Women hold 13% of AI C-suite roles, LinkedIn finds

LinkedIn research shows women hold 13% of C-suite AI leadership roles at AI companies across 27 countries. In Australia, the figure is 15%.

The findings point to a broader imbalance across the AI jobs market. Women are less represented in AI roles than in non-AI roles and less visible at the most senior levels of AI-focused businesses.

Women's share in AI roles is about 10 percentage points lower than in non-AI roles, according to the research. Their share of the workforce is also about five percentage points lower at AI-focused companies than at comparable non-AI companies.

The disparity becomes more pronounced higher up the corporate ladder. The gender gap is around 15 percentage points wider at C-suite level than below it, suggesting underrepresentation in entry and mid-level roles carries through into senior leadership.

Hiring gap

In the United States, where LinkedIn examined hiring patterns in more detail, women accounted for 26% of AI hires in 2025, compared with 50% of hires into non-AI occupations.

The imbalance was sharper in some of the highest-paid AI roles. Women made up 20% of Head of AI hires, 26% of Director of AI hires and 18% of Member of Technical Staff hires.

LinkedIn also found AI jobs remain concentrated among people with higher education qualifications. It said 91% of AI workers hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while the share rises above 95% in many of the highest-paid AI occupations, including Head of AI, Director of AI and Member of Technical Staff positions.

The figures come as demand for AI talent rises across the labour market. AI job postings have roughly doubled since 2023, reflecting broader efforts by employers to recruit people with specialist AI skills.

There has also been a shift in the types of AI roles being advertised. AI Engineer has overtaken Machine Learning Engineer as the most common AI role on LinkedIn, while postings for VP of AI have increased roughly sixfold.

Pay divide

The report links the hiring and leadership gap to a broader divide in pay and influence. In the United States, the typical AI job posting listed compensation of about USD $177,000, compared with USD $80,000 for a non-AI role.

Lower participation by women in AI roles can therefore mean less access to some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid work in the market. It also means fewer women are represented in senior positions that help direct AI strategy inside companies.

Australia reflects that broader pattern, despite AI-related roles climbing job-growth rankings. LinkedIn had earlier identified AI Engineer as Australia's top job on the rise, with Director of Artificial Intelligence and Chief Risk Officer also ranking highly.

The research covered 27 countries and focused on AI companies as well as hiring patterns in the wider economy. It highlights both the pace of AI job creation and the uneven way those opportunities are being distributed.

AUD figures were not provided for the Australian market, but the international comparison indicates the economic reward associated with AI work is materially higher than for many other occupations. That has increased scrutiny of who is gaining access to those jobs and who is reaching leadership roles in the sector.

Ahead of publication, LinkedIn framed the issue as extending beyond representation alone. The mix of people hired into AI roles and promoted into senior positions could shape how organisations build products and allocate opportunity in a labour market increasingly influenced by AI.

In research materials, Audrey Lobo-Pulo, Head of Public Policy & Economic Graph, Australia & New Zealand, LinkedIn, said: "AI is creating some of the fastest-growing and highest-value opportunities in the labor market, but women remain underrepresented at every stage: getting hired into AI, reaching its highest-value roles, and leading the companies shaping its future. Our research shows women make up less than a quarter of C-suite executives globally, and just 13% of C-suite AI executives at AI companies. If women are underrepresented in the roles shaping AI, companies and countries are leaving talent, perspective and growth potential on the table. We need to ask what employers, institutions and workforce systems need to do differently so more people can enter and lead in the AI economy."