A new research brief from the International Labour Organization (ILO) reveals that more than one in four jobs in the Philippines—approximately 12.7 million positions—are exposed to generative artificial intelligence (AI), the highest rate among ASEAN countries with comparable data.
While exposure to AI does not mean jobs will disappear overnight, the ILO cautions that many roles will undergo rapid and sometimes disruptive transformation, requiring new skills, stronger worker protections, and deliberate policy responses.
A key concern highlighted by the research is that the impact of AI is not gender-neutral.
According to the ILO, women in the Philippines face twice the rate of AI exposure compared to men, particularly young and educated women employed in clerical, administrative, and service occupations—jobs that are highly susceptible to automation or fundamental change. The risks are most pronounced in regions such as Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, where digital and business process services are concentrated.
“Without targeted action, AI could widen existing inequalities, reinforcing barriers that women and young people already face due to poverty, informality, or conflict,” the ILO noted. “But this outcome is not inevitable.”
The organization emphasized that AI can also become a powerful equalizer if it is governed responsibly and inclusively. Through ILO programmes supported by development partners, women-led enterprises in Iloilo, Pampanga, and Siargao Island are already leveraging digital hubs, e-commerce platforms, and AI-enabled tools to expand their businesses, boost productivity, and increase incomes.
These initiatives, supported through partnerships with the Government of Japan and the United Nations Joint Programme Digital PINAS, demonstrate that the primary constraint facing women is not talent, but access—to skills, technology, finance, and opportunity.
The ILO also highlighted individual success stories, including a young Filipina who received an ILO-supported scholarship in web development through a partnership with J.P. Morgan. With sustained support, she transitioned into robotic process automation and now works as an automation developer in Europe—an example of what becomes possible when pathways into STEM and digital careers are opened.
“These stories are not exceptions,” the ILO stressed. “They show what can happen when systems keep pace with change instead of holding people back.”
As the world marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, themed Synergizing AI, Social Science, STEM and Finance, the ILO underscored the urgency of intentional action. The future of work shaped by AI, it warned, will not be inclusive by default.
The ILO’s research identifies several priority actions:
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Investing in AI and digital skills for women and youth
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Embedding STEM pathways early in education
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Supporting workers through job transitions
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Financing women-led innovation and enterprises
Women and young people, the organization emphasized, must be recognized not only as workers adapting to AI, but as innovators shaping how AI is designed and used.
“If we want AI to create decent work rather than deepen divides, we must act now,” the ILO concluded. “AI can raise productivity and job quality—but only if no one is left behind.”
The future of work is being built today. The choice, the ILO noted, is whether societies build it with inclusion, dignity, and social justice at its core, or allow old inequalities to be embedded into new technologies.
