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Automation in Latin America: Are Women at Higher Risk of Losing Their Jobs?

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  • Bustelo, Monserrat
  • Egaña del Sol, Pablo
  • Ripani, Laura
  • Soler, Nicolás
  • Viollaz, Mariana

Abstract

New technological trends, such as digitization, artificial intelligence and robotics, have the power to drastically increase economic output but may also displace workers. In this paper we assess the risk of automation for female and male workers in four Latin American countries Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and El Salvador. Our study is the first to apply a task-based approach with a gender perspective in this region. Our main findings indicate that men are more likely than women to perform tasks linked to the skills of the future, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), information and communications technology, management and communication, and creative problem-solving tasks. Women thus have a higher average risk of automation, and 21% of women vs. 19% of men are at high risk (probability of automation greater than 70%). The differential impacts of the new technological trends for women and men must be assessed in order to guide the policy-making process to prepare workers for the future. Action should be taken to prevent digital transformation from worsening existing gender inequalities in the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Bustelo, Monserrat & Egaña del Sol, Pablo & Ripani, Laura & Soler, Nicolás & Viollaz, Mariana, 2020. "Automation in Latin America: Are Women at Higher Risk of Losing Their Jobs?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 10542, Inter-American Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:10542
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0002566
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    Cited by:

    1. Marcela Parada-Contzen & Francisca Jara, 2025. "Gender wage gap among the educated: evidence from fields of study in Chile," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Pawel Gmyrek & Hernan Winkler & Santiago Garganta, 2024. "Buffer or Bottleneck? Employment Exposure to Generative AI and the Digital Divide in Latin America," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0340, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    3. Zhou, Huilin & Wang, Linhui & Cao, Yutong & Li, Jincheng, 2025. "The impact of artificial intelligence on labor market: A study based on bibliometric analysis," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Wang, Linhui & Zhou, Huilin & Wan, Guanghua, 2025. "The impact of robots on unemployment duration: Evidence from the Chinese General Social Survey," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Narvaez, Cristian Camilo Moreno, 2022. "Automation and the Labor Market: Evidence from Technological Change in Colombia, 2009-2017," SocArXiv v382q_v1, Center for Open Science.
    6. Kraus, Sascha & Kumar, Satish & Lim, Weng Marc & Kaur, Jaspreet & Sharma, Anuj & Schiavone, Francesco, 2023. "From moon landing to metaverse: Tracing the evolution of Technological Forecasting and Social Change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    7. Ebeke, Christian H. & Eklou, Kodjovi M., 2023. "Automation and the employment elasticity of fiscal policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Zhang, Xinchun & Sun, Murong & Liu, Jianxu & Xu, Aijia, 2024. "The nexus between industrial robot and employment in China: The effects of technology substitution and technology creation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    9. 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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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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