Background: The US faces issues from overlapping inequalities in small business competitiveness, representation in the STEM workforce, and use of digital technology. Although the spread of technology has accelerated since 2020, company sizes, demographic groups, and geographical areas continue to exhibit systematic differences in the availability and application of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. This offers a comparative perspective that influences this synthesis and is based on the author's study on digital commerce and the performance of SMEs in West Africa.
Objective: In order to characterize (1) the extent of the digital skills gap in US SMEs and underrepresented STEM workers; (2) the technology-specific mechanisms through which adoption does, or does not, lead to workforce up-skilling; and (3) the structural barriers that perpetuate the gap, this systematic review synthesizes evidence from empirical studies and government statistical releases from 2022–2026, guided by the PRISMA 2020 statement (Page et al., 2021).
Methods: In August 2026, five databases and government data repositories were examined. Studies that were stratified by at least one equity variable and included quantitative estimates of the rate of broadband access, the composition of the STEM workforce, or the use of digital technologies were eligible. The ROBINS-I domains, adjusted for observational evidence synthesis, were used to assess bias risk.
Results: Twenty-four eligible sources were identified. National AI adoption was 17.9% overall, rising to 30.6% among firms with 250 or more employees versus 17.6% among micro-firms. Underrepresented minorities held 24% of STEM positions; rural broadband subscription lagged urban rates by 14.2 percentage points; and only 22.1% of AI-adopting firms reported increased STEM skills. 
Conclusion: The digital-skills equity gap is large, multidimensional, and not self-correcting. Policy must combine geographically targeted broadband investment, AI-specific workforce training for mid-sized firms, and sustained expansion of federal monitoring instruments.