PROTOCOL: Vocational and business training to increase women's participation in higher skilled occupations in low‐ and middle‐income countries: protocol for a systematic review

Although women's employment possibilities have improved with the rise of globalization, women in low- and middle-income countries tend to be overrepresented in informal labour markets, work in precarious conditions, receive lower salaries than men, and have few opportunities for learning and advancement (Borges Månsson & Färnsveden, 2012). Duflo (2012) reports that "women are less likely to work, they earn less than men for similar work, and are more likely to be in poverty even when they work" (p. 1052). Women often perform jobs that have low skill requirements and frequently work in occupations that are highly feminized, tend to be less socially valued, and pay lower wages (Aedo & Walker, 2012; Altman, 2006; International Labour Organization [ILO], 2015; ILO, 2016). A recent ILO report has documented the limited opportunities for women in the labour market (ILO, 2016). The report shows that women face higher unemployment and underemployment than men, are more often employed in the informal labour market and in family enterprises, and are overrepresented in lower skill sectors. For example, a greater proportion of women are employed in the services sector (61.5 per cent versus 42.6 per cent of men), where women are particularly overrepresented in feminized positions such as "clerical, services, and sales" and "elementary" occupations (ILO, 2016). Moreover, although men and women face equal rates of wage and salaried employment (around 52 per cent), men are more likely to own their own business than women (3.7 per cent of men versus 1.4 per cent of women). Meanwhile, and while data on informal sector employment is scant, women are 'believed to constitute most of the informal workforce in the developing world' (UNGEI 2012). Work in the informal sector is characterised by low pay and low productivity (ILO, 2016). Women working in informal employment do not gain access to social protection, such as pensions, and this may contribute to the fact that 71.8 per cent of all employed women do not have any type of maternity protection (ILO, 2016). A range of factors contribute to the high proportion of unemployed and underemployed women. These factors include cultural norms regarding the place of women in employment, the role of women in domestic and care work, and the lack of adequate job market opportunities. Women all over the world spend a disproportionate amount of time doing domestic and care work. This time commitment is even higher in low- and middle-income countries, where the division of domestic labor often follows traditional patterns and women assume most, if not all family responsibilities (ILO, 2009). Women may also have a preference for jobs that are compatible with their domestic responsibilities, such as part-time and flexible jobs, both of which are scarce in low- and middle-income countries (ILO, 2009). However, even when part-time and flexible job opportunities exist, allowing women to combine work and family responsibilities, there is evidence that these jobs do not constitute 'a path to decent work' (ILO, 2005). This lack of opportunities contributes to the choice of women to remain self-employed in small-scale enterprises or in domestic and care work, as opposed to pursuing professional careers in higher skilled occupations (ILO, 2009; ILO, 2012). Evidence also suggests that lack of pre-service and in-service training opportunities leads many women to seek employment in low-skilled areas and in highly feminized occupations (ILO, 2016). The opportunities for women in other occupations are limited by the domestic obligations and limited skill sets of many women in developing countries (Katz, 2008; Mansson & Farnsveden, 2012). As a result, many young women seek employment in the informal sector, leaving them only with low-skilled employment characterized by minimum income potential, long working hours, and unequal power relationships, which may lead to exploitation. Limited data are available on informal labour markets in low- and middle-income countries. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that women constitute the large majority of the informal workforce in developing countries (UNGEI 2012). National governments and development agencies have created a range of vocational and business training programs that aim to increase the participation of women in higher skilled and more secure, formal occupations. Such programs typically focus on improving the skills of women, foster entrepreneurship to expand employment, increase earning opportunities; and ultimately, reducing poverty (Blattman & Ralston, 2015; McKenzie & Woodruff, 2012), as discussed in more detail below. Vocational training programs often target low-income, unemployed or underemployed individuals who have already left the formal schooling system, but they can also be part of the formal education system. These programs typically include preparing participants for jobs that are related to a specific occupation or trade through the acquisition of knowledge, practical cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and changing attitudes. Trainings include courses in administrative occupations (e.g., marketing, secretarial work, sales), manual occupations (e.g., electrician, cooking assistant), or fairly skilled occupations (e.g., account assistant, information technology (IT) specialist). Many vocational training programs also combine the development of specific occupational skills with strategies to facilitate access to job opportunities, for instance, through internships, on-the-job training or by actively connecting