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have benefited from the availability of cheapdomestic labour to improve their own job prospects,deepening class inequality between women. 121Addressing occupational segregationIn recognition of women’s rights to work in anyoccupation they choose, 67 governments worldwidehave legislated against gender discrimination inhiring practices (Annex 3). Governments have alsorepealed legislation that restricted the types of workthat women can do by, for example, banning themfrom working at night or in particular industries. 122These laws are an important step forward inpreventing direct discrimination, but further policyaction is needed to achieve substantive equality,to address the indirect drivers of occupationalsegregation and the limits that it places on women’saccess to decent work. Tackling gender stereotypesabout the jobs that women are ‘capable’ of doingand that are considered socially ‘appropriate’ are acrucial part of this effort.Education, training and mentoringInnovative approaches to education and trainingthat challenge stereotypes and are designed toreach women and girls throughout their lives havean important role to play in addressing occupationalsegregation. For women who are stuck in low-paid,informal employment, lack of basic education andtraining can be a major barrier to accessing betterquality employment. Globally, nearly 800 millionadults are illiterate and lack numeracy skills, andalmost two thirds of them are women. 123 Somegroups of women are particularly disadvantaged:in Latin America, for example, indigenous womenare more than twice as likely to be illiterate thannon-indigenous women. 124 Adult and non-formaleducation programmes that support women toqualify in more highly-valued occupations areessential to enhancing their opportunities in labourmarkets (see story: Making rights real).For women working in global value chains as wageworkers or small producers, opportunities for trainingcan help them to access more remunerative activities.Such training needs to be carefully designed to takeinto account women’s responsibility for unpaid careand domestic work, which makes participating in theevenings or weekends difficult, and to ensure thatwomen working in temporary roles or as seasonalworkers in value chains can afford to take part. 125Programmes that encourage girls to study sciencesand technical subjects and offer career advice caneffectively challenge deeply ingrained stereotypesthat contribute to gender differences in subjectchoices. In Nigeria, for example, the Youth forTechnology Foundation has established the YoungGirls Science and Health Tele-Academy, whichencourages girls to identify real-life challenges intheir communities and to conduct scientific researchand adapt engineering techniques to address them.More than half of the graduates from the Tele-Academy have gone on to study science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) at university orpursue careers in these areas. 126Young women’s access to TVET programmes canalso be improved by providing support for theirunpaid care and family responsibilities. The Jovenprogrammes in Latin America have shown positiveimpacts for young women. In Peru, for example,the ProJoven programme targeted young womenand men from poor families living in urban areas,providing three months of classroom training andinternships, with the explicit aim of equipping womenwith skills for traditionally male occupations. Traineesreceived a stipend, with mothers receiving double theregular amount to support their participation. After 18months, female participants were 15 per cent morelikely to be employed and they generated 93 per centmore labour income compared to non-participantswith similar backgrounds. Levels of occupationalsegregation were also lower among participants. 127For women who make it into traditionally maledominatedoccupations, support is needed to preventthe ‘leaky pipeline’ effect, whereby women drop outbefore they reach more senior positions. The AfricanWomen in Agricultural Research and Developmentproject, for example, has provided tailoredfellowships since 2008 to nearly 400 womenscientists to build their skills and develop leadershipcapacity through mentoring and networking. Withmore women enrolling in agricultural science insub-Saharan Africa, this career development93