Candidates for civil service protest in Kerala over exam corruption; investigation underway

In South Africa, during Women's Month, attention is once again focused on the growing number of women holding leadership positions in business, organizations, and government institutions. Nevertheless, experts point out that many women face an often underestimated obstacle to career advancement—the invisible workload performed outside of work.

The commentary asserts that in addition to existing issues such as workplace discrimination, limited access to funding, and unequal opportunities, professional growth for women continues to be negatively affected by unpaid mental, emotional, and logistical labor. Many women are forced to juggle numerous responsibilities beyond their careers, including childcare, supporting elderly parents, managing family finances, coordinating appointments, and maintaining kinship ties.

Even when household chores are distributed among family members, women often remain responsible for planning and organizing these tasks. According to the commentary, this 'mental load' can lead to decision fatigue, reduced concentration, and emotional exhaustion, which limits the time and energy available for developing leadership skills, networking, and securing high-level career opportunities.

The impact of this phenomenon extends to female entrepreneurs, who may lack the time to focus on business growth, interacting with investors, and expanding enterprises. The article also notes that traditional funding models may favor founders who are often able to travel and remain constantly available.

Technology can help reduce some of the administrative burden. Tools such as shared family calendars, financial management apps, telemedicine, digital healthcare solutions, meal planning platforms, grocery delivery services, and workflow automation can optimize daily duties and free up valuable time.

However, the commentary warns that technology is insufficient to solve structural inequality. Limited access to affordable internet, digital tools, and digital skills means that many women remain excluded from these benefits. Furthermore, there is a risk that technology will only increase women's efficiency in managing an unequal share of unpaid labor, rather than eliminating the imbalance itself.

The article calls on employers to implement truly flexible working conditions, evaluate performance based on results rather than visibility, recognize elder care alongside childcare, and actively support women in leadership roles. It also calls on investors to revise funding criteria that reward constant availability, and on families to share the responsibility for planning and organizing household tasks, rather than just helping with individual chores.

In conclusion, the commentary emphasizes that Women's Month should not only celebrate women who have reached leadership positions but also stimulate action to reduce the invisible labor that continues to limit women's opportunities and advancement.

According to the World Bank's 2026 World Development Report, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to transform the labor market in South Asia. As a result, multinational corporations (MNCs) and firms integrated into global value chains (GVCs) are reducing staffing more actively than local companies. This indicates the early impact of this technology on the region's export-oriented service sector.

The report, published on Tuesday, showed that after the emergence of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, the number of online job postings in South Asia decreased by 1.6 percent, despite the growing demand for AI-related skills. The decrease was more noticeable among MNCs and GVC-related firms compared to local companies. This suggests that enterprises with better access to AI technologies and international operational mobility are adjusting their hiring strategies faster.

These findings are particularly significant for India, as its IT industry, business process management sector, and growing network of global centers of excellence are closely linked to multinational supply chains and heavily reliant on digital service exports.

Automation and Employment Challenges

According to the report, multinational firms can more easily automate tasks or move work across borders, whereas local companies are slower to adopt AI technologies. Consequently, the initial employment consequences are primarily seen among internationally connected enterprises, rather than across the entire economy. The report notes: 'Due to the effects of job displacement and job loss, AI has a strong negative correlation with the wage share of high and medium-skilled workers, mainly through wage reduction as AI usage increases.'

The World Bank also warned that AI could gradually undermine the outsourcing advantages that have supported economic growth in countries like India and the Philippines over the last two decades. While the report emphasizes that data on AI's impact on the labor market remains ambiguous and evolving, it points to early signs that some routine digital tasks are already being replaced.

Inderjeet Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, stated: 'AI could close a promising path to middle-class employment in many developing economies, threatening call center jobs and entry-level positions in software, finance, and business services. It could exacerbate shortages of electricity and water. It could deepen dependence on foreign technology—and force poor countries to choose between competing AI systems controlled by the most powerful nations. It could bring a host of other undesirable consequences: greater income inequality, covert disinformation, and political repression.'

Referencing data from an online freelancing platform, the report demonstrated that the volume of work outsourced to developing countries decreased by 39 percent in 2025, with the sharpest decline observed in professions most susceptible to AI automation. It was noted that sectors such as call centers, customer support, data processing, and back-office services, which contributed to growth in countries like India and the Philippines, may come under pressure as AI becomes capable of performing more office and knowledge-based tasks.

Despite these changes, the World Bank believes that fears of widespread job losses in developing countries are exaggerated. Estimates suggest that less than one in ten jobs in developing countries are subject to AI-driven automation, compared to more than one-third of jobs in high-income countries. Conversely, it is expected that about one in six jobs in developing countries will be enhanced by AI-driven productivity gains, rather than being completely replaced.

The report argued that the greater opportunity for countries like India lies not in creating cutting-edge AI models, but in adapting existing technologies to local languages, institutions, and business needs. It recommended that governments and businesses prioritize the broad implementation of small, specialized AI applications that can boost productivity across various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, education, and public administration, instead of concentrating resources on developing large language models.

The report also provided examples from India where AI is already providing tangible benefits. As evidence that locally adapted AI applications can generate significant economic returns even without advanced computing infrastructure, it cites an example of AI-based weather forecasting in Telangana, which helped small farmers save up to $560 per farmer by improving agricultural decision-making.

Gill concluded: 'Developing countries should leave the wealthy world to worry whether AI will ever doom humanity. Their own question is more pressing: will they miss the technological revolution again? Or will they use it this time to improve the lives of millions? Today's developing economies missed the first industrial revolution and paid for it for two centuries. They cannot afford to miss this one.'

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) provided clarifications on Tuesday, August 4th, regarding the key differences between employment through a licensed agency and the direct hiring of domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Although both options are available to employers, they differ significantly in terms of guarantees, legal liability, and protective measures.

Hiring through a licensed agency

When using the traditional hiring method, employers engage domestic workers through agencies that hold a MOHRE license. This arrangement is governed by a contract between the employer and the recruitment office, which provides the employer with the guarantees stipulated by UAE Labour Law for domestic workers.

Direct hiring of a domestic worker

Meanwhile, direct hiring allows employers to hire a domestic worker without involving an agency. In this case, employers must submit an application approved by MOHRE, taking full responsibility for the hiring process. MOHRE emphasized that direct hiring does not include the guarantees provided by the Domestic Workers Law, and employers cannot rely on any prior or future agreements, contracts, or guarantees related to the domestic worker.

These clarifications came after a recent campaign by the Ministry to monitor agencies. On July 27th, the ministry announced that 42 domestic worker recruitment offices were fined for 135 legal and administrative violations in the first half of 2026. According to MOHRE data, 106 of these violations were related to agencies failing to return all or partial amounts of recruitment fees to employers within the legally stipulated timeframe.

Under the executive provisions of the Domestic Workers Law, recruitment offices must refund payments within two weeks if the domestic worker returns to the agency or if termination of employment is reported. The Ministry stressed that compliance with refund rules is critical for protecting the rights of employers, maintaining balanced contractual relationships, and preventing disputes.