Thousands of women aged 40 to 65 across various industries are reporting struggles to find work, with many believing AI-powered recruitment tools are contributing to the problem. This follows a social media post by Stacey Duguid, 52, who shared her 16-month struggle to find a job, prompting an overwhelming response from other women facing similar experiences.
Many women, some with decades of senior experience, have submitted numerous CVs only to receive automated rejections or no response. Koeyli Jaluka, 49, who has applied for 442 jobs in nine months, believes tighter budgets, AI screening, and increasingly narrow hiring criteria are all contributing factors. Some career coaches are advising women to remove the first 10 years of work from their CVs to avoid appearing to have worked for too long.
The City of London Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce has expressed concerns about the growing use of AI in recruitment and its impact on women. Their research indicates significant worry that AI used to screen applications may not recognise the skills experienced women can offer. Caroline Haines, Chair of the taskforce, stated that AI at the initial recruitment level may not account for the skills of a vast body of women who could be very effective and promote economic growth.
AI lawyer Laura Holden noted that companies often do not understand how these tools work, which could cause "significant harm." She highlighted that a lack of global regulation makes it difficult to determine bias, with tools sometimes grading CVs or flagging career gaps, potentially influencing decisions unfairly. Dr. Eleanor Drage, a senior researcher at the University of Cambridge, believes concerns about AI disadvantaging women in recruitment are "very justified," arguing that human recruiters are better at recognising the value of candidates returning from career breaks.