International Labour Organisation
UN labour agency whose joint World Bank study warns women face highest AI displacement risk.
Last refreshed: 29 March 2026
The UN's labour agency just proved AI hits women twice as hard; who is listening?
Latest on International Labour Organisation
- What is the ILO?
- The International Labour Organisation is a UN agency headquartered in Geneva that sets labour standards across 187 member states. It has tracked automation's employment impact since the 1970s.Source: editorial
- Are women more at risk from AI than men?
- An ILO-World Bank study found 4.7% of female jobs globally are in the highest AI exposure category versus 2.4% of male. In rich countries the gap widens to 9.6% vs 3.5%.Source: editorial
- Which jobs are most exposed to AI?
- Clerical and service roles face the highest generative AI exposure according to the ILO. These are disproportionately held by women, especially in high-income countries.Source: editorial
Background
The International Labour Organisation is the United Nations agency responsible for setting international labour standards across 187 member states. Headquartered in Geneva, it operates on a tripartite structure of governments, employers and workers. It has tracked automation's impact on employment since the 1970s textile industry through manufacturing robotics and now generative AI.
The ILO's joint study with the World Bank found that women face double the AI job risk of men, with 4.7 per cent of global female employment in the highest generative AI exposure category versus 2.4 per cent of male . In high-income countries the gap widens to 9.6 per cent of women versus 3.5 per cent of men, concentrated in clerical and service roles.
As both a research authority and normative body, the ILO's findings carry direct weight in shaping national AI workforce policies and G20 labour ministers' communiques. Its 2019 "Future of Work" centenary report and 2023 generative AI sectoral assessments laid the groundwork; the 2026 gendered displacement study is the most politically consequential output yet, arriving as the European Parliament delays its own AI workplace rules and the US debates a moratorium.