The ‘Triple Penalty’ of the AI Economy

Women remain chronically underrepresented in the jobs that are increasingly shaping the AI economy, according to a new report compiled by LinkedIn.

Analysts crunching data from 27 countries found that women hold just 13% of executive AI roles at companies at which at least one-tenth of all jobs are explicitly AI-related. This reflects what researchers describe as a “Triple Penalty” of lower representation in leadership roles, in AI jobs, and across AI companies.

What’s particularly worrying is that each of these barriers, according to the analysis, compounds the others. 

Women’s representation is around 15 percentage points lower in C-suite positions than in more junior roles, nearly 10 points lower in AI jobs than non-AI jobs, and around five points lower at AI companies than at other firms, after accounting for factors including country and role type. It’s a pattern, according to LinkedIn, that’s consistent across virtually every market studied.

“The gender divide in AI isn’t just about who gets into AI,” the report’s authors conclude. “It’s who gets access to the highest-paying opportunities once they’re there.”

The disparity starts well before women reach the executive ranks. Women account for around 39% of director-level and higher positions globally, but only 31% of leadership roles involving AI. Even at entry level, women hold just 29% of AI jobs at AI companies, suggesting that the pipeline feeding future leadership teams is already heavily skewed.

This imbalance is particularly concerning because AI is producing some of the fastest-growing and most lucrative jobs in the labor market.

In the U.S., for example, postings for jobs focused on building AI technology have doubled in recent years. Yet women accounted for only 26% of new hires into AI occupations in 2025, compared with half of hires into non-AI jobs. Among some of the most highly paid positions, women hires represented just 20% of jobs with the title “Head of AI” and 18% of jobs with the title “Member of Technical Staff.”

“The gender divide in AI isn’t just about who gets into AI,” the report’s authors conclude. “It’s who gets access to the highest-paying opportunities once they’re there.”