AI Advice Reinforces Traditional Gender Roles

Professionals are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for career advice. We tested whether large language models (LLMs) provide different advice to female and male job candidates in the context of career negotiations. Across two large-scale audit experiments, including four leading models, the LLMs not only recommended lower salary targets for female than male personas, but also constructed distinct negotiation agendas, prioritizing flexibility, caregiving, and well-being more highly for female candidates, and financial rewards, mobility, and advancement more highly for male candidates. These differences closely tracked independent human ratings of employment terms associated with primary caregiver and breadwinner roles, respectively. Our findings identify a subtle pathway through which personalized AI advice may reinforce gender inequality at work: steering otherwise equivalent users toward traditional gender roles.