****************************************************************************** This document has been posted online by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, DPCSD. Reproduction and dissemination of the document - in electronic and/or printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement is made of the role of the United Nations in making it available. ****************************************************************************** EGM/VOCA/1996/1 19 December 1996 United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women Expert Group Meeting on Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women International Centre of the ILO Turin (Italy) 2 - 6 December 1996 REPORT United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development 2 United Nations Plaza, DC2-12th floor New York, NY 10017, USA Fax: (212) 963-3463 Web location: http://www.un.org/dpcsd/daw E-mail: daw@un.org CONTENTS Paragraphs Introduction I. ORGANIZATION OF WORK A. Attendance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 B. Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 C. Adoption of agenda and programme of work . . . . . . . . . . 11 D. Working groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 E. Opening statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20 II. SUMMARY OF DEBATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-38 A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-27 B. Changes in the context of the labour market.. . . . . . . . . 28-30 C. Impact of changes on the labour market . . . . . . . . . . . 31-33 D. New Frontiers, new challenges: skills for work . . . . . . 34-38 III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39-78 A. Investing in skills and competencies - closing the gender gap. 40-49 B. Employability and empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50-57 C. Governance and accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-61 D. Building partnership and alliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-67 E. Changing attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-71 F. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-75 G. International level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-78 Annexes Page I. List of participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 II. List of documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 III. Programme of work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 INTRODUCTION 1. Significant gains have been made in improving access to, and quality of the education of girls and women which is a basic and fundamental human right. Women's education yields numerous benefits, including economic productivity, decreased maternal and infant mortality, improved family health and nutrition, delayed marriages and lower birth rates. Investing in education means investment in health, the environment, labour force, and increases women's participation in public life. Economic growth and prosperity as well as sustainable development are directly related to human resource development. Education is the key to it. 2. In most regions, the male-female gap in enrolment at the different levels of education are now narrowing. While literacy rates are rising in all major regions of the world, the female-male literacy gap is not closing in many countries. Two thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women. Illiteracy remains highest among older women who never had the opportunity to go to school. Investment in general and basic education at the primary and secondary levels is the first priority for public policy and the most cost-effective use of public resources to improve human development. Basic education is the ground upon which further education and lifelong learning builds and therefore the most important starting point. Disparities persist in access to primary education in some parts of Africa, in particular sub-Saharan Africa, and in Central Asia. However, in many other countries the disparity in enrolment at second and third levels is now in favour of females. In Latin America and the Caribbean region and in developed countries the male-female disparity in enrolment ratios has practically disappeared. Despite these improvements in access to education, the quality of education that girls receive is a source of concern given the stereotyping and biases that persist in teaching materials and in the delivery system. 3. Learning throughout life is a major key to removing obstacles to women's active participation in all spheres of public and private life. Many women acquire their knowledge in informal learning situations. Lifelong learning is the precondition for women's ability to understand and shape their own lives and environment. It means empowerment and can be an end in itself, but the benefits of lifelong learning go much further, strengthening women's economic capacity and enabling them to participate in policy-making and leadership. Elderly women deserve special attention, because they need continuous training possibilities to live a fulfilling, productive and healthy life. 4. Prior to Beijing, while implementing the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and preparing for the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Commission on the Status of Women considered extensively education with an emphasis on the eradication of illiteracy, achievement of universal primary education for girls, and removal of gender bias from education. An Expert Group Meeting on Gender, Education and Training (1994) examined the rationale for female education, obstacles to it, progress achieved at all levels of formal schooling and the complementary role of non-formal education. The recommendations were directed mainly of measures that would eliminate the gender gap in education and remove bias in school materials and teacher training. They focused on educational policies, access to schools and the learning environment. Attention was paid to girls and women in especially difficult circumstances such as refugees. 5. The Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) identified 'education and training of women' as one critical area of concern and defined six strategic objectives: to ensure equal access to education; to eradicate illiteracy among women; to improve women's access to vocational training, science and technology and continuing education; to develop non-discriminatory education and training; allocate sufficient resources for and to monitor the implementation of educational reforms; promote life-long education and training for girls and women. 6. The Commission on the Status of Women, responsible together with the General Assembly and ECOSOC for overall policy-making and follow-up as well as for coordinating the implementation and monitoring of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, established a multi- year programme for a more focused and thematic approach. The consideration of education and training of women in 1997 is part of this established calendar of the Commission on the Status of Women. To prepare the report to the Commission, an Expert Group Meeting on Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women was convened by the Division for the Advancement of Women at the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin (Italy), 2 - 6 December 1996. The focus of the meeting was on areas in education that build on primary and secondary education and are of relevance to the economic, social and political empowerment of women: technical and vocational training, the transition from school to the labour market, women's preparation for gainful employment, lifelong learning as a tool for capacity building and empowerment of women. 