AI and work: different impact on women and men by 2030

Context

In brief

• By 2030: approximately 25% of women's activities could be automated
• For men, by 2030, 28% could be automated
• Care, healthcare and education: 19% automation potential

Key facts

• Research → Advance and McKinsey
• Location → Zurich
• Horizon → by 2030
• Women's activities → approximately 25% could be automated
• Men's activities → 28% could be automated
• Sectors → care, healthcare and education
• Potential in these sectors → 19%
• Interviewees → 26 human resources managers

By 2030, approximately 25% of the professional activities currently carried out by women could be automated, compared with 28% for men. This is the central finding of the new research conducted by Advance and McKinsey, which offers a less unfavorable outlook for women than the initial concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on the world of work.

Automation could affect precisely some of the professional sectors in which women are most represented. The research points out, however, that many work in care, healthcare and education: fields in which human closeness, empathy and communication skills are difficult to replace.

Where replacement is more difficult

The estimated automation potential in these sectors is 19%. This figure does not resolve the equation described by the research. According to the research, transformation requires understanding which tasks can be entrusted to AI and which depend on judgment, relationships and the ability to deal with unusual situations.

Nina Probst, co-author of the study, explained to 20 Minutes that approximately 25% of the human resources managers interviewed consider the growing importance of empathy, collaboration, judgment and interpersonal relationships an opportunity for women. She did, however, clarify that this advantage is not innate.

The research also describes a transformation of roles, not simply the elimination of the most exposed jobs. Customer service is given as an example: with fewer routine questions, agents could devote more time to complex cases and interaction with customers. For some of the 26 human resources managers interviewed, the work by Advance and McKinsey was a wake-up call: only a few had already explicitly considered gender differences in access to, use of or skills related to AI.

The point of the research therefore concerns preparation. Empathy and communication are gaining importance, but they are not enough on their own: one's position in the new world of work will also depend on the ability to use AI without giving up human judgment.

Operational details

The practical consequence for those working in Switzerland is not choosing between human and technical skills, but understanding how the weight of different tasks will change. The useful question becomes: which activities are repetitive, which require judgment, and which depend on interaction with other people? The research presents this distinction as a key interpretive lens.

From routine work to complex cases

In customer service, the shift is clear. If AI answers routine questions, staff can devote more time to complex requests and customers. The role is not emptied out: the distribution of time changes and may become an opportunity to improve work.

For women working part-time in Switzerland, the same transformation has two sides. If AI performs routine tasks and makes knowledge more easily accessible, the relationship between hours worked and value produced may become less direct. But the work that remains may be more complex or require greater constant availability. The outcome will depend on companies' decisions about reorganizing work, not solely on the technological tool.

Two career paths

The new professions identified by the research follow two directions. The first includes AI engineering, cybersecurity and big data, where women start from a lower presence in the talent pool. The second concerns transformation through AI, change management, governance, responsible use, ethics and training. These are roles that combine AI knowledge with human resources, communication, compliance and legal fields, areas in which women are already well represented.

Anyone considering a change can therefore read annunci di lavoro by looking not only for the name of the profession, but also for the type of skills required. The distinction helps separate a role focused on programming from one that integrates AI, relationships, judgment or organization. The research warns, however, that human skills alone are not sufficient: the decisive element remains the combination with practical knowledge of artificial intelligence.

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Key points

The research can be transformed into a concrete path without waiting for change to arrive in the form of a new role. The stated horizon is 2030; until then, the useful work consists of making visible which activities are carried out, which skills are used and where AI can enter without replacing judgment.

Four operational steps

1. Map the activities. Separate routine activities from situations that require complex cases, customer relations, empathy or judgment. In customer service, the research describes precisely this shift: fewer repetitive responses, more interaction.

2. Learn about AI from a practical perspective. It is not necessary to equate competence with programming. What matters is understanding what the tool does well and where the result needs to be verified.

«Being competent in artificial intelligence does not necessarily mean knowing how to program.»

Therefore, integrate the output with your own knowledge and judgment, avoiding blind trust in the results.

3. Cultivate the skills that remain central. Curiosity, the ability to learn and adapt, communication, emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills should be paired with critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. The question to keep open is whether what you are doing really makes sense.

4. Compare your profile with the two paths identified by the research. On the one hand, there are AI engineering, cybersecurity and big data; on the other, transformation through AI, change management, governance, responsible use, ethics and training. Skills in human resources, communication, compliance and the legal sector can become the basis for combining them with AI.

For those who manage people, the check to carry out is explicit: verify whether access to, use of and skills related to AI have also been examined from the perspective of gender differences. The research indicates that only a few of the 26 human resources managers interviewed had done so. For those who work part-time, it is instead worth asking how the company intends to distribute routine activities and what level of ongoing availability the remaining work will require: these are the two elements that the research identifies as possible opposing effects.

If the path leads to evaluating a new role, combine comparison with job postings with reading busta paga svizzera, so as to keep the content of the role separate from the current work situation. For the final step, use calcolatore stipendio.

Source: tio.ch