Women in technology and finance face high risk of losing jobs to AI, City of London report warns
Women working in technology and financial services are more at risk of losing their jobs to artificial intelligence and automation than men, according to a new report by the City of London Corporation.
The study found that “mid-career” women – often with five or more years of experience – are disproportionately exposed to layoffs while being overlooked for emerging digital roles due to rigid hiring practices and automated employment screening.
Women remain underrepresented in all technical and financial and professional services, and the report warns that the rapid adoption of AI risks widening the gender imbalance in the workforce unless employers rethink how they hire, retain and retrain workers.
According to the City of London Corporation, many experienced women are being left out by CV screening tools and recruitment processes that fail to account for work leave related to childcare or caring responsibilities. Automated systems often prioritize uninterrupted career histories and narrowly defined technical experiences, dismissing women who have left the workforce or entered non-technical roles.
As a result, female applicants are often excluded from the initial stages of employment, even when their transferable skills and knowledge can be adapted for digital jobs.
The report calls on employers to shift their focus from rigid job descriptions to skills-based hiring, emphasizing fit, adaptability and strengths rather than career paths.
The study estimates that as many as 119,000 clerical roles across technical, financial and technical services, positions that are predominantly held by women, could be displaced by machines over the next decade.
However, the report says many of these job losses could be avoided if businesses invested in rehiring instead of layoffs. Retraining affected workers in digital and technology jobs could save employers up to £757 million in redundancy costs, while helping to address ongoing skills shortages.
Despite a huge demand for digital talent, more than 12,000 financial and professional technical vacancies will go unfilled by 2024, the City of London Corporation has found.
The report urges employers to prioritize the retraining of women currently working in administrative and clerical roles, many of whom already have valuable organizational, analytical and communication skills that can be re-embedded in digital positions.
Skills development programs will allow firms to retain institutional knowledge while building a strong workforce capable of adapting to technological change.
Dame Susan Langley, Mayor of the City of London, said: “By investing in people and supporting the development of digital skills in the workforce, employers can unlock greater opportunities and build strong, resilient teams.
The findings come amid growing concern about the impact of AI on the workplace. A recent poll by Randstad suggests that nearly a quarter of UK workers fear their jobs could disappear within five years due to automation.
The City of London Corporation warns that simply raising wages will not solve the problem. Instead, it predicts the UK’s digital skills shortage could continue until at least 2035, potentially costing the economy more than £10 billion in lost growth if left unchecked.
Union leaders and business groups have increasingly called on firms to commit to long-term workforce investment, saying training and inclusion will be key to ensuring AI boosts productivity without deepening inequality.
