A Beko-commissioned report warns that AI adoption in manufacturing could reinforce gender inequalities without inclusive policies, training and oversight.

As AI adoption in manufacturing becomes an increasing priority, a new study has found that:

  • An estimated 41.1 per cent of women’s manufacturing employment in the UK is in occupations exposed to generative AI, compared with 23.6 per cent of men’s.
  • Women make up 27.8 per cent of the manufacturing workforce, but they represent 63.4 per cent of those in the most exposed jobs – predominantly in administrative roles, where women outnumber men. Sales and customer service roles also carry significant AI exposure, with women making up half the workforce in these roles.

The research also reveals that women are:

  • More likely than men to believe AI bias harms employee wellbeing (41.1 per cent versus 28.7 per cent), pay and job opportunities (33.3 per cent versus 22.9 per cent), and diversity and inclusion (27.7 per cent versus 17.1 per cent) – differences that persist after accounting for role, company size, age, AI use and expertise.
  • Less likely to trust AI-driven decisions (32.1 per cent versus 42.9 per cent).

The report, The Default Setting: Women, AI and the Future of Work in UK Manufacturing, examines how existing gender imbalances and inequalities could be reproduced as generative AI becomes embedded in business and management processes. It also sets out how these concerns can be mitigated with policies for responsible AI adoption in manufacturing. The research was commissioned by leading home appliance manufacturer Beko. The findings have helped inform and strengthen the company’s existing responsible AI and people policies, while contributing to the development of additional guidance in key areas.

Authored by Zoi Roupakia, an AI and innovation policy expert and founder and director of Noetic AI, The Default Setting combines an original survey of 890 UK manufacturing professionals with a new analysis of ONS employment data and ILO occupational AI exposure data, and a review of the international evidence on AI and women’s careers. The result is a clear picture of how AI adoption in manufacturing is being experienced differently by men and women.

Gender differences in AI adoption in manufacturing

The survey found that, while similar proportions of both genders have witnessed AI bias (24.7 per cent of women and 22.0 per cent of men):

  • Women are more likely than men to identify flawed hiring decisions (28.3 per cent compared with 20.5 per cent) and loss of talent through recruitment or promotion decisions (16.7 per cent compared with 11.5 per cent) as potential consequences.
  • 24.4 per cent of women, compared with 10.2 per cent of men, identify the limited representation of women in both the AI industry and manufacturing roles as a key barrier to addressing AI bias.
  • Concern about AI-related pay inequality is almost as high among women aged 22–29 (34.9 per cent) as those in their 50s (39.0 per cent), despite younger women facing a manufacturing pay gap of just 7.6 per cent compared with 20.0 per cent for women in their 50s.

Building trust in AI adoption in manufacturing

Most workers are in the dark about what their employer is doing: 58 per cent of respondents are unaware of any measures their company is taking to address AI bias, and around half of women and men believe their company is doing too little to prepare for AI. Yet there is agreement on one point: 87 per cent of both women and men want AI systems to be more transparent.

The report also finds that greater organisational preparedness is associated with higher trust in AI-driven decisions, but not with lower concern about pay and job opportunities. Training and readiness can help build confidence in AI, but they do not, on their own, address all the concerns.

Respondents also described instances in which they witnessed bias. For example, a female senior manager at a manufacturing SME said: “When sifting through CVs for a technical managerial position, AI seemed to prefer proposing male candidates. When I double-checked AI’s recommendations for the position, I found a more suitable female candidate did exist among the CVs supplied.”

Zoi Roupakia, founder and director of Noetic AI, said:

“It’s important to be clear that this report does not conclude that AI is taking women’s jobs in manufacturing. Rather, it shows that women are disproportionately represented in some of the occupations most exposed to AI-driven task change, which could affect how they work. The most exposed roles are not on the production line: they are in administrative and customer service occupational groups where women outnumber men in UK manufacturing.

“Adoption still remains at an early stage, so the decisions that will determine whether AI widens or narrows opportunities for women are being made now, in how employers introduce the technology, redesign work and govern these systems. To avoid ‘the default setting’, we must ensure that AI adoption widens access to skills, fair treatment, participation and progression, rather than reproducing existing inequalities in the structure of work.”

Teresa Arbuckle, regional managing director of Beko UK & Ireland, said:

“AI, used in partnership with human expertise and decision making, presents a significant opportunity to help manufacturing businesses become more efficient and productive. But this should not be at the cost of greater representation. We need to take everyone on this journey, regardless of gender, and we want to see more women enter manufacturing businesses and continue to progress into leadership and specialist roles. This report sets out a blueprint for how we can achieve both goals, without one undermining the other.”

Practical recommendations for inclusive adoption

The Default Setting includes a series of practical recommendations to ensure that AI adoption in manufacturing widens access to skills, fair treatment and progression for women rather than reproducing existing inequalities. It also sets out actions for policymakers.

Beko UK has reviewed the report’s recommendations and is using the findings to strengthen existing practices and inform the continued development of its responsible AI and people policies, including:

  1. Planning for responsible AI adoption in manufacturing through governance, risk assessment, auditing and monitoring processes, while considering impacts on different employee groups, including women.
  2. A company-wide approach to using AI to support and enhance human decision-making, while ensuring people retain oversight, responsibility and accountability.
  3. Providing employees with training on the use and impact of AI, alongside ongoing learning and development opportunities to help those in affected roles build new skills and continue to progress as the business evolves.
  4. Continuing to include women in decision-making on AI through the leadership team and networks within the business.
  5. Following a responsible AI programme which states that “Fairness, bias and ethical Assessment AI systems are designed and monitored to reduce unjustified bias and avoid unfair or discriminatory outcomes.

Arbuckle added:

“As the world of work changes, and we explore how AI can support our business and customers, we are continuing to strengthen the policies, training and support available to our people, ensuring those most affected by change are considered and are able to benefit from the opportunities it creates. It is essential that the progress we have made on women’s representation is embedded into the new processes and technologies that we adopt.”

To download a copy of the report, visit bekoplc.com.

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