The Role of Gender in Further Training for Spanish Workers: Are Employers Making a Difference?

This paper investigates whether gender differentials in three categories of nonformal educational training that exist among Spanish employees – firm-financed training, public-financed training, and self-financed training – using the Survey on Adult Population Involvement in Learning Activities (AES), conducted in 2011. Although this study finds no gender gap in the probability of overall training participation, there is a negative gap in firm-financed training for women. Since this study does not detect differential preferences for training between Spanish women and men employees, gender discrimination in access to firm-financed training is at the root of this gender gap. While this discrimination does not extend to training returns among employees who take part in firm-financed courses, taking part in such training increases the probability of obtaining a salary increase or promotion, and it is discrimination in the access to firm-financed training that leaves Spanish women employees at a disadvantage.