participants with potential employers. For example, a representative program named "Jovenes en Accion" from Colombia provided three months of in-classroom and three months of on-the-job training to young people between the ages of 18 and 25 in the two lowest socioeconomic strata of the population (Attanasio, Kugler, & Meghir, 2008). Similarly, the Peruvian youth labour training program named "PROJoven" offered poor youths three months of training and a three-month internship with a local firm for beneficiaries who successfully completed their coursework (Ñopo, Robles, & Saavedra, 2007). Additionally, some vocational training programs include the development of life skills among program participants. Program content ranges from specific job related life skills, such as preparing a Curriculum Vitae and interpersonal relationships to broader skills, such as those related to reproductive health and household economics. For example, Gap Inc's Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement program focuses on improving non-cognitive skills through learning modules that emphasize communication, problem solving and decision making, and time and stress management, among other skills (Gap Inc, 2015). Business training programs provide active support to the poor to try to improve the performance of small and medium enterprises around the world (McKenzie & Woodruff, 2013). These programs attempt to offer skills in the form of business management training and assistance to small and medium enterprises. Business training may be offered by governments, microfinance organizations and non-governmental organizations. The length of these programs range from as short as two days to several months, and they are commonly offered to groups, although some programs also provide additional one-on-one follow-up training. The majority of these trainings focus on general business skills that could be applied to most businesses (e.g., keeping business records and encouraging small business owners to separate household and business finances), while fewer focus on technical knowledge or sector-specific content or on trying to change entrepreneurial attitudes or aspirations. Several programs focus specifically on increasing women's understanding of the value chain for their product, sources of raw material and access to markets. For example, a PRASAC program in Cambodia helped weavers improve their businesses by identifying and building relations with suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and designers (GTZ, 2003). Finally, some business training programs are offered with additional incentives. These incentives could include asset or in-kind transfers, such as livestock or inventory, capital as a small cash loan or grant, or saving accounts. For example, a program implemented by BRAC Bangladesh named the Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) program offered a variety of business activities that ranged from livestock rearing to small retail operations to very poor and rural woman in selected rural communities. The program was combined with complementary and intensive asset-specific training and regular follow-up visits by asset specialists (Bandeira, Burgess, Gulesci, Rasul, & Sulaiman, 2013). Both vocational and business training programs typically target low-income, unemployed or underemployed individuals, but there are also a range of programs that focus explicitly on building the skills of women. For instance the Jordan New Opportunities for Women program focuses on providing opportunities to young, female college graduates in Jordan to find work (Groh, Krishnan, McKenzie, & Vishwanath, 2012), while the Women for Women International Social Protection and Cash Transfer program in Nigeria offers biweekly meetings with business, vocational and life-skills training, including lessons in health awareness, decision making, negotiation, and civic participation (Mcilvaine & Oser, 2014). Both programs focus on women exclusively. Vocational and business training programs that target women in particular may also include additional components to address barriers to women's participation in either the training itself or broader barriers to their participation in the labour market. Such components may include the provision of basic stipends to women to participate in the training and additional support for women with children (such as child care facilities or stipends). They may also include negotiating with women's families for permission to participate in the training (Ñopo, Robles, & Saavedra, 2007; Revenga, Riboud and Tan, 1994; Aedo and Nuñez 2004). Vocational or business training programs aim to improve outcomes such as women's labour market outcomes, income and empowerment by developing women's knowledge, skills and opportunities, and by doing so increasing women's participation in higher-skilled occupations (Revenga & Shetty, 2012). We developed a theory of change for both vocational training and business training programs, outlining how these programs might work in improving outcomes. They map out the causal chain between interventions, outputs, intermediate outcomes, and final outcomes, as well as the assumptions underlying the theory of change (White, 2009). Using such program theories help provide a framework for the analysis in the review and determine relevant outcomes for the systematic review. We outline the theories of change for each program area below. Figure 1 provides a theory of change for how vocational training programs may improve women's access to higher skilled, higher valued occupations and improve final outcomes such as income and empowerment. First, vocational programs can provide training that directly aims to increase women's skills (e.g., marketing, sales, account