Page 45 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Figure 1: Skills Demand in 2020

Source: Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum

Box A: Gender Gaps and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The 10th edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap

Report 2015 revealed two worrying trends. First, at the current pace of
progress, it will take another 118 years before economic gender parity is
achieved around the world. Second, progress towards parity is remarkably
slow, and possibly stalling.

In light of this, it is critical to consider the impact of the fourth industrial
revolution on the gender gap. How will the accelerating pace of change in

technologies that span the physical, digital and biological worlds affect the
role that women are able to play in the economy, politics and society?

An important question to consider is whether female-dominated or male-
dominated professions are more susceptible to automation. The Forum’s
Future of Jobs report indicates that significant job losses are likely to span

both types. While there has tended to be more unemployment due to
automation in sectors in which men dominate such as manufacturing,
construction and installation, the increasing capabilities of artificial
intelligence and the ability to digitize tasks in service industries indicate

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