GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ADULT EDUCATION

Abstract

This work analyses the differences in adult education and lifelong learning among men and women, using the Adult Education Survey (EUROSTAT). Differences in the participation rates, type of learning, motives to participate, restriction for participating are studied. Previous studies have found that the main restrictions for adults to participate in learning and training activities are those related to work and family. If we take into account that today women, although they work outside the home, continue to do mostly housework and childcare, this implies that they are more affected by participation restrictions in adult learning and training activities.Gender unequal participation in these activities leads to broader socio-economic inequalities in terms of income, employment, personal fulfillment, and life satisfaction. Therefore, the gender perspective would be a key factor to be considered in policies aimed at guaranteeing and facilitating the population's access to lifelong learning activities. For this, it is necessary to have evidence on the degree and type of participation in these activities based on gender. In this sense, the analyses proposed in this work aim to investigate the sociodemographic and economic characteristics that influence the education and training of adults, such as employment status, educational level, age, income, type of household, family responsibilities, European country of residence, and especially gender. The differences in the participation rates, type of learning, motives to participate, duration, restriction for participating, etc. among men and women are also studied. A fundamental point of the analysis is the study of the difficulties for participation in education and training activities and how these may differ between men and women, as well as access to information on the possibilities of learning and its cost.Discrete-choice microeconometric models are used to model the factors that influence the decision to participate in learning activities, the type of education or training and, the choice of face-to-face or distance education. A descriptive analysis of the characteristics of the participants and the training will also be carried out by country and by gender.The analyses carried out provide relevant information on the factors that influence a person's decision to carry out educational and training activities throughout their adult life, what are the restrictions that inherent participation in this type of activities and how these differ according to gender, as well as the differences in the type of learning chosen and the motivations for doing it based on gender.The results show that there are differences in the degree to which participation restrictions are manifested for men and women, affecting women to a greater degree. This influences the type of educational activities and their duration. Therefore, the findings show the need to include the gender perspective in policies aimed at guaranteeing and facilitating the population's access to lifelong learning activities.