Technical and Vocational Education
© Farzana Hossen Mipu, Bangladesh
Technical and vocational education (TVE) is probably the subsector within the education system that suffers most from gender stereotyping. Certain trades or vocations are almost exclusively reserved for either males or females. Carpenters, electricians, and mechanics are examples of male dominated trades across Asia. Females tend to concentrate in vocations such as secretaries, beauticians or hairdressers. The formal TVE sector is, in general, very much dominated by male teachers and managers.
ICT as a new and emerging sector has, in some countries, a more equal distribution of males and females. In other countries, a serious push needs to be given to get more females into all areas of the ICT field.
In general, there is a need to adapt, expand and diversify trades to local economic and labour market needs, to deformalize technical and vocational training, and to ensure that TVE is better geared towards poverty alleviation and local development goals. All of this should be done with a view to ensuring that adolescent girls and women are offered opportunities for technical and vocational training which leads to appropriately paid jobs or increase in income.