Women are gaining ground in the economy, but remain underrepresented in the industries shaping its future. As artificial intelligence transforms jobs and the United States and Europe rethink prosperity, will women help define the next economic era—or adapt to decisions made by others? The Women’s Forum Paris 2026, on November 17, brings this debate into focus.
American women working full-time, year-round earned 83.9 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, women accounted for just 26% of AI hires in 2025, according to LinkedIn research published in 2026.
These figures reveal a contradiction. Women have made progress in education, employment and leadership, yet remain underrepresented in some of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the economy. AI is changing how companies operate, how workers are hired and how value is created. Those who develop and direct these technologies will influence how opportunities are distributed.
That is the broader debate behind the Women’s Forum Paris 2026, organized around “Prosperity: AI, Climate & the Forces Reshaping the Equation.” The central question: Who gets to decide what prosperity looks like?
What Does Prosperity Mean in America—and in Europe?
The United States and Europe have historically approached economic opportunity through different traditions. The American narrative emphasizes entrepreneurship, individual achievement and upward mobility. European economies, although diverse, have generally placed more weight on public services, social protections and solidarity. Neither approach has eliminated gender inequality.
In the United States, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for the third quarter of 2026 show median weekly earnings of $1,127 for women working full-time, compared with $1,352 for men. Across the European Union, women’s average gross hourly earnings were 11.1% below men’s in 2024, according to Eurostat. These statistics use different measures and should not be treated as a direct transatlantic ranking.
Differences become visible in the policies that enable women to sustain careers. The United States has no nationwide paid maternity leave entitlement for private-sector employees; access to paid leave depends on employers and state programs. European countries generally provide broader statutory protections, although childcare availability, career interruptions and unequal caregiving responsibilities continue to restrict opportunities.
Healthcare, childcare, parental leave and financing are not merely social-policy debates. They shape who can work, found a company, pursue a promotion or accumulate wealth. The real choice is not between American entrepreneurship and European solidarity; it is how to build institutions that turn women’s skills and ambitions into lasting financial independence.
Will Artificial Intelligence Create Opportunities for Women—or Deepen Inequality?
AI promises changes in productivity, business organization and growth. It may open new pathways to entrepreneurship and professional development. But the distribution of its benefits is not automatic.
According to LinkedIn’s 2026 analysis, women made up only 26% of AI hires in 2025, against 50% of non-AI hires. They accounted for 20% of Head of AI roles and 26% of Director of AI roles. The 2026 Stanford AI Index, using a different definition, estimated women at 34.3% of AI talent in the United States in 2025.
These differences in measurement do not change the underlying concern: women are less represented among professionals creating and directing technologies that increasingly influence decisions in finance, healthcare, education and recruitment.
When women are missing from development teams and decision-making positions, they have less opportunity to shape the priorities and assumptions embedded in those systems. This does not mean AI must deepen inequality. It means training, recruitment, product design and governance matter.
At the Women’s Forum, researchers and employers—including specialists from the OECD and HEC Paris—will examine the future of work and human agency in the age of AI. The important question is not only how many women can use AI, but how many can help decide what it is used for.
Technological progress does not automatically produce social progress. Its benefits are distributed through human choices.
Why Women’s Economic Power Remains the Missing Piece?
Women’s economic empowerment is often discussed through pay, employment rates and representation in leadership. Yet economic power also means controlling financial resources, accessing capital, building businesses and influencing institutions.
Barriers can accumulate. Expensive childcare limits working hours. Career interruptions can reduce retirement savings and advancement opportunities. Restricted access to financing prevents entrepreneurs from expanding companies. Those disadvantages can reinforce each other over decades.
The picture also changes when gender is examined alongside race. Analyses by the National Women’s Law Center show major earnings disparities for women of color compared with non-Hispanic white men. A single national average cannot capture these different experiences.
Health is another part of economic participation. Conditions that affect women’s working lives can influence career continuity, promotion and financial security, while workplace policies do not always acknowledge those realities. These issues intersect with debates over health insurance, family leave and childcare—questions that also feature in The Women’s Voices’ coverage of the 2026 U.S. midterms.
Economic success should therefore be measured not only by wealth generated, but by whether those historically excluded can gain resources and authority. The challenge is not simply to bring women into the economy. It is to give them a fair share of the wealth and decision-making power it creates.
Can Prosperity Survive Without Trust and Reliable Information?
Economic decisions depend on another essential resource: trustworthy information. Employers need accurate signals for investment. Workers need reliable knowledge about changing jobs. Citizens need independent reporting to evaluate policies and hold institutions accountable.
AI makes it easier to generate convincing synthetic content, while digital platforms can spread misleading narratives rapidly. Political polarization further challenges confidence in shared facts. How can citizens distinguish reporting from manipulation, and how can journalism continue to scrutinize power?
These questions are central to “Why Truth Matters for Progress,” a Women’s Forum session between Cynthia Illouz, founder of The Women’s Voices, and Saskya Vandoorne, CNN’s Paris Bureau Chief. They will explore investigative reporting, pressure on journalism and the effect of technology on public debate.
The consequences reach women’s economic and political participation. When information is distorted, people struggle to assess choices about employment, healthcare, education and equality. Independent journalism makes it possible to challenge the institutions responsible for those decisions.
For more than a decade, The Women’s Voices has been a media partner of the Women’s Forum, following discussions about women’s representation and access to power. Its past reporting from the Forum reflects that editorial commitment.
The Women’s Forum Paris 2026 will bring together influential voices from business, politics, academia and international organizations. Among the speakers are Nannette Lafond Dufour, President of the Women’s Forum and Chief Impact Officer at Publicis Groupe; Agnès Pannier-Runacher, former French Minister; Monika Queisser, Head of Social Policy at the OECD; and Olivier Sibony, Professor at HEC Paris. Business leaders including Barbara Sessa of Mastercard, Hiba Fares, CEO of RATP Dev and Emma Codd of Deloitte will contribute perspectives on economic inclusion, artificial intelligence, leadership and sustainability. Together, their contributions reflect a central challenge facing both American and European economies: turning commitments to gender equality into measurable economic and social progress.
As AI transforms labor markets and governments reconsider economic priorities, the issue is no longer whether women contribute to prosperity. The question is whether they will have an equal share of the money, influence and decision-making power that shape the next economy.