Achieving equity through ‘gender autonomy’: the challenges for VET policy and practice

Abstract

This article is based on research carried out in an European Union Fifth Framework project on gender and qualification. The research partners, from five European countries, investigated the impact of gender segregation in European labour markets on vocational education and training (VET), with particular regard to competences and qualifications. The research explored the part played by gender in the vocational education and training experiences of young adults entering specific occupations in childcare, electrical engineering and food preparation and service, and of adults changing occupations. Empirical data from 244 interviews, observations in VET institutes and at workplaces and content analyses of job advertisements, curricula, brochures and other sources confirmed that ‘gender still matters’ from the viewpoint of the individual, in their experiences of skill formation and attribution, occupational choice and personal development. But empirical data also revealed ‘gender blindness’ in VET institutes and workplaces when it comes to considering, positively and constructively, the continuing significance of gender differences in vocational education and training and in work. This article undertakes a secondary analysis of key findings and identifies the need to create the conditions for strengthening ‘gender autonomy’ as the conclusion of most relevance to the United Kingdom’s VET and lifelong learning policy context.