The identification of women's training needs has often been flawed because "women are rarely treated as knowing what they need" (ibid: 30). The available evidence tends to show that poor women in most developing countries are usually most interested in skills training that meets their own immediate 'practical gender needs' as opposed to longer term, "strategic gender needs" that directly tackle the basic underlying causes of female subordination (see Moser, 1989). As a result, most formal training has been closely related to gender-stereotyped tasks and occupations. Once again, this highlights the fact that training provision for women is itself part of "deep-seated, culturally sanctioned forms of gender inequality".
The demand for training among poor women is not only low but is likely to be falling where poverty and economic pressures on households are increasing. Extensive research has shown that women have usually borne the brunt of household adjustment in the wake of economic crisis and/or macroeconomic policy reform. In these situations, training has rarely been a central part of the coping strategies of poor women.
The control over and allocation of household resources to training is determined by a similar set of factors as for formal education. However, it is the nature of the relationship between the woman and her spouse that is crucial for determining training demand and outcomes. Given the subordinate position of women coupled with very limited household resources, it is unlikely that training for adult female members will be accorded high priority. Furthermore, informal systems of skill transmission in most of the manual trades are generally from father to son. Traditionally, "apprenticeship is an important part of the socialisation process through which masculine identities are constructed" (Kabeer, 1997: 7). Thus, supporting indigenous training systems could actually undermine gender and development objectives.
With such limited room for manoeuvre, there is a widespread feeling that the potential long-term social and economic benefits of improving opportunities for girls in the formal education system are much greater in most countries. In simple terms, " daughters are the future, not mothers". (Godfrey, 1997: 18)
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PAPERS 43 Learning to change: Skills development among the economically vulnerable and socially excluded in developing countries Paul Bennell Employment and Training Department International Labour Office Geneva First published 1999
To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
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