Algorithms of Patriarchy: How AI Reinforces the Precarization of Women’s Work

This article investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) and the expansion of Big Tech companies contribute to the precarization of women’s labor, drawing on social reproduction theory. It argues that digital technologies do not democratize opportunities but rather update the logic of the “female labor reserve,” in which women are incorporated into low-paid, unstable, and socially undervalued roles and discarded during times of crisis. Social reproduction theory enables an understanding of the connection between productive and reproductive labor under capitalism, revealing how women’s integration into the technological labor market is conditioned by this dual form of exploitation. The article employs a critical literature review and recent market data showing that, although women represent less than one-third of the workforce in technology companies, they accounted for around 45% of those laid off during recent mass dismissals, being 65% more likely than men to lose their jobs, especially in areas such as HR, marketing, and customer service, which are more exposed to automation. It concludes that AI does not neutralize historical inequalities but instead deepens mechanisms of exploitation already identified by social reproduction theory, demanding policy responses that integrate gender, class, and race.