Published on: 2026-06-23
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Ana Karmo
22 June 2026 Women
Artificial intelligence reproduces outdated notions about the role of women in society.
Artificial intelligence today increasingly influences how we work, communicate, and receive information. But old prejudices persist. In the structure “UN Women” warned: new technologies reproduce gender stereotypes, increase violence on the internet, and exclude women from decision-making that will shape the digital future.
The warning sounded against the backdrop of research showing that generative AI has rapidly entered the everyday lives of billions of people – from writing emails to preparing campaigns and presentations, but existing forms of inequality are also being reinforced through discriminatory algorithms. In the UK alone, 88 percent of advertising and media companies already use such technologies in one form or another.
On the eve of the UN Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance and the “AI for Good” summit, which will take place in early July in Geneva, UN Women called on governments, companies, and developers to consider gender equality already at the stage of design, implementation, and regulation of AI systems.
Gender and racial biases
The collected data shows that the problem is of a widespread nature. A study of 133 artificial intelligence systems revealed: in 44 percent of cases, gender bias is observed, and in more than a quarter of the systems, both gender and racial discrimination are simultaneously detected.
Large language models have repeatedly associated women with home, family, and childcare, whereas men are associated with business, leadership, and career success. In some cases, AI has produced answers depicting women as sexual objects or subservient to men.
According to data from “UN Women”, when researchers asked language models to simply continue a sentence starting with an indication of a person’s gender, approximately every fifth answer contained sexist or misogynistic elements. Some answers even described women as property or objects.
This is not a system error
Experts emphasize: this is not about a random glitch or a technical error, but about a pattern that repeats in various systems. As noted in “UN Women,” such results are predictable: models are trained on a huge corpus of texts reflecting decades of unequal representation of men and women.
In an interview with the UN News Service, UN Women expert on digital technologies Jayathma Wickramanayake explained that AI models “inherit biases that for decades have been manifested in texts written by people about people — in the world where women were associated with home and family, and men — with business and career.” According to her, the most worrying thing is that this is not a technical defect: “It is a serious gap in public policy.”
Out of 138 countries included in the study, only 24 mention the gender aspect in the national strategy for the development of AI, and only 18 provide specific measures to ensure gender equality.
The expert emphasizes: the problem will not disappear on its own after another software update. In their opinion, this is the result of decisions that are repeatedly made during data selection for training, product development, and policy formation.
Rise of violence on the internet
For many women and girls, the risks go far beyond stereotypes. Women today face disproportionately high levels of violence on the internet, and the development of AI makes some of its forms easier to create and spread. According to UN Women, almost one in four surveyed women – human rights defenders, activists, or journalists – reported that they have been subjected to online violence using AI tools. Twelve percent said that personal images were spread without consent, and six percent became victims of deepfakes or altered photos and videos.
As AI-generated content becomes the norm, concerns are growing that harassment, manipulation, and misuse of images will become increasingly difficult to detect and prevent.
There are still no women among those who create technology
At the same time, women remain underrepresented in the sector where such technologies are developed. According to the International Labour Organization, women make up only 30 percent of the global workforce in the field of artificial intelligence.
In “UN Women” they warn: people who create these systems do not reflect the diversity of the society for which they are intended. Without more active participation of women and other underrepresented population groups, existing prejudices risk becoming entrenched in future technology.
Economic consequences
The impact of AI on the labor market may also be uneven. Women work in professions almost twice as often as men that fall under high automation risk beyond the field of artificial intelligence. The situation may be exacerbated by other factors – race, disability, level of education, and place of residence.
As the labor market transforms, UN Women warns: without purposeful measures, already vulnerable population groups may become even further removed from future opportunities.
Inclusivity is beneficial for business
Fighting prejudice is not only a matter of human rights, according to “UN Women”, but also an economic necessity.
The Unstereotype Alliance initiative’s research showed that advertising without gender stereotypes delivers better commercial results. Companies that use an inclusive approach demonstrate higher sales growth, greater customer loyalty, and stronger market positions.
In June 2026, the initiative presented a practical guide that helps marketers identify bias even before the publication of materials created using generative AI.
The choice that will determine the future
In “UN Women,” they emphasize: when it comes to responsible AI, it is capable not of reinforcing stereotypes, but of identifying and expanding the representation of different groups and making technologies more accessible. Whether this happens depends on who is involved in creating the systems and whose experience is taken into account in their development.
The organization calls to integrate the principles of gender equality, as well as the rights and experiences of women and girls at all stages of the artificial intelligence life cycle – from development to implementation and regulation.
The message before the July meetings in Geneva sounds clear: if women and girls are not involved in shaping the future UN, the inequality of the past may carry over into the technology of tomorrow.
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