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Many industries suffer from gender disparity, and the property sector is no exception. Will the rise of “GenAI” amplify inequality?
A recent report by the International Monetary Fund on the future of work revealed some disturbing research about the connection between artificial intelligence (AI) and social inequality.
High earners, those with a university education, tech-savvy young people and men are all more likely to benefit from the AI transition. Others, however, are likely to find their jobs and livelihoods at risk.
“In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” said IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.
Women are one group that the IMF report identified as being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of AI.
“In most countries, women tend to be employed in high-exposure occupations more than men,” the report said.
About half of women in high-exposure jobs are in “high-complementarity” roles, meaning that AI will complement their work without completely erasing it. The other half of women are in “low-complementarity” jobs, meaning that their occupations could be at risk.
“Because this share is distributed approximately equally between low- and high-complementarity jobs, the result can be interpreted to mean that women face both greater risks and greater opportunities.”
The news comes in the wake of a recent uplift of concern about gender equality in the property sector.
In 2023, a coalition of 23 property companies found that despite making up over 48 per cent of employees, women comprised only 30 per cent of company CEOs.
These figures only calculated the gender balance of the 23 companies that had committed to being “Champions of Change” for gender equality, so the ratio of male to female CEOs across the property sector more broadly is likely far lower.
In 2021, CoreLogic also found that a substantial gender gap exists in home ownership rates. Australian women are less likely to own property, take 10 months longer to save for a deposit, and are more likely to exit property ownership after the dissolution of a marriage.
While the future of Australia’s post-AI workforce is still uncertain, more information about the current status of gender equality in the Australian property sector will soon be available.
In late February, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will release organisation-by-organisation data about the difference in average numeration between men and women, adjusted for differences in hours worked.
All large private employers with over 100 employees will be searchable via the WGEA website from 27 February.
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