ChatGPT's Rate of Adoption Shows a 'Staggering' Gender Gap
Adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT is widespread, but a recent study reveals a significant gender and income disparity. According to a survey of 18,000 workers by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a striking gap exists in the use of ChatGPT between high-end users, predominantly male and higher-wage workers, and slower adopters, mainly female and lower-income workers.
Research Findings
University of Chicago economist Anders Humlum and Emilie Vestergaard of the University of Copenhagen conducted a study that found women are 16% less likely than men to adopt ChatGPT. The research suggests that women face more "adoption friction," stemming from a lack of training in AI technologies. Despite this barrier, researchers note that there is shared optimism around the potential of AI technology among both genders.
Another survey from Norway’s Institute of Economics in 2024 reported that men are between 10% and 25% more likely than women to use ChatGPT regularly. The study highlighted that female students tend to use ChatGPT less frequently, exhibit lower proficiency in writing ChatGPT prompts, and are more sensitive to restrictions on its use.
Worker Adoption Patterns
The survey, conducted in collaboration with Statistics Denmark across 11 different occupations, focused on jobs deemed "exposed" to ChatGPT, such as software developers, teachers, customer-service representatives, journalists, and marketing professionals. The results indicated widespread adoption (41%) overall, with a higher prevalence among men.
Specifically, journalists and marketing professionals were identified as the most frequent users of OpenAI's chatbot, with 64% reporting its use at work. In contrast, financial advisors and accountants had the lowest adoption rates at 18%, possibly due to the sensitive nature of information they handle in their roles.
Future Outlook
Despite acknowledging the productivity potential of ChatGPT, even those who have not used the tool express reluctance to do so. The study revealed that only 3% of "never users" plan to adopt ChatGPT within the next two weeks, even when recognizing its ability to significantly reduce working time.
These findings shed light on the gender gap in AI adoption and raise questions about the factors influencing the uptake of advanced technologies in the workplace.