assistant, IT specialist), facilitate access to job opportunities (e.g., by on-the-job training or apprenticeship), or equip women with "life skills" to improve aspects of life such as interpersonal relationships and reproductive health.3 Second, vocational training can result in improvements in women's employability by increasing women's occupational knowledge and vocational skills, women's knowledge of the labour market (e.g., job search skills, career management skills), and women's life skills such as attitudes toward work, motivation, self-esteem, career aspirations, and strategies to balance job and domestic responsibilities. Theory of Change for Vocational Programs Targeting Women In turn, these improvements in women's skills and employability may result in increases in women's participation in higher skilled, higher valued occupations. Access to higher skilled, higher valued occupations can in turn increase women's income and productivity; improve women's working conditions (such as safety, stability, social security) and opportunities for advancement; and reduce the degree of occupational segregation by improving access to occupations traditionally dominated by men.4 Finally, the theory of change indicates that access to higher skilled, higher valued occupations may lead to an improvement in women's economic empowerment, such as women's control over earnings and decision making at home and at work. Figure 2 provides a theory of change for how business programs can contribute to increasing women's participation in higher skilled, higher valued occupations, and by doing so improve final outcomes such as income and empowerment. Business training programs typically provide training to equip women with business and life skills; provide assistance to small or medium enterprises; provide capital in the form of assets, cash, loans, or saving accounts and facilitate access to markets. Providing these inputs can result in improvements in a range of intermediate outcomes associated with entrepreneurship, such as business knowledge and skills (generic business skills and specific skills, such as knowledge about value chains), and their "life skills" such as attitudes toward work, motivation, self-esteem, career aspirations, and strategies to balance job and domestic responsibilities. These changes may in turn increase the likelihood that women start their own business, and/ or improve their business performance through the application of better business practices. Further, these improvements can result in increases in income (as measured by earnings, salaries, wages, profits, revenue, or productivity), improvements in working conditions (stability, social security, opportunity for advancement) and reduce the degree of occupational segregation by improving access to occupations traditionally dominated by men. Finally, changes in intermediate and final outcomes could lead to an improvement in women's economic empowerment, such as women's control over earnings and decision making at home and at work. Theory of Change for Business Programs Targeting Women Barriers and facilitators: The validity of the theory of change relies on a number of assumptions. If these assumptions do not hold the causal pathways in the theories of change may break down. One key assumption is that women are able to participate in training programs. But several barriers may limit women's participation in vocational or business training. Women require freedom of movement to participate in either vocational or business trainings, however restrictions on women's movement outside the house or on their participation in trainings by other household members may prevent this. Similarly, women may spend too much time on domestic chores or care work to allow them to participate in trainings, particularly if there is no access to child care or additional stipends for child care. Other critical assumptions are related to the quality of the training, legislative conditions, and access to credit. If the training is of insufficient quality it may not develop women's knowledge, skills or entrepreneurship. Effective training requires high-quality trainers and relevant curricula with tailored content to teach women vocational or business skills. Moreover, legislative conditions may need to be in place to facilitate gains in women's participation in higher-skilled occupations. For example, women often require access to formal credit to benefit from business training because without access to credit, it is may be challenging to set up a small business.5 Even if women are able to participate in training and develop their skills, women with children may require access to affordable child care facilities for the training to translate into participation in higher-skilled occupations. Finally, policies in the workplace, including those relating to discrimination, harassment and job security may also influence the extent to which programs succeed in changing final outcomes. The barriers and facilitators are linked to various key stakeholders and different types of interventions may be effective depending on the barrier(s) that are most relevant in a specific context. For example, if discrimination in the workplace is a major barrier, vocational training may not be effective if it does not address women's ability to negotiate discrimination against women in the workplace. A variety of market failures could be linked to the funding of vocational and business training programs. These market failures are associated with the question "if individuals can achieve high returns to participation in vocational and business training, why do these individuals not participate in these programs instead of waiting for the government to provide them?". Market