By Noreena Hertz
Publication Date: 2025-12-14 09:15:00
In 1986, “Anne” – a data entry worker – watches an IBM PC land on her desk. Within a year her job is gone. Four decades later, “Natalie” – a social media manager – watches ChatGPT create the posts she once wrote. But her departure could come even faster than Anne’s.
In July, a new report from Microsoft researchers made headlines by listing the 40 jobs at greatest risk of being replaced by AI. It included salespeople, translators, proofreaders and other knowledge workers, suggesting an impending white-collar employment apocalypse.
But the report’s authors and subsequent coverage appear to have missed something crucial: the disruptions ahead will not be gender neutral. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women make up the majority of workers in approximately 60% of listed occupations.
