AI is creating a wave of new job opportunities. In the U.S. alone, LinkedIn reports that AI job postings have roughly doubled since 2023, and the typical posting lists about $177,000 in compensation compared with $80,000 for a non-AI role.

Yet women made up only 26% of hires in these positions in 2025.

STEM has traditionally been full of male-dominated industries, but with the AI job boom, the gap is much more obvious and pronounced. Women are in the minority in AI hiring, and the gap is even wider at the top, with women accounting for just 13% of C-suite AI leadership roles at AI companies globally.

Some of the highest-paying roles, like head of AI, director of AI, and member of technical staff within AI companies and startups, go mainly to men:

Director of AI: 74% male

Member of technical staff: 82% male

Women Are Disproportionately Represented In AI Power Circles

What I find particularly fascinating is the unequal distribution of economic value within the AI job market. When you double-tap into the data from LinkedIn’s Triple Penalty report, the highest-paying and most senior-level roles as well as the roles with most direct AI impact within AI firms continue to largely exclude women.

Data annotator — the AI job that requires little technical expertise or educational qualifications, is usually comprised of irregular gig or project-based work on freelance marketplace platforms, and is the lowest-paying role —is the only AI occupation with an equal gender balance, where women have a stronger footing in the industry. The share of hires for data annotation positions for women sits at more than 50%, on par with non-AI occupations.

Meanwhile, the share of hires for women in AI roles looks like this:

Member of technical........

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