AI Agents Recreate the Gender Pay Gap in Study

A University of Limerick study placed 189 knowledge workers in a VR office with three AI assistants that performed identically but had different presentations. The male-presenting "Johan" was paid about 10% more than the female-presenting "Johanna" and was rated as more human-like.

• 189 knowledge workers took part in a VR office experiment
• Assistants differed only in presentation: chatbot, robotic desk assistant, human-like avatar
• "Johan" earned about 10% more than "Johanna" for identical work
• Only 3 of 34 interviewees acknowledged possible gender bias