In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, AI is being applauded for delivering greater productivity and time savings for workers, even shortening the working week for some. However, these benefits are not being felt evenly. Those without formal training – disproportionately women and those in low-income households – are being left behind. Recent research reveals inequalities in how AI is being rolled out, supported, and embraced at work.
The report revealed a direct correlation between training hours logged and employees’ confidence and competence in using AI tools. Those who received more AI training are not only saving more time and being more productive, but are also more comfortable proving the AI’s value. This raises urgent questions about the distribution of AI enablement, opportunities, and the future impact on career and income mobility if not addressed.
As AI continues to redefine how we work, it’s not enough to simply have access to the tools; workers need to be equipped with the knowledge to harness them effectively. Without equal access to training and support, we risk creating a two-tier workforce: one empowered by AI, and one that’s left behind.
The skills training divide
It’s no surprise that structured AI training is fast becoming a workplace advantage. Deloitte reports that more than 50% of both Gen Z and millennial employees believe AI tools free up time, greatly improving their work/life balance. McKinsey has also quantified the financial upside of generative AI, estimating that these tools are spurring yearly productivity gains worth up to $4.4 trillion.
Yet, just 5% of employees earning between £25K–£29K received 20+ hours of AI training in the past year, compared to 27% of those earning over £100K. This makes higher earners five times more likely to access in-depth AI learning opportunities, risking entrenching AI inequalities before graduates and junior staff have even begun their careers. Meanwhile, women across all levels, from executives to entry-level, also report significantly less access to training, guidance, and AI-related tools than their male counterparts.
This is alarming, as training doesn’t just build technical skill; it plays a vital role in shaping how people see themselves. Confidence and capability go hand in hand. Without the time or support to learn how to use it, positive AI outcomes are limited from the get-go.
While 4 in 10 people with less than an hour of AI training saved just one hour or less, almost half (46%) of workers who received 20+ hours of training reported saving over 11 hours per week – that’s the equivalent of 1.4 working days, or enough time to fly from London to Bangkok!
Meanwhile, user confidence, or technological self-efficacy, is proven to be another important barrier to AI adoption. Recent research suggests that poor AI performance and knowledge can decrease self-confidence, which may affect the quality of AI outputs.
Gen AI tools are no longer optional in the modern workplace, and mastering them shouldn’t be either. AI training generates compounding gains for users; the more you learn, the more you start to get out of it, and the more challenges you start using AI to tackle. In turn, this helps you uncover new use cases for the technology, vastly improving your output.
The gender divide
This year’s Digital Etiquette report revealed that just 45% of women received more than five hours of AI training in the past year, compared to 53% of men. This is borne out across the organisational hierarchy, with women being given less access to training than their male counterparts across organisations, with very few exceptions.
The report reveals how the gender gap in AI readiness is directly linked to unequal access to training and development opportunities within organisations. This slower adoption rate among women isn’t arbitrary; Harvard Business Review research suggests it’s often rooted in greater concerns about AI’s ethical implications, including environmental impact, and a greater fear of being judged harshly for its use.
The latest Digital Etiquette data speaks to a disparity in user confidence between men and women. At C-level, 87% of men believe they have received sufficient guidance on how to use AI at work, compared to just 77% of women, contributing to a wider gap in how AI is perceived and who feels ready for it. While over 70% of men say their skills are developing thanks to AI, just over 60% of women feel the same. In addition to providing women with the same opportunities as their male peers to learn about and explore how AI can benefit them, businesses should look to address cultural and ethical concerns inside their organisations by creating diverse steering and feedback groups.
If current trends continue, and as AI takes on more routine work, women and low-earners could be disproportionately exposed to job risk simply because they’re less likely to be trained on the tools that are replacing them.
For a technology with so much potential to empower everyone, its improper implementation has equal potential to divide them. However, organisations have an opportunity to enforce greater training parity in the immediate term, which will go a long way in closing these gaps before they impact teams further.
Practical steps for businesses to close the AI skills gap
Closing the AI skills gap isn’t just a matter of fairness; it extends beyond the individual. An organisation’s ability to activate AI usage will play an important role in performance, productivity, and meeting or exceeding long-term business goals. Businesses need to ensure these benefits reach beyond the highest-paid or most senior men on staff, not just to benefit their employees, but to ensure long-term growth.
Decision-makers can take a number of steps to address these current challenges.
1. Embed AI training in onboarding and development across all roles and levels
Integrate AI training into the onboarding process and career development pathways; just as digital literacy became a baseline skill in the last decade, AI literacy needs to be made standard across teams. Ensure AI training is available to employees at all levels, and provide tailored, role-specific training to demystify AI and reveal its relevance in every part of the business.
2. Remove fears around upskilling
Many workers are afraid to ask for more training, and the fear of being judged or misunderstood creates a silent barrier to adoption. Leaders must create a culture where curiosity and upskilling are openly encouraged, following the footsteps of leading firms that recruit top AI talent, partner with external experts to supplement internal skills, and adopt user-friendly AI platforms to lower the barriers to entry.
3. Encourage continuous learning
Continuous AI learning can aid with employee retention, helping staff feel invested in and part of the transformation journey. With an empathetic approach to change management and skill development, leaders can help their teams overcome the fear of automation and instead embrace AI as a tool that improves their work.
4. Address gender disparities head-on
Organisations must actively audit access to training, skills, and knowledge gaps by gender and take proactive steps to ensure women are equally included in AI initiatives and given AI opportunities.
5. Prioritise inclusion in tool deployment
Access to tools remains uneven; 49% of six-figure earners say they regularly receive new AI tools, compared to just 34% on average. Businesses must review how new tools are rolled out and ensure that all employees, not just those in tech-forward roles, are given the chance to experiment, learn, and benefit from them.
Ultimately, by building inclusive training programmes, encouraging open dialogue, and removing hidden barriers to access, companies can start to unlock the full potential of AI for everyone. The organisations that act now to democratise AI training will not only create fairer workplaces, but will build the diverse, AI-literate workforce that will define competitive advantage in the years ahead.