7. This report of the Expert Group Meeting on Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women is concerned with education and training of women as a means of increasing and improving opportunities for women in the world of work, increasing their economic and social power and enabling them to fulfill their potential in contributing to the development of both, societies and themselves. 1. ORGANIZATION OF WORK A. Attendance 8. The Expert Group Meeting on Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women was held at the International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin (Italy), from 2 to 6 December 1996. It was organized by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women/Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DAW/DPCSD) in cooperation with the International Labour Office (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 9. The meeting was attended by 10 experts representing all regions and 12 observers: six from the United Nations system and six from Governments, intergovernmental organizations, non- governmental organizations and the private sector (see annex I for list of participants). B. Documentation 10. Documents issued for the Expert Group Meeting are listed in annex II. C. Adoption of the agenda and programme of work 11. At its first plenary session on 2 December 1996, the Meeting adopted the agenda and programme of work as contained in annex III. D. Election of Officers 12. At the first plenary session, the Meeting elected the following officers: Chairperson: Jill Miller (USA) Vice-Chairpersons: Nabila Hamza (Tunisia) Christine Nathan (India) Rapporteur: Ana Maria Lakomy (Brazil) E. Opening statements 13. The meeting was opened by Ms. Jane Zhang, Special Advisor on Women Worker's Questions (ILO) on behalf of the Director of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW). She stated that the Commission on the Status of Women would take up education and training at its next session. It was the task of this Expert Group Meeting to assist the Commission on the Status of Women in identifying key issues in education and training and put forward proposals for implementing the recommendations of the Platform, particularly in relation to policy-making and effective monitoring. She underlined that education and training were a prerequisite for the successful implementation of many of the critical areas of concern. The meeting would focus on two issues that build on primary and secondary education and were relevant for the economic, social and political empowerment of women. The first was technical and vocational training, which ensured the transition from school to the labour market and women's preparation for gainful employment, and the second, lifelong learning as a tool for capacity building and empowerment of women in a long-term perspective. 14. In her opening statement, Ms. Maria Angelica Ducci, Chief, Training Policies and Programme Development Branch (ILO) welcomed the participants and expressed her organization's particular interest in the meeting. She recalled the importance of equality in employment and treatment of women in the work of the International Labour Office (ILO). Talking about recent changes in the world of work due to globalization, technological advancement, liberalization of markets and expansion of democracy and participation, it was imperative to invest more in the competence and skills of the work force to increase employability, always keeping in mind the goal of gender equality. Training was not a one time event in life, but a lifelong process. Therefore training systems should be designed to respond to the complexities of the labour market and take into account new developments. The dynamic relationship between supply and demand needed to be reevaluated. She also remarked that training should be offered in close partnership between the various actors, the state, enterprises, employers' and workers' organizations, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. 15. Mr. Antonio Graziosi, Deputy Director of the Training Department of the International Training Centre of the ILO welcomed all participants. He emphasized that the subject of the Expert Group Meeting was in line with the approach taken by the ILO Training Centre in the last years, when it had carried out an important number of vocational training courses for women from all regions. The Women in Development Programme had been established in 1989 and was responsible for the design and implementation of both specific women training activities and gender training. The Turin Centre was a large scale training facility with 30 years of training expertise and experience, notably in the field of training of trainers and management training. In recent years it had carried out an increasing volume of training activities for the United Nations system in areas such as field cooperation, development management, human rights, peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance. 16. Introducing the framework for the meeting, Ms. Maria Hartl, Social Affairs Officer, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), presented the results of the Fourth World Conference on Women in the field of education and training and its follow-up. She described the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) as the navigational guide towards gender equality. It identified critical areas of concern and recommended action as unanimously adopted by the world community. The Platform for Action recognized 'education and training of women' as one of twelve critical areas of concern and also recommended action for vocational training and lifelong learning in many other critical areas of concern. The various recommendations in the Platform for Action could be grouped under (a) training in specific areas of science and technology, (b) training as an instrument for eradicating poverty, (c) non-formal educational opportunities, (d) training and education needs of specific target groups of women, (e) information on the availability and benefits of training, (f) incentives to providers of training for women in non-traditional areas and (g) training for women at decision-making level. The Platform for Action also made specific reference to lifelong learning and various types of training, in particular human rights education and legal literacy, training in health, training for the participation of women in public life, and training for sustainable development. 17. The speaker emphasized that at the Fourth World Conference on Women and in subsequent decisions on the implementation of its Platform for Action, the concept of mainstreaming a gender perspective had become a cornerstone. With regard to education and training, gender analysis is a tool to further analyse the issue and to bring about comprehensive, innovative proposals for policy making that took into account the gender variable. A gender perspective needed to be applied to human resource development for which education was the basis. The link between the development of women's human resources and women's integration into the economy, their role in sustainable development and political participation had not been consistently established. 