Gender Diff erences in Further Training Participation

Using the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this paper investigates the determinants of training participation in Germany, distinguishing between self-initiated and employerinitiated training. Self-initiated training is considered as being a decision within households rather than purely individual. Therefore, in addition to standard training determinants, information on one’s own and partner’s time use as well as on the partner’s personal background and his job are taken into account. The results indicate that there are hardly signifi cant gender diff erences in the determinants of self-initiated training while employer-initiated training of women and men appears to be determined by diff erent factors. A decomposition analysis identifi es time use variables, besides job characteristics, as important factors determining the gender gap in employer-provided training participation. JEL Classifi cation: I29, J16, J24