Overview of government strategies for promoting gender equality in STEM-related TVET.

The ten case studies show that in all countries, government policies have been developed that (partially) address the promotion of STEM-related TVET. This promotion often focuses on the quality of STEM-related TVET and an increase in the number of students that participate in these subjects. Only some of these policies place a focus on the topic of gender, gender equality, or participation of girls and women. There seems to be a gap there. To illustrate this gap, Table 3 provides an overview of the policies in some case countries that focus on promoting TVET but with limited attention to gender. 
The Jamaican government has taken the decision to identify and designate a number of schools as STEM Academies in which special emphasis will be given to STEM/TVET education. Nine schools have been designated this status in the first phase of the programme. Even though there is no explicit mention of the need to address gender disparities in these STEM Academies, the country case study information suggests that the programme is thought to benefit both male and female students. Reference to gender or gender parity is not always made explicitly in these policies, even though these policies are referred to when talking about gender. On the other hand, there are specific STEM-related TVET policies that focus on coping with gender challenges. These policies can be categorized into two main types: (i) strategies aimed specifically at the education and training sector to address gender disparities in STEM subjects; and (ii) strategies aimed at redressing gender disparities in STEM-related occupations that have implications for the education and training system. Examples of each type of strategy are given in Box 16 and Box 17.







Based on the country-level data, there is no evidence of the relative impact of different kinds of government strategies on gender disparities in STEM-related TVET and more research is needed in this area.

 A potential advantage of the second broad approach – in which government strategies aim to redress gender disparities in STEM-related fields in the labour market – is worthy of further exploration as it adopts a more systemic response to gender inequality. This approach addresses gender disparities in the labour market and in education and training together. This seems appropriate given the inter-relationships between factors at different levels of the system that impact on the participation and progress of girls and women in STEM-related TVET, a point that is expanded on next.



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