18. Mr. Martin Godfrey, consultant to the meeting, presented a paper on "Vocational training and lifelong learning of women - some labour market considerations". He asked how training could best be used to serve the interests of women in the labour market and began by documenting the comprehensive disadvantages that women faced. He noted that the average level of education of women and their participation in the labour force had increased. Globalization continued, accompanied by changes ineconomic structure and technology. These changes would not favour women workers per se, but opened up interesting opportunities for changes in the division of labour between women an men. 19. The consultant noted that the role of vocational training in helping women to seize these opportunities depended partly on the general context, which was provided by current trends in thinking about reform of training. There was general dissatisfaction with the supply-driven model of training but uncertainty about what to put in its place. Reform of labour markets would make training work more smoothly, but market failures were likely to remain, leading to a lower level of training than was socially desirable. He underlined that there was a need to improve government interventions in training by reforming both systems and institutions. In a rapidly changing world, it was increasingly recognized that education and training for skill development were of utmost importance. As for training for women, there was a need for a criterion for policy decisions and policy pressure. The consultant suggested the criterion of private pay-off to the trainee of each type of training measurable in terms of cost-effectiveness, benefit/cost or indirect indicators. He stated that the main emphasis should be on high-quality primary and lower secondary schooling and remedial education for adults in developing countries, that privileged access to ineffective training was no favour to anyone and that the private pay-off for employers from training and promoting women needed to be increased. 20. All experts appointed by the United Nations presented their background papers and case studies. Observers from intergovernmental organizations, the United Nations system, Governments and the private sector also had the opportunity to introduce their activities in the field of training and education. I. SUMMARY OF DEBATE A. Introduction 21. Society is undergoing today a transformation of unprecedented magnitude and speed, affecting all spheres of economic and social life. This transformation has occurred in the context of the growing globalization of the world economy. Rapid technological change, particularly in the area of information and communications, facilitates financial flows and an increasing exchange of products and services, creating a highly competitive international market. This is further intensified by the deregulation of markets, the progressive dismantling of trade barriers, multilateral trade agreements and the formation of new trade groupings, the relocation of production and the international flow of capital and labour. 22. Knowledge, skills and competencies of all men and women have become the cornerstone of personal growth and employability, enterprises' competitiveness and society's economic and social sustainability. In a competitive environment, the comparative advantages of every individual, enterprise and country will increasingly depend on the asset of intelligent workers, based on knowledge, practical skills, innovation and technology. Therefore, investment in the education, training and development of human resources has become more crucial than ever before. 23. The world of work is changing dramatically. Economic restructuring, changes in production processes, work organization and job contents, and the increasing requirements for flexibility from enterprises, are requiring more and broader skills and making some occupational skills very quickly obsolete. The demand for skills is therefore increasing at a fast pace, both quantitatively and qualitatively. 24. As the quantity and quality of jobs available for men and women is being threatened, employability has become the key in access to employment and self-employment. Given the constraints and unequal opportunities that women face in the labour market, developing women's employability is particularly important. Employability refers to the increased opportunity and capability for constructing the productive skills and competencies that will allow women to find, create, keep, enrich and change their jobs, and to obtain fair personal, economic, social and professional rewards in return, on an equal footing with men. 25. It is imperative that education, technical training and lifelong learning are considered as integral parts and a continuum. The concept of training and lifelong learning includes acquisition of knowledge and skills gained in formal education as well as learning that occurs in informal ways and traditional knowledge, that prepares women to take an active role in the labour market and economic and social development of their countries. A holistic approach should be adopted ensuring that women enjoy equality throughout the process, in a new culture of learning involving individuals, enterprises, organizations and society at large. 26. In the context of the changing world, the importance of science and technology education and information services should be given added importance. In order to develop the skills required, women need to have full access to vocational training and further education at all levels of science and technology. 27. Equalization of opportunities implies the empowerment of women to broaden the participation and warrant the motivation, choices, involvement and participation in all spheres of social and economic life, becoming a critical mass in a position to influence the achievement of effective equality for all women and the vision and direction of development. B. Changes in the context of the labour market 28. The world and its labour market are going through a period of extremely rapid change affecting both the demand for labour and the conditions under which it is supplied, with far reaching implications for training. 29. On the demand side, the trend towards a global economy, with diminished national barriers to trade and investment (and to a lesser extent movement of labour), continues. The structure of national economies is changing in response to this and to changes in comparative advantage. Agriculture is declining in relative importance in many economies, while the services sector is growing everywhere, and export manufacturing is becoming increasingly important in many developing countries. More emphasis is being placed on market forces, as governments deregulate their economies, try to reduce budget deficits and tighten monetary policy, in the search for stabilisation and structural adjustment. Stabilization, reduction in public expenditure, and restructuring of the economy are reflected in cuts in social services, depressed labour markets and high unemployment rates. The relative importance of the private sector is tending to increase in developing and developed countries, particularly in transitional economies. The pace of technological change has accelerated, particularly as it affects information. 30. On the supply side, several important changes are in process. The average educational level of women is rising, although there is still a large group of illiterate women in the world. Segregation by subject persists within the educational and training system. In many developing and developed countries, girls achieve higher levels of general education than boys, but their labour market participation does not reflect this trend. Girls and women are under-represented in technical and scientific areas and remain clustered in non-technical fields of work. Female labour force participation is increasing, but so is the number of female-headed households, and the intra-household division of labour, crucial to the conditions under which women supply their labour, is virtually unchanged. Fertility rates are declining in many countries, and women are living longer: as a result, there is now a "sandwich generation" of women of prime working age, often having to cope with the care of young children, on the one hand, and care of elderly parents, on the other. Women's attachment to the labour force is growing: they are becoming committed lifelong, rather than intermittent, participants in the labour market. They are also more conscious of their rights and more willing to organize in defence