Why automation is a feminist issue

According to a new study from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), nearly 10% of women work in jobs with a high potential for automation, compared with only 4% of men. So what, I hear you say. Substitute "robots" for "austerity", "the demise of unionisation", "public-sector pay freezes", "modern life" – pick any of these and women will always come off worst. Except maybe this time the pointy heads are on to something: perhaps better understanding what the risks are will give us all some agency, and even allow us to change the future. As Carys Roberts, the author of the IPPR report, tells me: "We don't even talk about risks in this area, because there are so many different factors.