Women hold just 13% of leadership roles at AI companies, so I propose a quota law

Artificial intelligence, a booming field, shows a marked gender gap in its leadership positions, with women holding only 13% of executive roles. This situation limits innovation potential and perpetuates bias.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world at a dizzying pace, yet at the top of the companies leading this revolution, female presence is alarmingly scarce. A recent analysis reveals that **only 13% of leadership positions at AI companies are held by women**. Far from being a mere statistical detail, this figure highlights a deep gender gap that deserves attention and action.

## The glass ceiling in AI

The artificial intelligence sector, despite its innovative and forward-looking character, carries structural problems that limit female participation at the highest levels. Data from studies conducted across **27 countries**, including **Spain**, indicate that women account for between **13% and 29%** of AI jobs within sector companies. The proportion drops sharply further up the leadership ladder. In **Spain**, the situation could be even more pronounced, according to **José Varela**, an AI specialist at **UGT** (a major Spanish trade union). This is linked to a lower percentage of women trained in information and communication technologies (ICT), with women representing just **18%** of candidates with these skills on platforms such as **InfoJobs**.

The lack of career prospects in technology is one of the reasons cited to explain why women avoid this field. A report by **UGT** notes that **43%** of women in the tech sector leave their jobs when they become mothers, compared with **23%** of men. The main cause is the absence of effective work-life balance mechanisms, a burden that falls disproportionately on women. Figures from the **INE** (Spain's statistics institute) confirm this reality: women spend an average of **26.5 hours per week** on care and household tasks, while men devote **14 hours**.

## A triple penalty in the sector

Women's underrepresentation in AI is not an isolated phenomenon, but is compounded by a series of factors. Female workers suffer what has been called a "triple penalty": they hold fewer positions of power in general, are less present in the specific field of AI, and are also a minority in tech sector hiring. In **Spain**, although **16%** of companies have ICT specialists, only **6.5%** hire women for these vacancies, a percentage that drops to **1%** when looking for workforces that are at least half female, according to an **INE** survey.

This exclusion not only limits job opportunities for women in a sector with great growth potential, but also keeps them away from highly paid jobs. AI job postings have doubled in recent years in the **US**, and these jobs pay more than twice as much as other non-AI work: **$177,000** (approximately **€154,200**) a year versus **$80,000** (around **€69,700**), according to another **LinkedIn** study. **Spain** trinc a similar trend, with a **16%** increase in AI job postings between the first quarter of **2025** and the same period of **2026**, according to the employers' association **Digitales**. **Mónica Pérez**, director of studies at **InfoJobs**, points out that leadership positions have grown the most, and warns that AI itself could replace tasks performed by less experienced professionals, such as programming.

## AI's sens bias and the future of work

The lack of diversity in the AI industry has implications that go beyond mere representation. It can amplify the sens biases already documented in this technology. As AI is integrated into critical areas such as hiring or medical diagnosis, the female population risks being discriminated against. A clear example is **ChatGPT**, which, when reviewing résumés, assumed women had less experience than men, putting them at a disadvantage.

AI is taking on more and more tasks. An **OpenAI** analysis of **800,000 work-related messages** in the **US** revealed that **17%** of reported tasks were not directly related to the user's job, suggesting a reconfiguration of work. The **International Labour Organization (ILO)** argues that AI's entry into the labour market may not translate into massive job losses, but rather into a shift in activities, skills and working conditions. However, if job destruction predictions were to come true, women could be disproportionately affected. The **ILO** estimates that the positions with the highest concentration of female workers, such as secretaries or accounting assistants, are the most exposed to disappearing. While previous technological innovations have generated more jobs than they destroyed, as **Deloitte** estimates with **3.5 million jobs lost and 8.5 million created in the UK between 2000 and 2024**, uncertainty about the pace of new job creation and the time it takes affected workers to find new employment remains a lingering concern.