The gendered impact of AI in the C-suite

With AI roles doubling since 2023, women remain alarmingly underrepresented in what is both a reflection of the technology itself and an exacerbation of existing inequalities.

The productivity, economic, and employment benefits of AI in the workplace are not impacting everyone equally.

According to new LinkedIn research, women are consistently locked out of senior, AI-related roles, with significant implications for career advancement, pay, and the ability to effect change.

A survey of women in AI companies from 27 countries found that only 13 per cent of C-suite AI roles are held by women, with Australia only doing marginally better at 15 per cent.

The research revealed that women are worse off in AI company workforces, with their share of these roles 10 percentage points lower than that of non-AI roles, and their share of the workforce 5 per cent lower.

Further, it is not the roles themselves that are deficient, with AI becoming an increasingly significant source of career growth and economic opportunity that is not impacting women at large. In the US, women accounted for approximately a quarter of AI hires in 2025, compared to 50 per cent for non-AI occupations.

And with typical remuneration almost $100,000 higher than that of a non-AI role, this would suggest women are being paid less the more technology is implemented.

According to LinkedIn’s head of public policy and economic graph for ANZ, Audrey Lobo-Pulo, women are having trouble at every stage of the talent pipeline, from being hired to reaching high-value roles and being able to implement change within the company.

She said: “If women are underrepresented in the roles shaping AI, companies and countries are leaving talent, perspective and growth potential on the table. We need to ask what employers, institutions and workforce systems need to do differently so more people can enter and lead in the AI economy.”

The research found three main barriers to AI C-suite roles at AI companies: the leadership penalty drops women down 15 percentage points in C-suite roles, the AI role penalty 10 percentage points, and the AI firm penalty another 5 percentage points.

The combination of these factors triples the penalty effect, resulting in the 13 per cent proportion of women in C-suite AI roles.

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