of them. C. Impact of changes on the labour market 31. These changes are affecting the labour market in various ways. Some of these effects are ambiguous or negative. The international division of labour is based on the use of cheap and mostly unskilled female labour in developing countries, and on international migration predominantly of women, both of which may be preferred by participants to the available alternative but which raise many problems. Wages and working conditions of women in these situations deserve attention. The use of labour is often being intensified, with multiplication of tasks for the same pay. Women's jobs are being differentially destroyed, for example in the public sector, home industries and agriculture. Atypical and precarious forms of work, in which women are over-represented, are increasing in importance as labour markets become more flexible: temporary, casual, part-time and often multiple jobs, homeworking, subcontracting or "putting out", as well as self-employment. The informal sector is expanding, as the last resort of the desperate rather than as a panacea for employment problems. Unemployment, underemployment and retrenchment are rising as labour markets become more depressed: many discouraged workers, most of them women, are withdrawing from the labour force, and older women who want to re-enter employment face almost insuperable problems. 32. Some women, though still a small number, have entered previously male-dominated occupations. They have breached "glass ceilings" and obtained managerial positions, particularly in transitional economic sectors. New types of technologies, recruitment practices and jobs offer opportunities for women, in line with their comparative advantage, in services, information processing and others, which are there to be seized. Employers are looking for "employable" and flexible rather than narrowly skilled recruits. The importance of micro-enterprises and of female entrepreneurs is increasing. 33. Despite efforts that have been made to promote women professionals, segregation remains an important and persistent characteristic of all labour-markets, regardless of the level of female participation and economic development. This segregation is due to the distribution of men and women in education and training which is highly polarized. Discrimination in girls' access to education and training persists in many areas owing to stereotyped role models, inadequate and gender-biased teaching and educational materials which reduce girls' options for future choices. In practice the training offered to girls and women is very limited in comparison with that available to boys and men. In consideration of the prevailing unemployment situation men are expected to have a greater need of skilled training to improve their chances on the job market, demonstrating once again that women's wages are considered as supplementary and as requiring no particular training to enhance their skills. Male predominance in many professions is maintained in a process of exclusion of and discrimination against women where the best paid and most dynamic employment sectors are reserved for men. An additional obstacle is women's reticence to enter sectors where men predominate and in which working conditions and schedules are inconvenient. Girls are still concentrated in a limited number of fields of study and training and are deprived in many countries of basic education in mathematics, science and technology which provide knowledge they could apply to improve their daily lives and enhance their employment and career opportunities. D. New Frontiers, new challenges: skills for work 34. Technology is rapidly changing and has an impact at various levels. Many developing countries are trying to meet the challenge of competitiveness based on skills and new technologies. Upgrading skills is necessary for this purpose. It is essential that women not only benefit from technology, but also participate in the process from the design to the application, monitoring and evaluation stages. Women also need to be better prepared for the decision-making and leadership roles that they are assuming, and to become familiar with new technologies. The change in the pattern of demand makes general education, and remedial education for adults, even more important, while reinforcing the need for initial acquisition of broad rather than narrow skills, followed by constant retraining and lifelong learning, including general education. A system of skill development is needed which is open, flexible, responsible to change, gender-sensitive, and catering also for re-entrants to the workforce. Entrepreneurial skills for small business need to be further developed and intensified. A new approach needs to be taken for training of women in informal employment and self-employment. 35. In most countries of the world, training systems are undergoing reform geared to improve their relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, equity and sustainability in responding to the new requirements of the world of work. The trend is to redefine the role of the state and reduce its direct involvement in training provision, while assigning increasing responsibilities to the private sector, in particular enterprises and individuals. Governments are called upon to take up new functions in regulating the overall system, in which diverse public and private actors would compete in an open market. While these changes open up new opportunities for lifelong learning for men and women, they also bring up new risks, in particular for those groups and sectors that remain at a disadvantage in access to a market-based training system. Privatization, decentralization, reduced public funding and increased dominance of enterprises in training may hinder the possibilities for girls and women to enhance their employability and career development through access to good quality training. 36. Furthermore, training systems especially in developing countries, which lack the necessary resources to adopt new technologies and approaches and the capability to respond rapidly to labour market demand, continue to provide training which in the final analysis may be irrelevant to the labour market or for entrepreneurial development. Particular importance needs to be given to the continuation of a process of investment in human capital through teaching women new kinds of skills. The demands of changing work environments require wider profiles of the teaching contents, a higher level of education, and an emphasis on thinking skills. 37. Alliances among the various partners at national and international level (the state, the private sector, non- governmental organizations, women's groups, trade unions, employers' federations, cooperatives, research and higher educational institutions, international agencies etc.) are needed to bring these prospects for development of women's skills to reality. The private sector in particular will play an increasingly important part. 38. Whatever its role in the financing and provision of training, the state has responsibility to promote equality between men and women, through incentives, legislation, advocacy and other measures. This would include ensuring that adequate value (in the sense of both status and earnings) is given to women's work. International agencies will also play a useful role in advocating gender equality in vocational training. This is an area for political action, with women's groups and workers' organizations, national and international, exerting pressure to capitalize on the gains already made in this area. There is need for the establishment and maintenance of effective labour market information systems, that should not only provide gender-sensitive data, qualitative as well as quantitative, but also guide the development and delivery of training programmes