Women working in technology and financial services are at greater risk of losing their jobs to artificial intelligence and automation than men, according to a new report from the City of London Corporation.
The study found that “mid-career” women – typically with five or more years’ experience – are being disproportionately exposed to job displacement while also being overlooked for emerging digital roles due to rigid hiring practices and automated recruitment screening.
Women remain under-represented across tech and financial and professional services, and the report warns that the rapid adoption of AI risks widening gender inequality in the workforce unless employers rethink how they recruit, retain and retrain staff.
According to the City of London Corporation, many experienced women are being sidelined by CV-screening tools and recruitment processes that fail to account for career breaks linked to childcare or caring responsibilities. Automated systems often prioritise uninterrupted career histories and narrowly defined technical experience, disadvantaging women who have stepped away from work or moved into non-technical roles.
As a result, female applicants are frequently excluded at the earliest stages of hiring, even where their transferable skills and experience could be adapted for digital roles.
The report calls on employers to shift their focus away from rigid job specifications and towards skills-based hiring, placing greater emphasis on aptitude, adaptability and potential rather than linear career paths.
The research estimates that around 119,000 clerical roles across tech, finance and professional services, positions predominantly held by women, are likely to be displaced by automation over the next decade.
However, the report argues that many of these job losses could be avoided if businesses invest in reskilling rather than redundancy. Retraining affected workers into digital and technical roles could save employers up to £757 million in redundancy costs, while also helping to address persistent skills shortages.
Despite high demand for digital talent, more than 12,000 tech vacancies in financial and professional services went unfilled in 2024, the City of London Corporation found.
The report urges employers to prioritise reskilling women currently working in administrative and clerical roles, many of whom already possess valuable organisational, analytical and communication skills that could be redeployed into digital positions.
Upskilling programmes would allow firms to retain institutional knowledge while building a more resilient 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 within the workforce, employers can unlock enormous potential and build stronger, more resilient teams. Focusing on talent, adaptability and opportunity will ensure the UK continues to lead on innovation and remains a global hub for digital excellence.”
The findings come amid growing anxiety about the impact of AI on employment. Recent polling by Randstad suggests that around a quarter of UK workers fear their jobs could disappear within five years because of 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 persist until at least 2035, potentially costing the economy more than £10 billion in lost growth if left unaddressed.
Union leaders and business groups have increasingly called for firms to commit to long-term workforce investment, arguing that training and inclusion will be critical to ensuring AI boosts productivity without deepening inequality.
