Danielle, a software developer at a car company in Portland, Oregon, returned to work in mid-2025 after a year-long maternity leave. By then, AI had become a central tool in software development, reshaping the industry. Before she left, few used AI for coding; now, it was expected. 'The skills I had learned—rote development skills—we are now expected to outsource to AI,' Danielle said. The shift has created a significant gap between new mothers and their colleagues, who often had a head start in learning AI tools. 'The likelihood of me spending my statutory maternity pay on an AI course … is slim to none,' said a UK project manager on maternity leave, fearing she might fall behind and face layoffs. Meanwhile, AI tools have changed the nature of work, with tasks like debugging offloaded to machines, leaving engineers to focus on complex problems. 'I’m always looking at hard problems, because I’ve offloaded all of the tedium,' said Mary McCreary, a data engineer. However, the rapid evolution of AI has also made it difficult for women returning from maternity leave to find new jobs, as many postings now require some AI knowledge. 'The ambiguity was nerve-wracking,' Danielle said. *Source: [wired](https://www.wired.com/story/women-parental-leave-return-office-ai/)*