[OPINION] Women, youth must not be left behind as AI changes the way we work​

After nearly a decade working in the Philippines, I have seen two very different futures unfolding side by side. I have walked through fast-growing business districts and high-rise offices in Metro Manila, and I have travelled to places like the Bangsamoro, where too many children are still pushed into labor instead of classrooms.

These contrasts raise an uncomfortable but urgent question: When the future of work arrives faster than expected, who gets left behind?

That question matters now more than ever, as generative artificial intelligence (AI) begins to reshape work across the Philippines.

A new research brief by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that more than one in four jobs, or around 12.7 million in total, are exposed to generative AI in the Philippines — the highest rate among ASEAN countries with comparable data. Exposure does not mean jobs will disappear overnight. Most will not. But many will change, sometimes quickly, sometimes painfully, demanding new skills, better protection, and deliberate policy choices.

What concerns me most is this: the shift is not gender-neutral.

The same ILO research shows that women in the Philippines face twice the rate of AI exposure as men, particularly young and educated women concentrated in clerical, administrative, and service roles — occupations that AI can automate or fundamentally transform. In regions such as Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, where digital and business services dominate, women shoulder a disproportionate share of the risk.

Without targeted action, AI could widen existing inequalities, reinforcing barriers that women and young people already face due to poverty, informality, or conflict. Yet this outcome is not inevitable. The same technology can also be a powerful equalizer if we choose to govern it well.

I have seen this possibility firsthand. Through ILO programs supported by development partners, women-led enterprises in Iloilo, Pampanga, and Siargao Island are using digital hubs, e-commerce platforms, and AI-enabled tools to grow their businesses, increase sales, and raise productivity. Under our partnership with the government of Japan, and now through the United Nations Joint Programme Digital PINAS, these women have shown something important: the real constraint is not talent, but access. Systems that fail to keep pace with change hold people back far more than technology ever could.

I am reminded of a young woman who once received an ILO-supported scholarship to study web development under a partnership with JP Morgan. With the right support, she built her skills, moved into robotic process automation, and today works as an automation developer in Europe. Her story is not exceptional — it is a clear example of what becomes possible when barriers are removed and pathways into STEM and digital careers are opened.

As a father to a daughter, these changes matter deeply to me. When a girl is given access to quality education, relevant skills, and decent work, she does not merely adapt to new technologies, she helps shape them. Yet for many girls in the Philippines, especially those growing up in poverty or conflict-affected areas, that future remains frustratingly out of reach.

This is why the 2026 International Day of Women and Girls in Science, with its focus on Synergizing AI, Social Science, STEM and Finance, is so timely. The future of work shaped by AI will not be inclusive by default. Inclusion must be designed through policy, investment, and social dialogue.

The ILO’s research points to clear priorities: investing in AI and digital skills for women and youth; embedding STEM pathways early in education; supporting workers through transitions; and financing women-led innovation and enterprises. Women and young people should not be treated merely as workers adapting to AI, but as innovators shaping how it is used.

If we want AI to create decent work rather than deepen divides, we must act now. The message from the ILO’s new research is clear: AI can raise productivity and job quality, but only if no one is left behind.

The future of work is being built today. The real question is whether we build it with inclusion, dignity, and social justice at its core or allow old inequalities to be hard-wired into new technologies.

The choice is ours. – Rappler.com

Khalid Hassan is the director of the International Labour Organization Country Office for the Philippines.