“"As AI becomes increasingly embedded across workplaces, there is growing interest in whether developing AI-related skills, such as training in the use of artificial intelligence tools and software in workplace settings, can help improve employment opportunities for people who traditionally face barriers in the labour market. Our findings suggest that employers do value AI-related digital skills, such as using AI-assisted software to automate administrative tasks, analyse data or manage digital records, and that these credentials can improve interview prospects for underrepresented women. However, the results also show that skills alone are not enough to overcome the inequalities they face. AI training can help open doors, but it should not be viewed as a substitute for fair recruitment practices. If we want technological change to create opportunities for everyone, investment in digital skills must be matched by strong efforts to tackle discrimination and ensure qualifications are assessed consistently across all applicant groups."
AI Skills Boost Interview Chances But Fail to Erase Inequality, Study Finds
Research indicates that AI training improves job prospects for underrepresented women, yet significant labour market inequalities persist.
By Rebecca Flint
••3 min read
AI
Close-up of a laptop screen showing AI data visualizations and code.
A new study from Anglia Ruskin University suggests that while AI skills training improves interview success rates for women from underrepresented backgrounds, it is not sufficient to overcome existing labour market inequalities.
Training in artificial intelligence (AI) skills enhances the likelihood of women from underrepresented groups being invited to job interviews. However, the improvements are not substantial enough to eliminate the inequalities they face in the labour market, according to recent research.
The study, led by Professor Nick Drydakis of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and published in Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, examined over 3,000 job applications submitted for real vacancies in London during 2025. Researchers created fictional, comparable female candidates for non-graduate, private-sector roles across ten different industries. Applications varied only by race, age, sexual orientation, autism-spectrum disclosure, and the inclusion of a six-month AI-related professional development qualification.
Across all four underrepresented groups studied, women were significantly less likely to receive interview invitations compared to applicants from majority backgrounds with equivalent qualifications. Overall, 25% of women applicants not from underrepresented groups and without AI skills received an interview invitation, contrasted with only 11% of underrepresented applicants lacking AI skills.
When underrepresented applicants highlighted AI-related digital skills, their interview success rate increased to 14%, a rise of just under a third in their prospects. The research focused specifically on whether AI qualifications improved outcomes for these women and did not measure similar boosts for majority-group applicants.
The study also identified "wage sorting", where underrepresented applicants were more frequently invited for lower-paid vacancies. While AI-related skills improved access to better-paid roles, notable gaps persisted. This research is among the first to experimentally assess employer responses to AI digital skills among underrepresented groups, building upon Professor Drydakis’s AI Capital theory.
Based on information from the official source: Anglia Ruskin University (08/10/2026)
