Indian women have outpaced global peers in AI skill learning, says report

NEW DELHI, May 30: As artificial intelligence (AI) adoption surges in India, Indian women score higher (1.9) than women in the United States (1.71), Canada (0.97), and the United Kingdom (0.90) in learning AI-related skills, according to a new report.
The ‘Stanford AI Index 2026’ found that the AI skill penetration rate for Indian women stood at 1.9, an improvement from 1.61 recorded in the previous year’s index.
Among AI projects with at least 10 stars, the United States accounted for the largest share in 2025 (31.7 per cent), although this has declined steadily from nearly 80 per cent in 2011 as developers in other regions have increased their presence on the platform.
While China’s share has levelled off since 2019, India remains a growing contributor, representing 5.2 per cent of projects with at least 10 stars, the report stated. The geographic distribution of more visible open-source AI projects has shifted over time.
Meanwhile, India has emerged as a global leader in artificial intelligence adoption, with 41 per cent of employees reporting that they use AI nearly every day. A report by ADP Research said that around 80 per cent of employees in India use AI at least multiple times a week — the highest level recorded across all surveyed markets.
Indian usage is significantly higher, with only half of the workers surveyed globally using AI multiple times a week. Nigeria (39 per cent) and Vietnam (36 per cent) followed India in terms of daily AI usage.
Women in India are using AI more frequently than men, with 44 per cent reporting that they use AI nearly every day at work, compared to 40 per cent of men.
However, the findings also revealed a growing disconnect between AI adoption and perceived productivity. While 30 per cent of daily AI users reported being fully engaged, they were four times more likely than non-users to feel less productive.
As AI took over routine tasks, employees felt that their contributions were harder to quantify and evaluate, the report noted. (IANS)