and assist women in choosing the types of training and jobs which best fit their needs. Finally, both national and international structures are needed to monitor and support the implementation of education and training programmes for women. III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 39. The Expert Group Meeting structured its conclusions into recommendations under seven headings: investing in skills and competencies, closing the gender gap, employability and empowerment, governance and accountability, building partnerships and alliances, changing attitudes, and resources. While fully endorsing the recommendations contained in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, notably under strategic objective "B.3 Improve women's access to vocational training, science and technology, and continuing education", the meeting focussed on ways to enhance their implementation and added recommendations that specify action in greater detail. A. Investing in skills and competencies - closing the gender gap 40. The world of work requires a broad and evolving spectrum of skills and competencies. Therefore, education, training and lifelong learning must be integrally linked to enabling women, at any time in life, to gain access to opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that are the basis of technical competence, self-development, and to cope with the demands arising from changes taking place in the environment. At the same time, measures have to be undertaken by governments, employers and unions to enhance the value of women's work and female care-giving professions by making women's contribution to economic development more visible, and by establishing paths for promotion and better wages in sectors of predominantly female employment. 41. The problems of inequality cannot be solved by training alone. In developing countries, for instance, completion by all children of high-quality primary and lower secondary schooling and the provision of remedial general education to adults, while not being sufficient, would make a bigger contribution to equalization than any policy measure affecting training alone. More girls also need to be encouraged to enter technical and scientific fields. The meeting therefore fully endorses the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in particular the strategic objectives "Ensure equal access to education" (B.1), "Eradicate illiteracy among women" (B.4), "Eliminate discriminations against girls in education, skills development and training" (L.4) , and urges their full implementation. 42. Lifelong learning requires that individuals acquire generic skills and aptitudes, for example, 'learning to learn skills', that will enable them to take responsibility for their development, motivate them to learn, to seek opportunities for self-development and to be sensitive to changes taking place in the environment and to the options available to respond to these changes. Governments and other actors should provide opportunities and an enabling environment for lifelong learning, and institute measures to ensure that women have access to these opportunities. 43. To bridge the gender gap and increase access of girls and women to science and technology education and to vocational training and lifelong learning, action must be taken using a wide range of strategies and mixed modalities. These should include the adoption of multiple delivery modalities such as: þ Formal and non-formal training provision; þ Distance education and open learning approach, including the use of multimedia and new technologies; þ Training at the workplace; þ Mentoring and role modelling; þ Peer counselling; þ Traditional and cultural methods of communication and information dissemination. 44. Education and training should be diverse, flexible, creative and innovative to ensure that women at all levels participate in learning processes. Educators need to work with training providers and various actors to design appropriate curricula and methodologies. 45. Vocational training systems should be more "girls and women friendly" so that girls feel comfortable with all elements of the training. Efforts should be made to remove stereotyping in information and guidance on vocational options, suggested models, the training materials and curricula, the training modalities and strategies, in line with the recommendations contained in the Platform for Action under strategic objective "Develop non-discriminatory education and training" (B.4). 46. The changes taking place in the work environment require training to be not only for the acquisition of technical skills but also for the acquisition of skills such as negotiating, communicating and working in teams. Providers of training should take into account and utilize the ways in which women work, learn and interact in a social and work environment. 47. Training should facilitate the development of entrepreneurial skills, desirable attitudes for entrepreneurship, and an entrepreneurial outlook. Enterprises should take an active role by providing concrete examples, hands-on practice and experiences, for example, through apprenticeship schemes, internships, demonstrations and mentoring. This training should enable women to respond to demands of the labour market and also to create demand and stimulate changes in the labour market. 48. Enterprises and training providers should train women to work in mixed teams and to develop confidence and skills to deal with competition, situations of sexual harassment, stereotyping, horizontal and vertical relationships, and the prevailing culture of the workplace. At the same time it is necessary for both women and men to develop through training the attitudes and skills to ensure mutual respect, co-operation and support in the work environment. 49. Growing numbers of women are in informal employment and self-employment although some have previously worked in the formal sector. An innovative approach to training for women in these sectors needs to be developed through: þ Provision of literacy training, as an indispensable prerequisite; þ Appropriate and cost-effective delivery systems, involving non-governmental organizations, community-level institutions, trade unions and women's groups; þ Efforts to attract women to enter such training schemes, through mass education and sensitization; þ Training as part of a larger and coherent package for improving employment and income generation; þ Training to include technology, vocational, entrepreneurial and management skills, quality control and market information; þ Training linked to support services (such as child-care services and convenient timing and location); þ Post-training support, such as credit, and help in finding suppliers and markets; þ Realistic assessment of market demand to endure that training has a high pay-off; þ Promotion of group mobilization to strengthen capacity for bargaining. B. Employability and empowerment 50. The overriding concern of policy in this area is that women should be equally involved in training programmes which offer a high personal pay-off to those who participate in them, and which increase their social and economic power. 51. Women should be provided by national statistical offices, women's groups, training providers, employers, workers' organizations and research institutions, with the labour market information (LMI) they need to identify the training which will yield the highest pay-off, and to get the best possible job. This information is also needed by government policy-makers and training providers. A redesigned, relevant and up-to-date LMI system, providing data disaggregated by sex, is needed and should also include the following elements: þ A regular household labour force survey, including individual records of earnings and other characteristics of adult household members; þ Tracer studies of graduates of training programmes, preferably administered in a decentralized way by training providers; þ Links between employers, workers and training institutions; þ Monitoring of trends in the world economy as they affect the structure of the national economy and new opportunities for women workers. 