AI, climate change may exacerbate gender inequality in education and employment, OIF rep says

The development of AI and climate change could exacerbate inequality in women's education and employment if these risks are not addressed in a timely manner during the development of public policy, representative of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), Sandra Coulibaly Leroy, said at the 7th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Report informs.

"Trends do not emerge one by one - they intersect and simultaneously impact the life of the same person," she noted, emphasizing that climate change, technological development, and cultural factors have a complex impact on the situation of girls and women.

Leroy drew attention to the consequences of climate threats for education. According to the UNICEF data she cited, in 2025, climate events disrupted the learning process for one in ten students globally.

Speaking about the development of artificial intelligence, the OIF representative noted that new technologies can expand girls' access to education, for example, through personalized learning. At the same time, automation can threaten jobs in the administrative and office sectors, where many women are employed.

According to her, in high-income countries, the proportion of women working in professions most vulnerable to the risk of automation is almost three times higher than the corresponding figure for men.

Leroy also pointed out a contradiction related to the development of AI: professions involving care for people, which are difficult to replace with technology, still remain among the lowest paid.