Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo
This paper describes a randomized experiment that used a sample of men and women who were eligible for a vocational training program in the Republic of Congo to test the effect of providing information on trade-specific earnings on trade choice. Th...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/611661644422085910/Addressing-Gender-Based-Segregation-through-Information-Evidence-from-a-Randomized-Experiment-in-the-Republic-of-Congo http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36974 |
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okr-10986-369742022-03-28T19:09:41Z Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo Gassier, Marine Rouanet, Lea Traore, Lacina GENDER GAP EARNINGS WAGES VOCATIONAL TRAINING MALE-DOMINATED TRADES GENDER INNOVATION LAB AFRICA GENDER POLICY WOMEN AND WORK WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT AFRICA GENDER POLICY GENDER INNOVATION LAB WOMEN AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT This paper describes a randomized experiment that used a sample of men and women who were eligible for a vocational training program in the Republic of Congo to test the effect of providing information on trade-specific earnings on trade choice. The analysis finds that women are 28.6 percent more likely to apply to a traditionally male- dominated trade when receiving this information. Men and women are also both more likely to apply to more lucrative trades. This may in part be driven by the intervention filling an information gap. The analysis suggests, however, that behavioral mechanisms, which make trade-specific returns more salient in the decision process of applicants, play an even bigger role. Indeed, there are much larger treatment effects among women who have technical knowledge and experience or male role models, even though the information does not impact their expectations of earnings in male-dominated trades. The treatment is thus most effective among women who are already well positioned to cross over into male-dominated trades and can give greater weight to earning considerations when choosing a trade. The results indicate that this low-cost intervention can be a useful tool to encourage women to cross over to more lucrative trades in which their presence has been limited, and thereby contribute to reducing the gender gap in earnings. There is also a high potential for interventions that would pair information on returns and trade exposure. 2022-02-10T15:57:20Z 2022-02-10T15:57:20Z 2022-02 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/611661644422085910/Addressing-Gender-Based-Segregation-through-Information-Evidence-from-a-Randomized-Experiment-in-the-Republic-of-Congo http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36974 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9934 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Africa Western and Central (AFW) Congo, Republic of |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
GENDER GAP EARNINGS WAGES VOCATIONAL TRAINING MALE-DOMINATED TRADES GENDER INNOVATION LAB AFRICA GENDER POLICY WOMEN AND WORK WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT AFRICA GENDER POLICY GENDER INNOVATION LAB WOMEN AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT |
| spellingShingle |
GENDER GAP EARNINGS WAGES VOCATIONAL TRAINING MALE-DOMINATED TRADES GENDER INNOVATION LAB AFRICA GENDER POLICY WOMEN AND WORK WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT AFRICA GENDER POLICY GENDER INNOVATION LAB WOMEN AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT Gassier, Marine Rouanet, Lea Traore, Lacina Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Africa Western and Central (AFW) Congo, Republic of |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9934 |
| description |
This paper describes a randomized
experiment that used a sample of men and women who were
eligible for a vocational training program in the Republic
of Congo to test the effect of providing information on
trade-specific earnings on trade choice. The analysis finds
that women are 28.6 percent more likely to apply to a
traditionally male- dominated trade when receiving this
information. Men and women are also both more likely to
apply to more lucrative trades. This may in part be driven
by the intervention filling an information gap. The analysis
suggests, however, that behavioral mechanisms, which make
trade-specific returns more salient in the decision process
of applicants, play an even bigger role. Indeed, there are
much larger treatment effects among women who have technical
knowledge and experience or male role models, even though
the information does not impact their expectations of
earnings in male-dominated trades. The treatment is thus
most effective among women who are already well positioned
to cross over into male-dominated trades and can give
greater weight to earning considerations when choosing a
trade. The results indicate that this low-cost intervention
can be a useful tool to encourage women to cross over to
more lucrative trades in which their presence has been
limited, and thereby contribute to reducing the gender gap
in earnings. There is also a high potential for
interventions that would pair information on returns and
trade exposure. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Gassier, Marine Rouanet, Lea Traore, Lacina |
| author_facet |
Gassier, Marine Rouanet, Lea Traore, Lacina |
| author_sort |
Gassier, Marine |
| title |
Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo |
| title_short |
Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo |
| title_full |
Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo |
| title_fullStr |
Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Addressing Gender-Based Segregation through Information : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Republic of Congo |
| title_sort |
addressing gender-based segregation through information : evidence from a randomized experiment in the republic of congo |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2022 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/611661644422085910/Addressing-Gender-Based-Segregation-through-Information-Evidence-from-a-Randomized-Experiment-in-the-Republic-of-Congo http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36974 |
| _version_ |
1764486310282657792 |