A study has found that female-presenting AI agents were paid less than male-presenting ones within a virtual office setting, according to The Irish Times. The research examined how the simulated workers were compensated, and the gap fell along the gender presentation of the agents.
Euronews reports that the female AI agents would receive about 10 percent less than the male ones. The Irish Times carried the findings under a headline stating that the female-looking agents were paid less than the male agents in the virtual office.
The two outlets frame the result as a pay disparity between agents that differ only in how they are presented. The coverage does not, in the material available, detail the size of the sample, the design of the virtual office, or the researchers behind the work.
The findings point to a familiar pattern appearing in a new setting. A pay gap between male- and female-presenting workers is a long-documented feature of real labour markets, and this study indicates that the same divide can surface among AI agents operating inside a simulated workplace. Because the agents are software rather than people, the gap cannot be attributed to differences in human negotiation or career history; it arises from how the agents were built, configured, or evaluated.
What to watch next: whether the researchers publish the full methodology, and whether developers of workplace AI adjust how these agents are designed and rewarded.