52. Special services need to be provided for women, before, during and after training, which should include: þ Outreach; þ Personal counselling; þ Assessment and testing; þ Career counselling and planning; þ Pre-employment preparation; þ Supportive services such as child care, transportation allowances, tuition assistance, equipment, tutoring, books and materials, emergency loan funds and clothes; þ Referrals to relevant social services; þ Job development and job placement services; þ Occupational safety and health. 53. As part of vocational and career guidance, all women should be given information concerning non-traditional occupations including wages, working conditions and training requirements. Training for non-traditional occupations for women should include physical conditioning and prevocational training that incorporates survival skills such as coping with sexual harassment and isolation on the job. Non-traditional training programmes for women should include preparation of employers and workers to receive women in the workplace. 54. All providers of training should offer post training support to ensure that trainees find employment or promotion and can make use of their newly acquired skills. Such support should include job search assistance, promotion, credit and market advice for self employment, on site services and mobility assistance. 55. Women should participate in decision-making processes for education and training. To participate effectively women should assume managerial and leadership roles taking into account barriers that they face due to culture, tradition and male dominated management systems. 56. Women's groups should network and lobby at international and national levels to increase the access of women to high quality education, science, technology and vocational training, and to obtain better terms and conditions of work in companies' polices and recruitment, training and promotion of women. 57. Women's groups and networks should strengthen their capacity to monitor the impact of international trends, national policies, skills development programmes and prospect of upward occupational mobility for women. C. Governance and accountability 58. The education, training and lifelong learning of women should be mainstreamed in national human development plans and policies, equal opportunity policies and industrial policies with an emphasis on employment and employability of women. National machineries for the advancement of women should urge policy-makers in Government and in the private sector to ensure that all these policies are responsive to gender concerns, and that women and their organizations participate in the policy-making processes. 59. Regulatory bodies such as National Training Authorities and/or Boards should be used as mechanisms to facilitate and encourage providers to articulate the competencies for employability that girls and women are expected to acquire through programmes offered. This is especially needed since a significant amount of training available to women takes place through informal learning and in short non-formal courses. A description or profile of competencies acquired would facilitate further training and employability since it would place value on the skills that women bring to the workplace. Governments should have an active role in: þ Establishing or strengthening regulatory/co-ordinating bodies that include representation of various actors, in particular Governments, employers and workers; þ Including in the terms of reference of these bodies: (a) The formulation of national training policies and procedures; (b) The establishment of criteria for quality assurance of programmes; (c) The recognition/certification of competencies; (d) The determination of performance indicators to evaluate the impact of training. 60. In so far as Governments are involved in delivery of training, they should promote in their own programmes co-education, affirmative action and high pay-off training for women rather than specific training in traditional low pay-off specializations . 61. Governments should influence the private sector to increase the number of women that they recruit, train and promote by using measures such as: þ Informal pressure; þ Legislation; þ Incentives such as vouchers or subsidies for high pay-off training for women; þ Encouragement of the growth of representative workers' organizations in line with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, strategic objective "Promote women's economic rights and independence, including access to employment, appropriate working conditions and control over economic resources" (F.1); þ Bursaries and scholarships for girls that join science, technology education and vocational training programmes; þ Differential fees and possibly total abolition of fees for girls who join science and technology education and vocational training programmes; þ Other non-financial incentives, such as holiday employment in relevant industries, supportive facilities in training institutions and guaranteed employment upon graduation; þ Free supply to women of resources for lifelong learning and support to community based skill centres. D. Building partnership and alliances 62. The relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of training should be enhanced through the establishment of alliances among these various partners, including the public and private sectors, non- governmental organizations, trade unions, organizations of employers and co-operatives. 63. The state has a major responsibility in promoting and facilitating such alliances by developing the regulatory framework, the financing mechanisms, incentive schemes and technical support. Governments should be ultimately responsible for filling gaps in education and training provisions especially for women in poverty, women in rural and depressed areas and women with social, economic, cultural and physical constraints. 64. Enterprises have a key role to play though collaboration with other providers in: þ Identifying the new skills and competencies required for the workplace; þ Providing work experience and apprenticeships; þ Making available facilities and equipment; þ Providing expertise for the delivery of training; þ Forming associations to aggregate resources and increase capacity for training, particularly for small-scale enterprises; þ Strengthening links between universities and enterprises especially in the area of research and development. 65. Employers and workers organizations also play a critical role in alliances and should be actively involved in decision-making processes and the provision of training at national and decentralized levels. In this new framework, women trainers should be encouraged to organize themselves in associations, consultancies and firms in order to compete for the delivery of training programmes. 66. Mechanisms encouraging networking of women's groups should be reinforced to influence training policies. Groups should share information on effective policies, strengthen their capacity to advance the development of women and monitor progress. 