Artificial intelligence (AI) is arriving in local government bringing challenges and opportunities which will transform the workplace and affect women in particular, says Anna Triponel, human rights expert and the founder of Human Level.

Most councils are now using or exploring AI tools which can take minutes, draft reports, summarise case files and analyse planning data – all helping to manage growing service demand – according to a Local Government Association (LGA) survey.

For local authorities facing stretched budgets and growing demands, the promise of efficiency that AI provides is compelling. But AI also creates a timely opportunity to ensure the transformation strengthens opportunities for women.

Local government occupies a unique position in the country’s AI transition.

Councils are not just adopting modern technologies internally. They are also major employers, skills development leaders, providers of public services, and procurers and market shapers.

How councils act across these roles will shape how AI affects women – within local government and across the communities it serves – both now and in the future.

Local government as employer

Local government is one of the UK’s largest employers, with a workforce of about 1.2 million people in England and Wales, according to the LGA. About three-quarters of all council employees are women (compared with 50% in the UK overall workforce).

Yet many of the roles women occupy in local government – such as administrative work, customer services, education and social care support – are among those most exposed to replacement by AI. At the same time, the majority of workers with AI skills are men, not women, highlighting a significant gender gap in the talent pool likely to fill AI-related jobs.

This means councils will need to implement AI thoughtfully so that it doesn’t disproportionately disrupt female-dominated roles.

Two paths lie ahead. If councils deploy AI primarily to save money, they risk worsening outcomes for the many women who are the backbone of the local government workforce. But if implemented intentionally, AI can instead reduce routine administrative burdens and allow women employees to do more meaningful work.

This means investing in AI literacy, expanding digital skills, and enabling career mobility – with targeted support to ensure women are fully included in future AI opportunities. It entails engaging directly with staff and their representatives when introducing new technologies so women can help shape how AI is deployed and how their roles evolve. Councils will also benefit from sharing their practical experiences of AI with each other, building a collective knowledge about what works and what doesn’t as AI is introduced into public services.

Local government as skills development leader

Beyond their own workforce, councils also shape the future of work in their local economies.

Through local skills programmes, partnerships with universities and colleges, digital infrastructure initiatives and support for local businesses, local authorities influence how communities prepare for technological change.

This is particularly important given the persistent gender gap in digital and STEM-related fields which are so vital for the future of work. If the growth generated by AI and digital technologies concentrates in sectors where women are currently underrepresented, the transition will only reinforce existing labour market inequalities.

Local councils, though, are well placed to counter this trend by ensuring their economic and skills strategies are specifically tailored to women and other underrepresented groups.

Local government as provider of public services

Local authorities also sit on the frontline of public service delivery. Councils are exploring the use of AI in areas such as housing allocation, fraud detection and planning analysis.

Used responsibly, these tools can improve efficiency and help over-stretched services respond faster to citizens. But there is also a well-documented risk: algorithmic systems that rely on biased data simply replicate historical bias.

If councils deploy AI in public services as a ‘black box’ without careful oversight, automated systems can reproduce and even amplify existing inequalities – reinforcing gender disparities in areas such as housing allocation, access to services or case prioritisation.

To avoid this, councils need to treat AI as a tool requiring active governance – with humans remaining meaningfully involved in decision-making, so that automated recommendations support, rather than replace, professional judgement.

Councils can also involve staff representatives, unions and community organisations in discussions about how new technologies are introduced into public services, helping to ensure that AI supports both workers and the communities they serve.

Local government as procurer and market shaper

Another powerful role councils play is that of procurer. They spend billions each year on goods, services and technology, and in doing so shape the standards and practices of their suppliers.

This influence is especially important as AI becomes embedded in both technology systems and the wider services councils procure.

When sourcing digital tools, authorities can ask clear questions and set related expectations about how AI systems are designed and governed using procurement specifications and contract terms.

As AI becomes part of the infrastructure of goods, services and technology, councils can play a pivotal role in shaping how this AI use affects women.

A moment of leadership ahead

Artificial intelligence will reshape public administration. But in turn, public administration can reshape artificial intelligence.

Councils have both a duty, and a strategic interest, in ensuring that the AI rollout happens in such a way as to ensure that women are not disadvantaged in the process.

Local government has often been at the forefront of efforts to create fairer workplaces and economies – from tackling equal pay and disability inclusion to expanding flexible working practices across the public sector. The rollout of AI presents another such moment.

Technology is moving quickly. Ensuring AI works for everyone, and in particular the women who work in local government, or are served by it, also require councils to move quickly – and intentionally.

Anna Triponel is an internationally recognised expert on the implementation of human rights standards in organisations and the founder and CEO of Human Level.