Glass Walls: Experimental Evidence on Constraints Faced by Women in Accessing Valuable Skilling Opportunities

Ali Cheema, Asim I. Khwaja, M. Farooq Naseer and Jacob N. Shapiro

Journal of Political Economy, 2026, vol. 134, issue 6, 1775 - 1845

Abstract: Experimental evidence from Pakistan shows that distance poses a large and discontinuous access constraint: women with village-based training centers are four times more likely to access valued training opportunities. More than half of the travel penalty is incurred when crossing the village boundary. Exogenous stipend variation reveals that this boundary effect is costly to offset and is not explained by travel costs. Security considerations are an important factor: providing secure group transport raises take-up, while women with greater safety concerns and those traversing underpopulated areas, a proxy for insecurity, have lower take-up. The training has similar positive benefits for women attending inside- and outside-village centers.

Date: 2026
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