67. A wealth of experience in education and training, including innovative approaches to meet the needs of women exists world-wide. Examples of excellence should be identified, evaluated, documented, mainstreamed and shared at national, regional and international levels. The experience gained through innovative training matters and schemes, designed by women for retraining of women should be analysed, adapted and used in training programmes for both men and women. E. Changing attitudes 68. A major obstacle to equalization in the labour market is the division of labour within the household. Governments, the media, formal and non formal educational institutions, and women's' groups should: þ Promote the ratification and application of relevant ILO Conventions, especially Convention No. 156 on 'Workers with Family Responsibilities' and No. 175 on 'Part time work'; þ Promote changes in socially accepted norms through education, information campaigns, the media and other forms of information dissemination to encourage a more equitable sharing of responsibilities for work and family between men and women, in line with the strategic objective of the Platform for Action "Promote a balanced and non- stereotyped portrayal of women in the media" (J.2); þ Implement the recommendations contained in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on the reform of the tax system and social security policies (para. 179(f)) and parental leave for both parents (para. 179(c)). 69. Programmes by non-governmental organizations aimed at gender sensitization of government, employers, trainers, NGOs, workers' organizations, the media, women and men should be continued, with particular emphasis on the benefits to society as a whole, accruing from the education and training of women. 70. Campaigns by women's groups and the media for social-awareness investment and consumption, so far usually confined to issues such as racism, child labour and environmental damage should be extended to include companies' policies on recruitment, training and promotion of women. 71. The media has a significant role to play in the education and training of girls through advocacy and multimedia to: þ Raise awareness, remove stereotyping and biases against the participation of girls and women in vocational training and related careers; þ Influence girls, through career guidance and counselling, to follow training programmes that enhance their competitiveness and employability; þ Secure policy reforms and legislation that promote a greater role for women in science and technology education and vocational training and related careers; þ Secure changes in labour laws, in particular that would avail supportive facilities for women in the workplaces. F. Resources 72. Dwindling resources require that cost-effective strategies be employed for education and training. The strategic objective "Allocate sufficient resources for and monitor the implementation of educational reforms" (B.5) , and "Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skill's development and training (L.4), in particular para. 279 (d) of the Beijing Platform for Action should be implemented. The provision of incentives and measures for reducing direct and opportunity costs of educating girls and women need to be considered in the development and implementation of innovative financing schemes for training programmes. 73. No matter how training is financed, more resources should be allocated to the equalization of training opportunities. This can be justified by the social benefits to be gained in terms of increased output, income and tax revenue. In the long run it could be regarded as a profitable investment. 74. International donor agencies should make their loans and grants conditional on equal training opportunities, including both mainstreaming and special targeted programmes. In some cases, financial institutions, development banks and donor agencies should support the implementation of these recommendations by allocating resources for the education and training of women. 75. Special attention must be given to the provision, adaptation, maintenance and up-grading of the quality of equipment and facilities to meet the training needs of women. Necessary accommodation and hostel facilities should be provided. G. International level 76. Organizations of the United Nations system, in particular the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and regional organizations should assist countries in implementing these recommendations by: þ Identifying and analysing best practices and experiences; þ Systematizing information and developing models that can be mainstreamed or used to catalyse the development of new programmes; þ Disseminating these models and practices through different modalities, for example, through networking, the use of information technologies, databases, seminars and publications; þ Strengthening national capacity through policy advice and technical cooperation. 77. Other non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, including those of employers and workers, should support these recommendations and promote their application by their members, affiliates and related organizations. 78. Links between national and international bodies must be established for the effective monitoring of and reporting on progress made in the implementation of these recommendations. The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women should monitor the recommendations of this report within the framework of its review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and in line with Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 1996/6. ANNEXES I. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS CONSULTANT Martin GODFREY Ana Maria LAKOMY Consultant Centre of Technological Education 401 East 34th Street at P rana (CEFET-PR) Apartment South 15C Post Graduate Program New York, NY 10016 - USA in Technology Tel: 212-4470177 Avenida 7 de Setembro, 3165 Fax: 212-4470177 80230-901 Curitiba-PR-Brazil E-mail: godfrey4@ix.netcom.com Tel: 55-41-3224544, ext. 244 Fax: 55-41-224-5170 Email: lakomy@nupes.cefetpr.br EXPERTS Jill MILLER Ancilla ARMSTRONG Co-Executive Director Coordinator Women Work! Human Resource Development Unit The National Network for Women's Caribbean Development Bank Employment P.O.Box 408, Wildey, 1625 K Street Northwest, Suite 300 St. Michael, Barbados, W.I. Washington D.C. 20006 - U.S.A. Tel: 246-4311600 Tel: 202-467-6346 Fax: 246-4267269 Fax: 202-467-5366 E-mail: armstl@caribank.org Email: ww@inssys.imssys.com Nabila HAMZA Flora MINJA Director Researcher and Gender Coordinator Ministry of Vocational Training Vocational Education and and Employment Training Authority Tunisia P.O. Box 2849 Tel: 216-1-79 49 15 Dar es Salaam - Tanzania Fax: 216-1-76 62 34 Tel: 255-51-863-409 Ext.224 Fax: 255-51-863-408 Swarna JAYAWEERA Coordinator Christine NATHAN Centre for Women's Research General Secretary 12 1/1 Ascot Avenue Indian Federation of Building and Colombo 5 - Sri Lanka Wood Workers Tel: 94-1-50 21 53 4th Floor, D'Mello Bhavan Fax: 94-1-50 21 53 P. D'mello Road, Carnac Bunder Mumbai 400 038 - India Tel: 0091-22-261-6077/261-8735 Fax: 009-22-261-6077 Email: ind.ifbww@axcess.net.in Paul M. NYAMBALA Jane ZHANG Chief Project Officer Special Adviser on Women Workers' CAPA - Commonwealth Association of Questions, ILO Polytechnics in Africa CH-1211 Geneva 22 - Switzerland c/o Kenya Polytechnic Tel: 41-22-7996930 P.O. Box 52428 Fax: 41-22-7988685 Nairobi - Kenya Email: Zhangy@ILO.Ch Tel: 254-2-338231/2 Ext. 226 Fax: 254-2-219689 Stefania SZCZURKOWSKA Qian TANG Department of Vocational Chief Education and Training Section for Technical and Institute for Educational Research Vocational Education G¢rczewska 8 Division for Secondary and 01-180 Warsaw - Poland Vocational Education, UNESCO Tel: 48-22-6321869 7, Place de Fontenoy Fax: 48 22-6321895 F-75700 Paris - France Tel: 33-1-45680 831 OBSERVERS FROM THE Fax: 33-1-45685630 UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM Email: edtan@unesco.org Daniela BERTINO Inez WIJNGAARDE Programme Manager Human Resources Development Branch Women in Development Human Resource, Enterprise and International Training Centre of the ILO Private Sector (on behalf of CINTERFOR) Development Division, UNIDO Corso Unit… d'Italia 125 P.O. Box 300 10127 Turin - Italy 1400 Vienna - Austria Tel: 39-11-6936521 Tel: 43-1-21131 3810 Fax: 39-11-3121601 Fax: 43-1-21131 6841 E-mail: WID@itcilo.it Email: iwijngaarde@UNIDO.org Maria-Angelica DUCCI OBSERVERS Chief, Training Policies and Systems Helga EBELING Branch - ILO "Women in Education and Research" CH-1211 Geneva 22 - Switzerland Federal Ministry of Education, Tel: 41-22-7996565 Science, Research and Technology Fax: 41 22-7988685 Heinemannstr. 