AI jobs are booming and paying more — but women are being left behind
AI is creating some of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs in the U.S. economy. But new research suggests women are missing out on much of the opportunity.
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AI job postings in the United States have roughly doubled since 2023, according to new LinkedIn research, as companies race to hire workers who can build, deploy and manage artificial intelligence systems.
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The jobs also carry a sizable pay premium: The typical AI posting lists about $177,000 in compensation, more than twice the $80,000 listed for the typical non-AI role.
Yet women accounted for just 26% of U.S. AI hires in 2025, compared with 50% of hires into non-AI occupations.
The disparity becomes even more pronounced at senior levels. Across 27 countries, women hold only 13% of C-suite AI leadership positions at AI companies, LinkedIn found.
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The findings highlight an emerging divide in a corner of the labor market that is rapidly becoming an important source of career advancement and economic opportunity.
LinkedIn's analysis found that women's representation declines at several points along the AI talent pipeline.
Overall, women's share of AI roles is about 10 percentage points lower than their share of non-AI roles. At AI-focused companies, their share of the workforce is about 5 percentage points lower than at comparable companies that aren't focused on AI.
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The largest disparity emerges in leadership. The gender gap is roughly 15 percentage points wider in C-suite positions than in jobs below the executive level.
Women also remain underrepresented in some of the industry's highest-paying occupations. They account for about 20% of Heads of AI, 26% of Directors of AI and 18% of Members of Technical Staff, according to LinkedIn.
Education presents another potential barrier. About 91% of AI workers hold at least a bachelor's degree, and that figure climbs above 95% in several of the best-paid occupations, including Head of AI, Director of AI and Member of Technical Staff.
Big picture view:
AI job postings have roughly doubled since 2023, LinkedIn found. AI Engineer has overtaken Machine Learning Engineer as the most commonly posted AI occupation on the platform, while postings for Vice President of AI have increased roughly sixfold.
Another fast-growing occupation is Forward Deployed Engineer, a role that typically involves working directly with organizations to implement AI technology. It is now the third-most-common AI occupation in job postings.
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The expansion reflects a broader shift in how companies are approaching artificial intelligence. As businesses move from experimenting with AI to deploying it across their operations, demand is growing not only for workers who can develop AI models, but also for people who can turn the technology into practical products and business applications.
The stakes are particularly high because many of the emerging positions are among the labor market's most lucrative.
The typical AI job posting lists approximately $177,000 in compensation, compared with $80,000 for a non-AI job — a difference of about $97,000.
Some of the highest-paying occupations include Head of AI, Director of AI and Member of Technical Staff, positions that also have some of the lowest levels of female representation.
The Source: The information in this story comes primarily from LinkedIn’s 2026 labor-market research and data, including its analyses of the AI talent pipeline, hiring trends, job postings, compensation, education and gender representation. This story was reported from Los Angeles.