Shravan Goli, strategic advisor, Coursera, said the surge in enrolments for AI and generative AI courses among women in India is a measure of how highly rated AI skills in the modern workforce are.
Comparing the June quarter with the same period a year ago, he said, “When I think about overall GenAI course enrolments for women learners in India, it’s about a 700% increase.”
At Coursera, the number of women in India upskilling themselves in GenAI courses for leadership roles in the same period ballooned from 653 to 6,386. “GenAI-for-executives course enrolment by women learners in India has seen an 870% increase in Q2 of 2024 compared to Q2 of 2023. So, both are phenomenal,” Goli said.
The engagement in advanced programmes is particularly evident in executive-level courses at Upgrad. Mayank Kumar, cofounder of Upgrad, pointed out that the executive doctorate programmes in generative AI and digital leadership have enrolled over 150 women leaders in less than a year. “Over 95% of our enrolments come from professionals with eight-plus years of experience, reiterating the demand for continuous learning even after spending a substantial career span within the workforce,” he said.
Integrating AI skills is not merely about learning new technologies but also about applying them to achieve strategic advantages in leadership roles.
“AI skills are particularly transformative for leadership roles as they enable leaders to harness data-driven insights, automate processes, and make informed decisions that can propel their organisations forward,” Kumar said.
Kashyap Dalal, COO of Simplilearn, said they had observed a similar trend.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling
The chief operating officer credited the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), among other factors, for the increased participation of women in upskilling. “In the last couple of years, the trend we have seen is that roughly women participation in our programmes has gone up from about 35% or so to 40%-plus,” said Simplilearn’s Dalal.
There is heightened interest among women in sectors such as banking, IT services, and consulting, he said. Dalal highlighted the importance of keeping up with technological changes. “The only way to navigate and make sure that you have a career trajectory that’s getting you to a leadership position is all about being on top of change,” he added.
Simplilearn’s data on women seeking AI programmes indicates that 69% do so to learn new skills that will help them find a new job, while 27% seek growth or promotion in their current role.
Enrolment in AI programmes
Notably, around 30% of women in the 25-35 age group, typically mid-senior level managers, enrol in these programmes. “If there is a glass ceiling that exists, then some of these tools really arm you to break through it,” Dalal said on the role of AI and generative AI (genAI) upskilling in overcoming career barriers.
Upgrad’s Kumar underscored the motivation behind this trend, noting that “upskilling is often seen as a counter-cyclical phenomenon during economic downturns and typically, the highest enrolment rates occur during specific career stages, such as mid-career transitions.”
Post-pandemic market conditions have also played a crucial role in this upskilling wave.
Women professionals have been seen either enhancing their skills for stronger career growth or re-entering the workforce through “returnship” programmes.
Upgrad’s data reveals that of the 55,000 career transitions recorded in the financial year 2023-24, nearly two-thirds were made by women professionals, further emphasising the significant shift towards continuous learning.