2 E-mail: ducci@hq.ilo.ch D-53175 Bonn - Germany Tel: 49-228-572863 Fax: 49-228-57096 Lin Lean LIM Email: Helga.Ebeling@BMBF.Bund400.de Employment and Training Department, ILO CH-1211 Geneva 22 - Switzerland Tel: 41-22-7997843 Fax: 41-22-7998685 E-mail: Lim@Ilo.org. MEETING ORGANIZERS Division for the Advacnement Maria MAGNANI NOYA of women Zontal International Via Botero 16 Turin - Italy Maria HARTL Tel: 39-11-535658 Social Affairs Officer Fax: 39-11-534600 Division for the Advancement of Women Ranzie MENSAH Department for Policy Coordination Baha'i International Community and Sustainable Development Sant'Anselmo 44 2 United Nations Plaza 11100 Aosta - Italy Room DC1-1238 Tel: 39-165-33902 New York, NY 10017 Tel: 212-963-3140 Lucy STEWARD Fax: 212-963-3463 Chief Programme Officer Email: hartl@un.org Human Resource Development Division Commonwealth Secretariat International Training Centre of London - United Kingdom the ILO Tel: 44-171-7476277 Antonio GRAZIOSI Fax: 44-171-7476287 Deputy Director E-mail:100676.640@compuserve.com Training Department Tel. home: 44-171-2281811 International Training Centre of the ILO Corso Unit  d'Italia 125 Ziga VODUSEK 10127 Turin - Italy Senior Economist Tel: 39-11-6936111-6936672 Special Office in Europe Fax: 39-11-66388442 Inter-American Development Bank 66, Avenue d'I‚na Simonetta CAVAZZA 75116 Paris - France Programme Officer Tel: 33-1-4069 3100/3110 Women in Development Fax: 33-1-40693120 International Training Centre of E-mail: ZIGAV@IADB.ORG the ILO Corso Unit  d'Italia 125 10127 Turin - Italy Uta WERNER Tel: 39-11-6936520/6936521 SZ-4 Frauenf”rderung Fax: 39-11-3121601 Volkswagen AG Email: WID@itcilo.it Brieffach 1867/0 38436 Wolfsburg - Germany Arnfinn JORGENSEN-DAHL Tel: 49-5361-973029/92660 Principal Programme Development Fax: 49-5361-926892 Officer E-mail: devw1mv8@ibmmail.com UN Staff College Project International Training Centre of the ILO Corso Unit  d'Italia 125 10127 Turin - Italy Tel: 39-11-6936111 Fax: 39-11-6638842 II. LIST OF DOCUMENTS Information Papers ECM/VOCA/1996/INF.1 Programme of Work ECM/VOCA/1996/INF.2 List of Documents ECM/VOCA/1996/INF.3 List of Participants ECM/VOCA/1996/INF.4 Information Note for Participants Working Papers ECM/VOCA/1996/WP.1 Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women: Some Labour-market considerations. Prepared by Martin Godfrey, Consultant ECM/VOCA/1996/WP.2 Education and Training: The Results of the Fourth World Conference on Women and its follow-up Prepared by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women ECM/VOCA/1996/WP.3 The Latin American Regional Programme to promote women's participation in technical and vocational training Prepared by Daniela Bertino, Women in Development Programme, International Training Centre of the ILO ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.1 Promoting vocational training and lifelong learning forwomen in the Commonwealth Caribbean: A discussion paper Paper prepared by L. Ancilla Armstrong, Barbados ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.2 Vocational training and lifelong learning of women in Sri Lanka Paper prepared by Swarna Jayaweera, Sri Lanka ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.3 Vocational training and lifelong learning of women in Poland Paper prepared by Stefania Szczurkowska, Poland ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.4 Education and training programmes for women in the United States Paper prepared by Jill Miller, USA ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.5 The equal access and participation for all in technological education: A gender perspective Paper prepared by Ana Maria Lakomy, Brazil ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.6 A review of experiences and situations in Commonwealth Africa, with a special focus on, and suggestions of possible intervention strategies for improving women's access to science,technology and vocational training Paper prepared by Paul M. Nyambala, Kenya ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.7 The role of education and training in the professional desegregation of women Paper prepared by Nabila Hamza, Tunisia ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.8 Indian women workers in the formal (construction and the informal sector (forest and tribal women) Paper prepared by Christine Nathan, India ECM/VOCA/1996/EP.9 Vocational training and lifelong learning of women - The case of Tanzania Paper prepared by Flora Minja, Tanzania ECM/VOCA/1996/OP.1 Promotion of the equal access of girls and women to technical and vocational Education-UNESCO's activities in recent years Paper prepared by the Section for Technical and Vocational Education, UNESCO ECM/VOCA/1996/OP.2 Women and Industrial Human Resources Development Paper prepared by Inez Wijngaarde, Human Resources Development Branch/Integration of Women in Industrial Development Unit, UNIDO ECM/VOCA/1996/OP.3 Vocational training and lifelong learning of women: Situation and recent developments in Germany Paper prepared by Helga Ebeling, Women in Education and Research, Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology, Germany III. PROGRAMME OF WORK Monday, 2 December 1996 Morning session 1. Opening and Introduction - Jane Zhang (Special Advisor on Women's Workers Questions, ILO, on behalf of the Director, DAW) - Maria-Angelica Ducci (Chief, Training Policies and Programme, Development Bank Branch, ILO) - Antonio Graziosi (Deputy Director, Training Department, ILO Turin Centre) 2. Election of Chairperson and Rapporteur 3. Presentation of DAW and consultant's background papers and discussion - Maria Hartl (Social Affairs Officer, DAW) "Results of the Fourth World Conference on Women in the area of education and training" - Martin Godfrey (Consultant) "Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women: Some Labour-Market Considerations" Afternoon session 4. Presentation of experts' papers on Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women - Daniela Bertino (ILO Turin Centre, on behalf of CINTERFOR) - Ana Maria Lakomy (Brazil) - Ancilla Armstrong (Barbados) - Jill Miller (USA) - Stefania Szczurkowska (Poland) Tuesday, 3 December 1996 Morning session 5. Presentation of experts' papers on Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning of Women: - Paul M. Nyambala (Kenya) - Flora Minja (Tanzania) - Nabila Hamza (Tunisia) - Christine Nathan (India) - Swarna Jayaweera (Sri Lanka) Afternoon session 6. Presentations by observer-experts: - Lin Lean Lim (ILO) - Inez Wijngaarde (UNIDO) - Qian Tang (UNESCO) - Uta Werner (Volkswagen, Germany) - Ziga Vodusek (Inter-American Development Bank) - Lucy Steward (Commonwealth Secretariat) - Helga Ebeling (Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology, Germany) 7. General debate and identification of major issues for working groups Wednesday, 4 December 1996 8. Discussion and elaboration of recommendations Morning session - Working groups: 1. The external context of the labour market 2. Policies for vocational training Afternoon session - Working groups continued - Reports from the working groups and general debate Thursday, 5 December 1996 Morning session - Working groups on the draft report and recommendations Afternoon session - Working groups continue Friday, 6 December 1996 Morning session - Discussion of report in plenary Afternoon session 9. Adoption of final report and recommendations - Closing