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The report describes the characteristics, service receipt, and short-term labor market outcomes of female customers leaving the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult and Dislocated Worker programs in 2009. Researchers also assess gender differences in each of these domains and how service receipt and outcomes varied with local area characteristics. They found that females were more likely than males to face employment barriers before enrolling in WIA programs. These differences, along with geographic factors, mostly explained the more extensive receipt of training and supportive services among females. However, measures of customer and local area characteristics available for the analysis could not explain large gender disparities in the focus of occupational skills training and in post-program earnings. Researchers recommend conducting a process study to better understand gender differences in occupational skills training, and researchers suggest changes to existing data systems that would facilitate stronger quantitative analyses of the experiences and outcomes of WIA customers.

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Research Questions

• What are the demographic and pre-program characteristics of female customers in the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs?
• What services do female customers receive?
• What are the labor market outcomes of female customers?

Key Takeaways

• Women in the Adult program were about one-fourth more likely than men to receive occupational training and half again more likely to receive supportive services. This difference can largely be explained by the customer and local area characteristics that were available for this study.
• There were substantial dissimilarities between women and men in the types of occupational skills training they received through both the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs. At most, one-seventh of these disparities can be explained by the customer and local area characteristics examined in this study.
• Women earned 14 percent less than men after leaving the Adult program and 21 percent less than men after leaving the Dislocated Worker program. Approximately three-fifths of this gender gap cannot be explained by this study’s measures of customer and local area characteristics and receipt of WIA services.

Research Gaps

• The authors recommend that a process study be undertaken to help to gain insights into the large gender differences in occupational skills training and post-program earnings that could not be explained by the available administrative data. Such a study could shed light on how Workforce Investment Act program operations might influence women in their choice of services and in their employment aspirations, particularly relative to those of men. (page xxiii)

Citation

Maxwell, N., Hock, H., Verbitsky-Savitz, N., Reed, D. (2012). Mathematica. How Are Women Served by the WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs? Findings from Administrative Data: Final Report. 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.