Lifelong learning improves employability

Another crucial factor for increasing women’s employment rates (in particular, by helping to extend their working lives) is their participation in various forms of education at later stages in the lifecycle, which would help them to update skills, compensate for their skill loss during periods outside the labour market and adapt them to the changing labour market demand. There is a large strand of the literature on how the development of workers’ skills through lifelong learning (LLL) is essential to extending the length of time spent on the labour market and increasing employment levels.30 _{Better-qualified workers stay in employment longer as their skills,}

Women and men differ in their reasons for not participating in training macroeconomic perspective, better human capital positively affects a country's competitiveness and growth rates.

Participation rates among adults in formal, informal (i.e. unorganised, associated for instance with leisure or learning from family members) and non-formal education (carried out within an organised framework) vary significantly across EU countries, and the challenges related to improvements in this area are different for men and women.31

The key factors determining adults’ participation in lifelong learning activities are age (a higher age implies lower participation), educational attainment (well-educated individuals tend to participate much more frequently in LLL activities), the economic sector (people working in agriculture and industry invest little in gaining new qualifications), and labour market status (being employed increases the chances of participating in LLL activities).

Gender differences play a minor role in determining overall LLL participation rates. Men and women take part in job-related training at similar rates in the majority of EU countries, with the exception of Denmark and Sweden. However, women are less likely to participate in formal education than men, while they outnumber men in non-formal training.32 _{Moreover, training participation is higher in the more female-}

dominated sectors. That said, due to less continuous employment and to career breaks related to maternity, women experience a shorter average time spent in education, hence the need for stronger support for LLL activities for women.33

Moreover, women and men differ when it comes to their reasons for not participating in training. Women are much more likely to opt out of further education due to family reasons.34

When interpreting this result, we should remember that answers are subjective and can be country-specific In the Netherlands, the high share of respondents may stem

from the high value assigned to family, including family responsibilities and childcare. The largest relative gender differences are observed in Sweden and Portugal. However, recent research suggests that the presence of children in a household does not create a difference in the intensity of formal education among men and women in adult life, though it does lower female participation in non-formal learning.35

Figure 7.8 Obstacles to participation in education related to family responsibilities by country

Source: Chłoń-Domińczak and Lis (2013).

As family obligations prevent women from obtaining more qualifications, an improvement in their LLL participation can be achieved by policies that remove obstacles to the balance between education and family life. Such policies (again) include greater access to affordable childcare and flexible working hours. A more equal distribution of family obligations between partners would also play a positive role.

Well-educated individuals are more likely to engage in LLL compared with those with lower educational attainment.36 _{This means that}

the differences in human capital levels across socio-economic groups increase with age. To prevent rising human capital inequalities, it is crucial to pay particular attention to low-skilled women with low labour market attachment, as they are least likely to invest in improving their qualifications. Moreover, the design of sector-level policies should be differentiated to reflect variation in sectoral LLL participation, which is much higher in knowledge-intensive services. These differences also contribute to lifetime educational inequalities.

Furthermore, women might benefit from the recognition of informal learning. For instance, they are much more likely to adopt skills related to caring for children or the elderly.37 _{Their care competences could be}

formally recognised (with some additional training, if needed). Increasing demand for people with care skills is expected due to population ageing, and formal qualifications could be successfully put to use in the labour market. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 10 20 30 40 50 E U 27 NL EL CY IT ES OR CZ DE LU PL MT ES EE AT BE LV LT _DK FR BG _HU PT SK

The ongoing structural changes in the labour market are modifying the existing shape and structure of female/male wage differentials. The policy solutions should also involve counselling by public employment services and helping women to plan their educational choices to reduce the mismatch between skills learnt and skills demanded by the labour market. This will translate not only into higher probabilities of finding a job, but also longer average duration and better quality of jobs, further increasing female employment rates.