This study explores whether offering trainings to employees improves firm performance, and how the effectiveness of these trainings differs across firms led by male & female managers. Using the 2023 World Bank Enterprise Survey data for Central Asia, focusing on log sales per employee as the key indicator of performance. Using regression analysis with firm-level data from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, the study finds that training has a robust and significant positive effect on performance, while female leadership, on average, correlates negatively with a firm’s sales. These findings highlight the need for more targeted support and deeper understanding of gender differences in management and workforce development.

Training, firm performance, female managers, gender and productivity

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