On April 9th, The MENA Observatory on Responsible AI and the African Observatory on Responsible AI convened the webinar, "AI, Gender and Work: Perspectives from the Middle East and Africa.” This webinar is the third event in our  collaborative series on AI Governance in Africa: “Governing Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East and Africa: Narratives from MENA and African Observatories on Responsible AI.” Moderated by Dr. Nagla Rizk, Founding Director of the Access to Knowledge for Development Center and the MENA Observatory on Responsible AI, this webinar explored the challenges and opportunities for new forms of work in the AI economy with a focus on women. Ultimately, the goal for the webinar was to highlight the need for inclusive approaches to ensure that no one is left behind in the face of automation, with a focus on ensuring that women and marginalized groups have equal opportunities in the AI driven future.

As the world rapidly embraces new technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI), we have seen the emergence of new forms of work. These developments have opened the door for women to access remote work, reducing social and economic gaps as women begin to take on remote work without traditional physical constraints. However, while the advent of new forms of work has the potential to drive economic growth, address development challenges and create opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation, it could also exacerbate existing inequalities. For many, the most dominant concern surrounds their ability to survive job loss to automation or face the multiple challenges embodied in gig work. Unfortunately, these concerns are also often gendered, with women and marginalized groups at risk of being disproportionately affected by such disruptions in labour markets and work environments. 

In the Middle East and Africa, an examination of some of the statistics around women’s participation in the labor market paints an alarming picture. In the MENA region, female unemployment is among the lowest globally standing at 16% in 2023, with Sub-Saharan Africa standing at 6.9%. More so, much of the employment activities performed by women lie in the informal sector. A 2018 ILO report showed that in the MENA region, 64.9% of employed women are in informal forms, accounting for a GDP share of 20% or more. Africa was equally characterized by high levels of informalization, where a 2023 ILO report showed that informal employment constitutes 92% of total female employment and 83% of total female non-agricultural employment.

This disparity is also prevalent in access to technology in what is known as the “gender digital divide.” According to the Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D), only 64% of women in the MENA region compared to 75.1% of men. In Africa only 31.4% of women had access to the internet compared to 43.4% for men. Yet while there is certainly room for improvement, there is still some hope for the region. In MENA, women make up 57% of STEM graduates, while 47% of women account for STEM graduates in Africa. In the MENA’s tech ecosystem, about 34% of entrepreneurs are women; a rate which is believed to be much higher than in Silicon Valley. Despite these positive growth trends, however, women in tech are still underrepresented in the Middle East and fail to translate into the startup and tech ecosystem in Africa as well.

Within this context, Dr. Nagla Rizk pointed out that the abilities of governments to respond to women’s needs are limited due to the lack of qualitative data around their experiences. She posed several questions regarding the future of work in MENA and Africa and the future of women within it:

1. What opportunities are created for women and their work in light of this ongoing transformation and what challenges accompany these opportunities? 
2. How can women in MENA and Africa be better prepared for the changes taking place? (what is needed in areas of education, skilling/ training?) 
3. Can AI and new technologies, algorithms, be more inclusive and offer more equitable opportunities for women? How?  What is needed for this to take place? (How can we design AI systems that empower, rather than exclude, women in the workforce?)

Furthermore, as Dr. Nagla Rizk points out, the abilities of governments to respond to these needs are limited due to the lack of qualitative data around women’s experiences. Offering insights based on empirical studies in Jordan, Dr. Ahmed Awad summarized the barriers to women’s participation in the digital economy as follows:

1. Unequal access to digital tools: Especially in rural areas, poor internet access, poor infrastructure, and limited access to digital tools. 
2. Weak labor standards and social security: New forms of work are often informal in nature, preventing women from accessing decent work and social security. They also face weak working conditions and job insecurity.
3. Risk dignity and privacy for women: Women working online can face cyber bullying. 

For Dr. Manal Jalloul, this reality necessitates up-skilling and empowering women to benefit from new forms of work and AI in the digital economy, even outside the engineering fields. However, as Dr. Angella Ndaka points out, up-skilling women is not sufficient as many of them are not fully aware of how they can benefit from AI. Furthermore, she argued that AI literacy goes beyond teaching people how to code etc. It involves understanding the ethical use, benefits and risks to integrating AI  around work. This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Rose Nakasi, who rightly highlighted the linguistic gap that hinders the inclusivity and accessibility of AI and its development.

The webinar concluded with a call to ensure that the advancements made through technology and AI are enjoyed by all. This requires the empowerment of women through local leadership in communities, developing strong data protection policies and addressing existing barriers to gender equality - unpaid care work, access to mobility and financial inclusion.

Check out the full webinar recording.

The MENA Observatory on Responsible AI is a locally-driven platform aiming to make key contributions to global narratives on responsible data and AI. In February 2024, the MENA Observatory on Responsible AI was launched by the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at AUC, in partnership with the Center for Continuing Education (CCE) at Birzeit University in Palestine, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. The MENA Observatory serves as a regional hub championing MENA voices, providing varied resources in both English and Arabic, and fostering a collaborative network of AI researchers, legal experts and advocates, policy-makers, civil society, and the general public.

Established in 2022, the African Observatory on Responsible Artificial Intelligence promotes African voices, experiences, and value systems in global debates on responsible AI. Scholars in the social sciences and humanities stress that an ‘African’ perspective of AI ethics is crucial to ensure that the development and adoption of these technologies benefit, rather than harm, African societies and ways of living. The African Observatory focuses on inclusive and responsible AI governance, particularly relating to Africa’s colonial history and diverse democratic, constitutional, and legal accountability mechanisms. It operates under the Global Center on AI Governance, which aims to advance local insights for global impact on equitable AI governance through knowledge production and exchange.