New data from LinkedIn, reported Tuesday by Axios, indicates that women comprised just over one-quarter of new hires in artificial intelligence roles in the United States in 2025, compared with roughly half of new hires in non-AI occupations.
What the data shows
AI roles are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying positions in the country at a time when the broader labor market is relatively sluggish. According to LinkedIn’s analysis, 74% of new hires in AI roles in 2025 were men and 26% were women. The pattern suggests women are underrepresented in the AI workforce expansion and therefore less likely to enter the most lucrative and decision-making positions.
Pay and gender breakdowns
To obtain hiring information, LinkedIn analyzed member profiles; to estimate compensation it examined job listings. The results show that the highest-paying roles tend to have a larger share of men.
- A role labeled “member of technical staff,” common in AI labs and often situated at the intersection of advanced research and full-stack engineering, was particularly male-dominated: 82% of new hires for that role in 2025 were men. The median listed pay for that role this year is $223,000.
- By contrast, the data annotator position has a median listed pay of $51,000 and is roughly split 50/50 between men and women.
Why it matters
Women have long been underrepresented in the technology sector, especially in leadership and technical roles. LinkedIn’s findings suggest the AI boom may widen that divide: women might participate in the AI economy overall, but are less likely to occupy roles that drive long-term economic mobility, leadership, and decision-making power.
Sarah Steinberg, head of global public policy partnerships at LinkedIn, wrote in an email to Axios: “Women may be included in the AI economy, but not in the roles most likely to drive long-term economic mobility, leadership, and decision-making power.”
Limitations and context
While AI is a growing and economically significant sector, AI jobs still represent a relatively small slice of the total labor market. Nonetheless, the data clearly indicate that growth in AI employment is not gender-balanced, with potential implications for broader workforce inequality.
(Data: LinkedIn; Table: Danielle Alberti/Axios.)
