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talkpoliticsHow advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global growth
This new MGI research attests to what many smart employers have known for a while: gender equality in the labour force has a huge value. The paper analyses the current and the potential GDP of 95 countries, and concludes that in the ideal case, if women and men contribute equally for production (equal work hours, equal pay, equal participation in the various industries), that would add a total of 28 trillion dollar (or 26%) to the global GDP by 2025. This is roughly equal to the US and Chinese economies combined. Which is quite a big deal really.
In the more realistic scenario, where every country would be able to catch up with their neighbour who's dealing best in terms of gender equality in the economy, the global GDP would increase by 12 trillion dollars for the next decade, or 11%. That's the British, German and Japanese economies combined.
Right now, after decades of progress towards more equal rights between the genders in society and at the workplace, the gap between them remains rather big. Although women are half the world's population, their contribution to the economy is just 37%.
In order to understand the reasons for this gap, the authors of the research have outlined 15 factors which are important for the presence of women in the workforce - from the possibility for family planning, to equal pay, to legal and political representation. Some very high levels of inequality in at least four of those factors were established. First of all, there's inequality at the workplace. Then there are the basic services and conditions for starting a business. Thirdly, women's rights are significantly lagging behind, including legal protection and political representation. And then there's physical safety.
The conclusion is that gender inequality in the economic sphere (like one's freedom of choice whether to work or not, or their representation at top positions of power and influence) is not necessarily formally defined, but the world (including the private sector) could draw some serious benefits if it works harder towards equalising the working conditions of the genders - and there's huge opportunity for vast improvements in productivity.
In order to achieve this equality in the economy though, first there should be gender equality in society. And there's a strong connection between gender equality, behaviour, and the perception of women's role in society on one side, and equal work conditions on the other. The latter could not be achieved without having the former in place. There's practically no country where high levels of gender equality are observed in society as a whole, while that equality is lacking in labour. And if economic development does tend to allow countries to overcome the gap between the genders, its faster narrowing would necessitate hard work in four major directions: improving women's education, their financial and digital inclusion in society, legal protection, and voluntary social care for their children.
Some serious changes in the world of business are necessary in order for this to happen. The private sector will have to play an ever more active role, along with the governments and NGOs. This would reflect positively on private business itself ultimately, both through the direct and indirect benefits that this process would bring.
This new MGI research attests to what many smart employers have known for a while: gender equality in the labour force has a huge value. The paper analyses the current and the potential GDP of 95 countries, and concludes that in the ideal case, if women and men contribute equally for production (equal work hours, equal pay, equal participation in the various industries), that would add a total of 28 trillion dollar (or 26%) to the global GDP by 2025. This is roughly equal to the US and Chinese economies combined. Which is quite a big deal really.
In the more realistic scenario, where every country would be able to catch up with their neighbour who's dealing best in terms of gender equality in the economy, the global GDP would increase by 12 trillion dollars for the next decade, or 11%. That's the British, German and Japanese economies combined.
Right now, after decades of progress towards more equal rights between the genders in society and at the workplace, the gap between them remains rather big. Although women are half the world's population, their contribution to the economy is just 37%.
In order to understand the reasons for this gap, the authors of the research have outlined 15 factors which are important for the presence of women in the workforce - from the possibility for family planning, to equal pay, to legal and political representation. Some very high levels of inequality in at least four of those factors were established. First of all, there's inequality at the workplace. Then there are the basic services and conditions for starting a business. Thirdly, women's rights are significantly lagging behind, including legal protection and political representation. And then there's physical safety.
The conclusion is that gender inequality in the economic sphere (like one's freedom of choice whether to work or not, or their representation at top positions of power and influence) is not necessarily formally defined, but the world (including the private sector) could draw some serious benefits if it works harder towards equalising the working conditions of the genders - and there's huge opportunity for vast improvements in productivity.
In order to achieve this equality in the economy though, first there should be gender equality in society. And there's a strong connection between gender equality, behaviour, and the perception of women's role in society on one side, and equal work conditions on the other. The latter could not be achieved without having the former in place. There's practically no country where high levels of gender equality are observed in society as a whole, while that equality is lacking in labour. And if economic development does tend to allow countries to overcome the gap between the genders, its faster narrowing would necessitate hard work in four major directions: improving women's education, their financial and digital inclusion in society, legal protection, and voluntary social care for their children.
Some serious changes in the world of business are necessary in order for this to happen. The private sector will have to play an ever more active role, along with the governments and NGOs. This would reflect positively on private business itself ultimately, both through the direct and indirect benefits that this process would bring.
