Gendered Effects of Robotisation on Job Quality

Abstract

This paper examines whether industrial robotisation is associated with gender-differentiated patterns in job quality across Europe. We combine individual-level data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021 with country–industry measures of robot exposure constructed from International Federation of Robotics (IFR) statistics. Job quality is captured along three dimensions—work intensity, physical risks, and autonomy—using harmonised EWCTS job-quality recodes. We estimate weighted logit models with individual and job controls as well as country and industry fixed effects, allowing robotisation effects to differ by gender through interaction terms. Overall, robot exposure is only weakly related to job-quality outcomes once controls and fixed effects are included. However, these associations are heterogeneous across dimensions: robotisation is associated with lower physical risks for both genders, a persistent female disadvantage in work intensity, and a narrowing gender gap in autonomy as robot exposure increases.