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The paper examines whether gender differences in outcomes emerged following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among a group of people who recently enrolled in training aimed at preparing workers for careers in “middle- to high-skilled” industries and occupations. These people received training through programs funded by America’s Promise grants, with most programs focusing on advanced manufacturing, health care, or information technology. This population is of particular policy relevance given that it represents economically vulnerable people with a demonstrated interest in improving their economic stability through federally funded training programs.

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Research Questions

• For people who completed training before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, how did gender differences in labor market outcomes evolve with the onset of the pandemic?
• For people who enrolled in America’s Promise before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, did researchers observe differences in training completion by gender for participants who received all services before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to participants who enrolled in America’s Promise before the pandemic but received services during the pandemic?
• Did researchers observe differences between the gender of participants who enrolled in training after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the characteristics of participants who enrolled before the pandemic?

Key Takeaways

• Both men and women participating in America’s Promise programs experienced a drop in employment and earning at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Declines in employment and earnings did not significantly differ between men and women, with both groups experiencing a 9-percentage point decrease in employment rates.
• Women participating in America’s Promise programs faced competing employment effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Women were more likely to be trained in industries that were less impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., health care). However, there was evidence that childcare responsibilities may have affected some female participants’ ability to work.
• COVID-19 correlated with decreased training completion rates. Completion rates for America’s Promise training programs declined by 5 percentage points at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but these declines were similar for both men and women.
• The average completion time for training programs increased by almost a month after the onset of COVID-19. On average, the amount of time it took participants to complete a training program increased by 0.9 months after the onset of COVID-19. However, this varied by gender: men experienced an average completion time increase of 1.9 months while women experienced a decrease of 0.3 months. This may be due to differences in enrollment patterns across training industries.

Citation

Spitzer, A., Berk, J., Marks-Anglin, A. (2022). Mathematica. Experiences of America’s Promise Participants During the “Shecession”: Examining Gender Differences in Labor Market and Training Program Outcomes. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.