failures that prevent participation in the absence of government-funded training could include missing credit markets, information failures, and insurance market failures (Almeida et al., 2012). Missing credits markets could lead to an underinvestment of trainees in business training because of a lack of access to credit. Information failures could lead to a lack of knowledge about the availability of vocational or business training, which could in turn result in a lower participation in these training. Insurance market failures may lead to underinvestment in training when the returns to vocational and business training are uncertain (Almeida et al., 2012). The effectiveness of these types of programs for women may be of interest to a range of decision makers. Perhaps most importantly, governments in developing countries make significant investments in vocational and business training programs. For example, many Ministries of Labour in Latin-America, such as Peru, Argentina, and Colombia, have invested in the ProJoven program (Aedo and Nuñez, 2004; Ñopo, Robles, & Saavedra, 2007; Ministerio de Trabajo, 2016). Moreover, the findings of this review will also be relevant for developing policies and programs to achieve two of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in particular. SDG 5 calls for gender equality and empowering all women and girls (SDG 5), while SDG 8 calls for sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all (Sustainable Development Knowledge platform, n.d.). Several development organizations highlight the importance of stimulating women to participate in higher-skilled occupations. For example, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Women, UNDP, and the ILO highlight the importance of investing in development programs to improve employment access and quality for women in Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, FAO, UN Women, UNDP, & ILO 2013). In addition, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2016) argues that better education and on-the-job training are required to let trade create opportunities for women's empowerment and well-being. These initiatives demonstrate the importance policy makers attach to increasing the employment of women in higher skilled, higher valued occupations. To achieve this goal, L&MIC governments and development agencies have created a wide range of programs, such as vocational and business training, which aim to improve the skills of women (Blattman & Ralston, 2015; McKenzie & Woodruff, 2012). Finally, conversations with key stakeholders from UN Women, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank suggest a demand for evidence on what works to improve women's participation in higher-skilled occupations. This systematic review aims to respond to this demand. A systematic review will also be important for policymakers and practitioners who would like to learn about ways to improve the design of vocational and business training programs. A preliminary mapping of evidence identified over 20 experimental and quasi-experimental studies of the effectiveness of vocational and business training in stimulating women's employment in higher skilled jobs (Chinen et al., 2015), as well as a number of studies of the structural barriers associated with cultural gender norms and the different positions of men and women in the labour market in low- and middle-income countries. Several authors have reviewed this, and related literature. Tripney et al. (2013) provide a systematic review of evidence on the effects of technical and vocational education training programs on employment outcomes, concluding that such programs improve outcomes overall. However, the review did not differentiate the effects by gender, nor include any qualitative studies. Moreover, Chinen et al. (2015) found an increase in the number of randomized controlled trials since the completion of the review of Tripney et al. (2013). More recent non-systematic literature reviews have been critical of the effectiveness of vocational and business training programs in improving outcomes, raising concerns about the size of the effect of such programs (Blattman & Ralston, 2015; McKenzie & Woodruff, 2012). Blattman & Ralston (2015) suggest that skills training only has limited effects on poverty or stability. McKenzie & Woodruff (2012) find that few studies with an emphasis on business training find evidence for positive effects on profits or sales one year after the start of the program. Other systematic and non-systematic reviews and meta-analyses that review related literature include reviews that focus on the effects of business support services on job labour productivity and the ability of to et al., the of programs at on job & the effects of entrepreneurship development interventions on women and the of active labor market program & 2015). We did not any systematic review of this literature on the effects of vocational and business training on outcomes for women. this will be the to the effect of vocational and business training on women's socioeconomic outcomes. For this will evidence from studies of vocational and business training programs. We will also review a broader range of literature to the barriers and facilitators of the effectiveness of such programs. This analysis will be of particular for policymakers and practitioners who to improve the design of vocational and business training programs. The of this systematic review is to the evidence on the effects of vocational and business training programs on women's participation in higher skilled, higher valued occupations and other labour market outcomes, including employment, working conditions, and economic empowerment. 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