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Is Technology Widening the Gender Gap? Automation and the Future of Female Employment

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  • Mariya Brussevich
  • Ms. Era Dabla-Norris
  • Salma Khalid

Abstract

Using individual level data on task composition at work for 30 advanced and emerging economies, we find that women, on average, perform more routine tasks than men?tasks that are more prone to automation. To quantify the impact on jobs, we relate data on task composition at work to occupation level estimates of probability of automation, controlling for a rich set of individual characteristics (e.g., education, age, literacy and numeracy skills). Our results indicate that female workers are at a significantly higher risk for displacement by automation than male workers, with 11 percent of the female workforce at high risk of being automated given the current state of technology, albeit with significant cross-country heterogeneity. The probability of automation is lower for younger cohorts of women, and for those in managerial positions.

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  • Mariya Brussevich & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Salma Khalid, 2019. "Is Technology Widening the Gender Gap? Automation and the Future of Female Employment," IMF Working Papers 2019/091, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2019/091
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Filippi, Emilia & Bannò, Mariasole & Trento, Sandro, 2023. "Automation technologies and the risk of substitution of women: Can gender equality in the institutional context reduce the risk?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Domini, Giacomo & Grazzi, Marco & Moschella, Daniele & Treibich, Tania, 2022. "For whom the bell tolls: The firm-level effects of automation on wage and gender inequality," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    5. Genz, Sabrina & Schnabel, Claus, 2021. "Digging into the Digital Divide: Workers' Exposure to Digitalization and Its Consequences for Individual Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 14649, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Anna Matysiak & Daniela Bellani & Honorata Bogusz, 2023. "Industrial Robots and Regional Fertility in European Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-36, December.
    7. Marcin Chlebus & Artur Nowak, 2023. "From Alchemy to Analytics: Unleashing the Potential of Technical Analysis in Predicting Noble Metal Price Movement," Working Papers 2023-13, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    8. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Özcan, Berkay & Philipp, Julia, 2021. "Robots and the gender pay gap in Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    9. Benjamin Lerch, 2021. "From Blue to Steel-Collar Jobs: The Decline in Employment Gaps?," IdEP Economic Papers 2102, USI Università della Svizzera italiana.
    10. Jain Ritika, 2021. "Information and Communication Technology Adoption and the Demand for Female Labor: The Case of Indian Industry," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 695-722, April.
    11. Jasmine Mondolo, 2022. "The composite link between technological change and employment: A survey of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1027-1068, September.
    12. Jaan Masso & Priit Vahter, 2020. "Innovation As A Firm-Level Factor Of The Gender Wage Gap," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 128, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    13. Mariya Brussevich & Era Dabla-Norris & Salma Khalid, 2022. "Who Bears the Brunt of Lockdown Policies? Evidence from Tele-workability Measures Across Countries," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 70(3), pages 560-589, September.
    14. Ralph P. Hall & Robert Ashford & Nicholas A. Ashford & Johan Arango-Quiroga, 2019. "Universal Basic Income and Inclusive Capitalism: Consequences for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-29, August.
    15. Casas, Pablo & Román, Concepción, 2023. "Early retired or automatized? Evidence from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).

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