# **1 Introduction**

Skills play an essential role in the economic transformation of nations, diverting labor away from low-productivity activities, such as subsistence farming and non-agricultural self-employment, to higher productivity occupations. This shift enables workers to increase their incomes within their current jobs or transition to more lucrative occupations. In Cˆote d’Ivoire, as in many Sub-Saharan African countries, a substantial proportion of students drop out during secondary school. While the gross enrollment rate in primary education approached 93% in the year 2022, this figure drops to 55% at the secondary education level. The high number of young people not engaged in formal education exacerbates the skills gap in the labor market. In this context, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays a pivotal role, not only in increasing the reservoir of relevant skills but also in providing a pathway to formal and better-paying employment opportunities.<sup>1</sup> Both education and skill acquisition are strongly linked to higher income potential and improved labor market outcomes (Angrist and Krueger (1991), Psacharopoulos and Patrinos (2018), Kuepie et al. (2009), Alfonsi et al. (2020), Heckman et al. (2006)). Moreover, the specific sector of specialization can substantially influence earning potentials, with significant disparities in remuneration across various sectors (Goldstein et al. (2019), Campos et al. (2015)).

While men often gravitate towards better-paying sectors such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), women tend to make different choices (Elu, 2018). Globally, less than one-third of women in higher education are in STEM-related fields, with this proportion even lower in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Cˆote d’Ivoire, the context of this study, only 16% of women in higher education study life sciences, mathematics or statistics (UNESCO, 2017). Similar imbalances can be observed in the TVET system. Despite achieving gender parity in TVET enrollment, including women in high-paying, male-dominated sectors (MDSs) remains a challenge in Cˆote d’Ivoire. Women’s enrolment is predominantly in services streams (89.9%), with limited representation in the secondary sector (10.2%), and almost no presence in agricultural streams (0.1%). These decisions have far-reaching consequences, as MDSs are often the most lucrative sectors.<sup>2</sup> In many countries, women are concentrated in the least profitable sectors (World Bank (2022), Goldstein et al. (2019), Jonathan et al. (2015), Bardasi et al. (2011), Das and Kotikula (2019), (Alibhai et al., 2017)). Consequently, there is growing interest in supporting women to enter better-

> 1The role of TVET in secondary education is still limited in Cˆote d’Ivoire. Despite an increase in enrolments in recent years, only 2 percent of the 15/24 years old participated in a TVET in 2018, according to UNESCO TVET Country Profile and UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

> 2Our analysis of two nationally representative datasets, the EHCVM 2018 (WAEMU Commission, 2018) and the ENV 2015 (Institut National de la Statistique, 2015), reveals that MDSs offer higher average compensation compared to other sectors. Results are available upon request.

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