8 million UK jobs could be exposed to AI-related disruption, and women are 1.5x more likely than men to need to change jobs because their roles are displaced by AI.
At the same time, women make up less than 20% of the UK’s digital workforce, while 40% of organisations say they cannot find the digital talent they need. Digital talent shortages across financial and professional services and technology could result in £3.3 billion in lost profits over the next decade.
These are some of the findings highlighted in the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce: Policy Recommendations, which examines the impact of AI and automation on the workforce and sets out practical recommendations for helping more women transition into digital careers.
The Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce is an initiative run by the City of London Corporation, chaired by Deputy Caroline Haines CC and co-chaired by Sheridan Ash, Founder and Co-CEO of Tech She Can with the support of RepresentAI. It brings together employers, government, the third sector, academics and policy experts to address two interconnected challenges: the UK’s digital skills shortage and the continued underrepresentation of women in digital careers.
RepresentAI was proud to be involved in the Taskforce and contribute to this important work.
The report highlights the scale and urgency of the challenge:
- 8 million UK jobs could be exposed to AI-related disruption under higher-adoption scenarios.
- 119,000 clerical roles in UK financial and professional services could be displaced by the mid-2030s.
- Women are 1.5x more likely than men to need to change jobs because their roles are displaced by AI.
- Women currently represent less than 20% of the digital workforce.
- 40% of organisations report being unable to find the digital talent they need.
- Digital talent shortages across financial and professional services and technology could result in £3.3 billion in lost profits over the next decade.
Against this backdrop, the report asks an increasingly important question: how do we ensure that people whose roles are disrupted by technology have credible pathways into the new jobs and opportunities it creates?
The Taskforce sets out six policy recommendations, including:
- Creating an Automation and Redundancy Risk Dashboard covering at least 80% of UK occupations, providing better visibility of where technological disruption is likely to occur.
- Developing a comprehensive transition and reskilling strategy for workers in occupations most exposed to automation.
- Connecting publicly funded training much more closely to real employment opportunities, including employer commitments to interview people completing accredited reskilling programmes.
- Incentivising SMEs to recruit women moving into digital careers.
- Improving measurement of employment outcomes following reskilling, so success is measured not simply by course completion but by people securing and sustaining employment.
- Giving employers clearer guidance on developing women-focused digital reskilling programmes within the Equality Act 2010.
From policy to tangible impact: 300 women
One of the most important aspects of the work is the opportunity to translate these recommendations into measurable outcomes.
300 women are due to participate in the TechFirst Women’s Programme.
The Taskforce argues that training must be connected to genuine employment opportunities. It therefore recommends that Government offer 300 SMEs a £7,500 to £10,000 wage subsidy to hire a TechFirst Women’s Programme participant, with a target of at least 60% of placements converting into permanent roles after six months.
The economic case for doing this is significant.
The report estimates that reskilling rather than “firing and hiring” could save an average of £49,025 per employee.
A comprehensive reskilling strategy achieving a 55% employment outcome could generate an estimated £606 million net benefit to the Exchequer over ten years.
The report also estimates that each unfilled digital vacancy is associated with an annual £78,600 productivity loss and £24,500 profitability loss, demonstrating that widening access to digital talent is an economic imperative as well as an inclusion issue.
The message from the report is clear: training alone is not enough.
As AI transforms jobs, successful upskilling and reskilling must ultimately translate into interviews, employment, progression and sustained careers.
Government, employers, training providers and the technology sector all have a role to play in building that bridge.
RepresentAI is proud to have contributed to the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce and its work to build a more inclusive, representative and resilient AI-enabled workforce.
Read the full Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce: Policy Recommendations:
RepresentAI’s next research: understanding the barriers to AI upskilling
Building on this work, RepresentAI is now working with InvestingIn AI to understand the barriers to AI upskilling faced by both individuals and employers.
We want to hear directly from people and organisations about what is preventing individuals from developing the AI skills they need, what barriers employers face in supporting AI upskilling, and what practical interventions could make the greatest difference.
We need your input.
If you are an individual or an employer, please complete the survey and share it with your networks. The broader the participation, the stronger the evidence we can build about what is needed to make AI upskilling accessible and effective.
Complete the Barriers to AI Upskilling survey: https://gailappg.org.uk/barriers-to-ai/
Your contribution will help build the evidence needed to shape practical approaches to AI skills, workforce transition and inclusive participation in the AI economy.
