership positions at AI companies. In the broader technology industry, women account for about 20% of people in comparable leadership roles.
The numbers highlight a troubling pattern: women are already underrepresented in technology leadership, but their representation is even weaker in AI.
That could have consequences beyond hiring statistics. Leaders play an important role in deciding how technologies are developed, introduced and used. If women remain largely absent from those decision-making positions, the people shaping the future of AI will not fully reflect the workforce and society affected by it.
As Steinberg noted, overall representation in technology is already far from ideal, but the situation is worse when AI is examined separately.
Women may face a double challenge as AI transforms work
One of the biggest concerns is the type of jobs women currently hold.
Research has found that women are more likely than men to work in occupations that could be disrupted by artificial intelligence, including administrative and customer-service roles.
According to the Brookings Institution, women make up 86% of approximately 6.1 million workers in jobs considered vulnerable to AI disruption and offering limited opportunities to adapt existing skills.
That creates a potentially difficult scenario.
Women could be more exposed to changes caused by AI while simultaneously being less likely to move into the new, better-paid occupations emerging around the technology.
In other words, the AI revolution could create a two-sided problem for women: some existing jobs may become increasingly automated or transformed, while access to the new careers replacing them remains uneven.
Steinberg described that possibility as particularly concerning because women could find themselves more likely to have their jobs disrupted without receiving the financial benefits associated with the new AI economy.
Why skills-based hiring could make a difference
One potential solution is to rethink how companies identify candidates for AI jobs.
Traditional hiring practices often place significant emphasis on college degrees, previous job titles and conventional career paths. But those requirements can exclude capable candidates who have developed relevant skills through other routes.
LinkedIn’s research suggests that skills-based hiring could help widen the pool of women entering AI careers.
Under this approach, employers would focus more heavily on what candidates can actually do rather than relying primarily on academic credentials or previous experience in a specific AI-related position.
That distinction could be particularly important in artificial intelligence because the field is developing so quickly. Many of the technologies, tools and job functions associated with today’s AI economy did not exist in their current form only a few years ago.
A candidate therefore does not necessarily need to have spent years working in an AI-specific role to possess useful AI capabilities.
AI skills can be learned outside traditional career paths
Another factor working in favor of a skills-based approach is the growing availability of online education and AI tools.
Workers interested in developing AI expertise can take online courses, complete training programs and build practical experience using publicly available artificial intelligence tools.
That creates opportunities for people who may not have traditional technology backgrounds.
Someone working in administration, customer service, marketing or another field could potentially develop AI-related skills without earning a new technology degree or previously holding an AI job.
For employers, recognizing those transferable skills could open the door to a much broader talent pool. For women, it could provide an alternative pathway into a sector where conventional hiring practices have historically contributed to a persistent gender imbalance.
As Steinberg put it, a person can possess valuable AI skills without holding a related diploma or having previously worked in an AI position.
Closing the AI gender gap will require more than hiring
The latest figures suggest that simply creating more AI jobs will not automatically produce a more diverse technology workforce.
The industry is expanding at remarkable speed, but women are not currently benefiting from that growth at the same rate as men. The gap is particularly significant because AI-related jobs can offer substantial salary advantages at a time when businesses are rapidly increasing their investment in the technology.
Meanwhile, women remain heavily represented in roles that may be vulnerable to AI-driven changes.
That combination makes access to AI training, career transitions and fair hiring practices increasingly important. Employers that look beyond conventional credentials and evaluate candidates based on demonstrated skills could help expand the number of women entering the field.
The stakes extend beyond individual careers. Women who enter AI can benefit from the industry’s growth, but they can also play a role in determining how artificial intelligence is designed and implemented across the economy.
The AI boom is still in its early stages, and the shape of the future workforce is far from settled. But the latest hiring data sends a clear warning: if companies do not address the gender imbalance now, artificial intelligence could end up widening a technology gap that has existed for decades.
For women, the challenge is not simply gaining access to the next generation of jobs. It is making sure they have a fair chance to participate in—and benefit from—the economic transformation those jobs are creating.
