The effect of job training on Peruvian women's employment and wages

This paper looks at the effect of post-school training on employment and wage opportunities of urban women. Attendance in post-school training programs is extensive. The more schooling a women has, the more likely she is to receive job training. Post-school training generally increases a woman's chances of entering the labor force, however, job training does not increase the hourly wage rates of women in wage (private) and nonwage employment sectors. There are several possible explanations for this finding. First, since women tend to expect to work outside the home fewer years than men, they have an incentive to train for occupations that require lower investments in human capital than those by men. Second, there are no standards for assessing the quality of the training in proprietary institutes where most women are trained. Finally, discrimination against women may prevent them from entering not only the most successful training programs, but also the jobs that allow more wage and career advancement as well.