GGGR 2023

0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0 0.5 1.0 1.5Cognitive skills Management and engagement skills Gender gap in skill proficiency attainment (1 = gender parity)Advanced Intermediate Beginner Self-efficacy, working with others and ethics Technology skills Advanced Intermediate BeginnerProficiency level Not availableGender gap in skill proficiency attainment, by level of proficiency and skill category, 2022 FIGURE 2.17 Source World Economic Forum calculations based on Coursera data.The underlying factors contributing to this disparity and the disadvantages faced by women warrant further investigation. In the subsequent section, we delve into the examination of gender disparities in the time required to acquire these skills to study the efficiency with which women and men are attaining these skills. Time required to attain proficiency in key skill categories Even as women are getting fewer learning opportunities than men, they demonstrate relatively more efficiency in attaining them across proficiency levels for most skills. Women are especially outpacing men in achieving proficiency in skills that take relatively longer to acquire, as measured by median learning hours. Women tend to attain most proficiency levels in all the skill categories studied, such as cognitive skills, management and engagement skills, self-efficacy, working with others, and ethics and technology skills, in less time compared to men. Only at beginner levels of proficiency for self-efficacy, working with others and ethics and management and engagement skills did women require slightly more learning hours. The pattern may stem from factors like time poverty experienced by women, the efficiency of the enrolled women, or a combination of various elements. The gendered patterns observed in skilling have significant ramifications for economic progress due to their effects on talent allocation, utilization and innovation in the context of fast evolving skill demands. This has the potential to impede progress in reducing occupational segregation, thereby restricting job opportunities, and limiting the available talent pool. This can consequently negatively impact economic growth.25 Moreover, the enduring nature of this segregation, combined with obstacles to acquiring specific skills and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes, may result in missed opportunities for women to increase their earnings and advance in their careers. According to an OECD study based on data from the PIAAC Survey of Advanced Skills, there is a positive correlation between wages and adult training and learning for both male and female workers. Further, women who engage in job-related non-formal trainings, such as courses, seminars, workshops or organized sessions, tend to earn higher wages than their male counterparts.26 Improving women’s access to skilling opportunities will be critical to respond to the rapid shifts in the skills needed in the job market. Research based on Coursera data in the Future of Jobs Report 2023 highlighted that learners without degrees can learn Global Gender Gap Report 2023 51