Barriers to AI-Based Skill Development for Rural Female Students: Evidence from Marathwada

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping the global economy, transforming sectors such as commerce, education, healthcare, transportation, and public administration. As AI-based tools and automation begin to redefine job roles and skill requirements, the ability to understand and work with AI has become essential for future employability and socio-economic mobility. Despite this global technological shift, access to AI learning opportunities remains uneven across regions, socio-economic groups, and gender categories. Rural regions in India face persistent inequalities due to infrastructural limitations and limited technological exposure. Within these regions, rural girls experience deeper barriers arising from financial constraints, mobility restrictions, social norms, and limited access to digital resources. The Marathwada region in Maharashtra comprising Aurangabad, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur, Jalna, Nanded, Parbhani, and Hingoli presents a challenging context for studying digital and AI literacy among rural female students. The region’s historical economic backwardness, inadequate internet penetration, and gender inequality make it necessary to examine how these structural limitations affect students’ participation in AI-based skill-building programs. Using a mixed-method approach that integrates quantitative data from 150 rural girls and qualitative insights from interviews, observations, and discussions, this study identifies key barriers that limit AI skill development. These include low access to digital devices, high internet costs, poor connectivity, lack of AI awareness, shortage of trained teachers, and socio-cultural expectations that restrict girls’ engagement with technology. The findings highlight an urgent need for interventions that strengthen digital infrastructure, increase awareness, provide teacher training, and make AI education more accessible. The study concludes with targeted recommendations to reduce the gendered digital divide and enhance AI readiness among rural female learners.