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- Derek Weston via Fortune | FORTUNE
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Women account for only 26% of AI job hires, missing out on higher salaries
ReWomen account for only 26% of AI job hires, missing out on higher salaries
A LinkedIn analysis finds women hold just 26% of AI-related job hires despite making up half of non-AI roles, with pay gaps reaching $100,000 annually.
Women are being left out of the fastest-growing and highest-paying segment of the U.S. labor market, according to a new LinkedIn analysis. AI job postings in the country have doubled since 2023, yet women accounted for only 26% of hires in roles requiring AI skills last year, compared with their 50% representation in non-AI positions.
The imbalance carries a significant financial cost. The average AI job posting offers an annual salary of about $177,000, while non-AI roles typically pay roughly $80,000. That means women who are shut out of AI work could be missing out on nearly $100,000 per year in earnings.
The gap widens further up the career ladder. Across 27 countries, women hold just 13% of tech-related C-suite positions at AI companies. Within the AI workforce itself, women make up only 20% of head of AI roles, which pay about $236,000 annually, and 26% of director of AI positions, which pay around $300,000 per year. They also account for just 18% of member of technical staff jobs, which pay roughly $245,000 each year.
LinkedIn researchers describe the pattern as a “Triple Penalty” that holds women back through three compounding barriers: working in leadership roles, working in AI jobs, and working at AI companies. The gender gap for C-suite roles is 15% wider than for positions below the executive level, and women’s representation in AI roles is 10% lower than their share in jobs unrelated to the technology.
The report notes that women’s underrepresentation is not for lack of effort. “The findings suggest that while AI is becoming an increasingly important source of career growth and economic opportunity, women aren’t being afforded these opportunities,” the LinkedIn report states.
Part of the gap may stem from differing attitudes toward the technology. Working women are twice as likely as men to say AI will negatively impact them over the next two decades, and they are 22% less likely than men to be regular AI users at work. Concerns include career security, skepticism that the risks outweigh the benefits, and worries about harmful bias in algorithms.
However, the report argues that skepticism does not fully explain the disparity. Even women who enter the AI workforce are less likely to land roles with the biggest paychecks and influence, suggesting structural barriers rather than personal choice are at play.
The findings come as the gender wage gap widened slightly last year, with women earning 18.6% less than men for the same work. “AI is creating some of the fastest-growing and highest paying jobs in the economy,” the August LinkedIn report said. “Yet women remain less represented in many of the jobs, companies, and leadership roles shaping AI’s future.”
