New research suggests the way AI is introduced could reinforce existing inequalities in hiring, pay and progression if employers fail to take a proactive approach
As AI adoption becomes an increasing priority across industry, a new study has found that:
- An estimated 41.1% of women’s manufacturing employment in the UK is in occupations exposed to generative AI, compared with 23.6% of men’s
- Women make up 27.8% of the manufacturing workforce, but they represent 63.4% of those in the most exposed jobs – predominantly in administrative roles, where women outnumber men. Sales and customer service roles also carry significant AI exposure, with women making up half the workforce in these roles.
The research also reveals that women are:
- More likely than men to believe AI bias harms: employee wellbeing (41.1% vs 28.7%), pay and job opportunities (33.3% vs 22.9), diversity and inclusion (27.7% vs 17.1%) – differences that persist after accounting for role, company size, age, AI use and expertise
- Less likely to trust AI-driven decisions (32.1% vs 42.9%)
The report, The Default Setting: Women, AI and the Future of Work in UK Manufacturing, examines how existing gender imbalances and inequalities could be reproduced as generative AI becomes embedded in business and management processes. It also sets out how these concerns can be mitigated with responsible AI adoption policies. The research was commissioned by leading home appliance manufacturer Beko. The findings have helped inform and strengthen the company’s existing responsible AI and people policies, while contributing to the development of additional guidance in key areas.
Authored by Zoi Roupakia, an AI and innovation policy expert, Founder and Director of Noetic AI, The Default Setting combines an original survey of 890 UK manufacturing professionals with a new analysis of ONS employment data and ILO occupational AI exposure data, and a review of the international evidence on AI and women’s careers. The result is a clear picture of how AI adoption is being experienced differently by men and women in the sector.
The survey found that, while similar numbers in both genders have witnessed AI bias (24.7% of women, 22.0% of men):
- Women are more likely than men to identify flawed hiring decisions (28.3% compared with 20.5%) and loss of talent through recruitment or promotion decisions (16.7% compared with 11.5%) as potential consequences
- 4% of women, compared with 10.2% of men, identify the limited representation of women in both the AI industry and manufacturing roles as a key barrier to addressing AI bias
- Concern about AI-related pay inequality is almost as high among women aged 22–29 (34.9%) as those in their 50s (39.0%), despite them facing a manufacturing pay gap of just 7.6% at that age compared with 20.0% for women in their 50s
Most workers are in the dark about what their employer is doing: 58% of respondents are unaware of any measures their company is taking to address AI bias, and around half of women and men believe their company is doing too little to prepare for AI. Yet there is agreement on one point: 87% of both women and men want AI systems to be more transparent.
The report also finds that greater organisational preparedness is associated with higher trust in AI-driven decisions, but not with lower concern about pay and job opportunities. Training and readiness can help build confidence in AI, but they do not, on their own, address all the concerns.
Respondents also described instances in which they witnessed bias. For example, a female Senior Manager at a Manufacturing SME said: “When sifting through CVs for a technical managerial position, AI seemed to prefer proposing male candidates. When I double-checked AI’s recommendations for the position, I found a more suitable female candidate did exist among the CVs supplied.”
Zoi Roupakia, Founder and Director of Noetic AI, said:
“It’s important to be clear that this report does not conclude that AI is taking women’s jobs in manufacturing. Rather, it shows that women are disproportionately represented in some of the occupations most exposed to AI-driven task change, which could affect how they work. The most exposed roles are not on the production line: they are in administrative and customer service occupational groups where women outnumber men in UK manufacturing.
“Adoption still remains at an early stage, so the decisions that will determine whether AI widens or narrows opportunities for women are being made now, in how employers introduce the technology, redesign work and govern these systems. To avoid ‘the default setting’, we must ensure that AI adoption widens access to skills, fair treatment, participation and progression, rather than reproducing existing inequalities in the structure of work.”
Teresa Arbuckle, Regional Managing Director of Beko UK & Ireland, said:
“AI, used in partnership with human expertise and decision making, presents a significant opportunity to help manufacturing businesses become more efficient and productive. But this should not be at the cost of greater representation. We need to take everyone on this journey, regardless of gender, and we want to see more women enter manufacturing businesses and continue to progress into leadership and specialist roles. This report sets out a blueprint for how we can achieve both goals, without one undermining the other.”
The Default Setting includes a series of practical recommendations for manufacturers to ensure that AI adoption widens access to skills, fair treatment and progression for women rather than reproducing existing inequalities. It also sets out actions for policymakers.
Beko UK has reviewed the report’s recommendations and is using the findings to strengthen existing practices and inform the continued development of its responsible AI and people policies, including:
- Planning for responsible AI adoption through governance, risk assessment, auditing and monitoring processes, while considering impacts on different employee groups, including women.
- A company-wide approach to using AI to support and enhance human decision making, while ensuring people retain oversight, responsibility and accountability.
- Providing employees with training on the use and impact of AI, alongside ongoing learning and development opportunities to help those in affected roles build new skills and continue to progress as the business evolves.
- Continuing to include women in decision making on AI through the leadership team and networks within the business
- Following a responsible AI programme which states that “Fairness, bias and ethical Assessment AI systems are designed and monitored to reduce unjustified bias and avoid unfair or discriminatory outcomes.
Arbuckle added:
“As the world of work changes, and we explore how AI can support our business and customers, we are continuing to strengthen the policies, training and support available to our people, ensuring those most affected by change are considered and are able to benefit from the opportunities it creates. It is essential that the progress we have made on women’s representation is embedded into the new processes and technologies that we adopt.”
To download a copy of the report, visit: bekoplc.com
