SDG 5: Gender Equality | SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Ministry of Labour & Employment | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
The ILO opinion piece, AI is changing the way we work - women and youth must not be left behind argues that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the global labour market, with more than 12.7 million jobs in the Philippines alone exposed to the technology—the highest rate among comparable ASEAN nations. While AI exposure does not equate to immediate job loss, it signals a fundamental shift in task composition and skill requirements. Crucially, the research highlights that this transition is not gender-neutral; women face twice the rate of AI exposure as men, primarily because they are disproportionately represented in clerical, administrative, and service roles that are highly susceptible to automation. Without deliberate policy intervention, AI risks hard-wiring existing inequalities into the new digital economy.
Strategic Pillars for an Inclusive AI Transition The article identifies critical foundational pillars to ensure that technology acts as an equalizer rather than a divider:
Gender-Responsive Skill Development: Targeted investment in AI and digital skills for women and youth is essential to prevent their displacement from the evolving workforce.
Early STEM Integration: Embedding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways early in education is vital to move women beyond “adaptation” to becoming the innovators who shape AI tools.
Financing Diverse Innovation: Financial support and resources must be directed toward women-led enterprises and youth-led innovation to boost productivity and market access.
Robust Social Protection and Dialogue: Supporting workers through painful transitions requires strengthened protection systems and social dialogue to ensure that productivity gains lead to decent work and social justice.
Why are women more “exposed” to generative AI than men? Women are more exposed to generative AI because they hold a disproportionate share of jobs in occupations that AI can fundamentally transform or automate, such as clerical and administrative services. In regions with high digital and business service density, such as Metro Manila, young and educated women face a higher risk of their daily tasks being absorbed by AI-enabled tools. Consequently, the “access gap”—rather than a talent gap—becomes the primary barrier, where systems that fail to update skills and protections hold women back more than the technology itself.
Policy Relevance
The ILO’s findings represent a transition from reactive technology adoption to proactive, inclusive digital governance. By institutionalizing gender-responsive AI policies, the Ministry of Labour & Employment and MeitY can ensure that India’s massive services sector—highly staffed by women—remains resilient against automation-led displacement.
Strategic Impact:
Scaling the IndiaAI Mission: Aligning the IndiaAI Mission with the ILO’s recommendations involves creating dedicated “STEM pathways” for women to move into high-value AI development and robotic process automation.
Leveraging Sovereign Infrastructure: Utilizing India’s Sovereign AI Cloud can provide women-led MSMEs with the affordable compute power and AI tools needed to raise productivity, mirroring successful ILO programs in Iloilo and Siargao.
Formalizing Gig and Platform Work: As AI blurs traditional employer-employee lines, India’s Code on Social Security must adapt to ensure that women in AI-exposed service roles maintain access to portable benefits and protection.
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Inclusion: Expanding BHASHINI’s multilingual AI services can bridge the literacy divide, enabling youth in conflict-affected or rural areas to access the global digital economy.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can MeitY and the Ministry of Labour leverage the ‘National Reference Architecture’ for Sovereign AI to mandate ‘Gender-Impact Assessments’ for all large-scale automation projects in the services sector by 2028?
Follow the full article here: ILO: AI changing the way we work