Professional Education

Professional, or trade and vocational, education has traditionally been one of the most gender-segregated educational sectors. Professional education remains an important avenue for workforce training and economic development even as it has changed to reflect changing trends in labor needs. Professional education has been increasingly emphasized on an international level as a means for aiding development and assisting marginalized girls and women in developing countries. Although gender inequities have been reduced in the late 20th and 21st centuries, gender gaps in female enrollment in nontraditional careers remain. Gender inequities in professional education reflect and contribute to gender inequities in the labor market.