One of the things that may happen is that mean wages for men and women may equilibrate a little.

"Many of the processes that we have around software engineering practice are based on the assumption that generating software is expensive."

Or was it maintenance?

it will not be free, there is always some hidden cost

Look what happened to Greensboro North Carolina when textiles were off shored. Or thomasville North Carolina when furniture manufacturing was. Not pretty.

Or look at the music industry budgets and fate of middle class musicians after Napster.

Or the luddites after the automated loom.

But then remember that before these transitions most people had two or three outfits total, then look in your closet and think about how expensive clothes feel to you. They aren’t something you save up for generally. Same thing with furniture. Instead of family heirlooms because a dresser is the price of a car, you throw away ikea every time you move.

I am not saying that is better. But software development is going to go from bespoke tailored and hand crafted to fast fashion. So learn that history before it punches you in the face.