WUNRN
IMF – International Monetary Fund
Link to IMF Report – WOMEN, WORK & THE ECONOMY:
MACROECONOMIC GAINS FROM GENDER EQUITY
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2014/car091514b.htm
IMF CALLS FOR REFORMS TO UNLEASH ECONOMIC POWER OF WOMEN
September 15, 2014
- The global economy could be greatly boosted by unleashing the economic power
of women, who remain the world’s largest excluded group, the head of the IMF
told a high level gathering in Japan.
“Excluding women
simply makes no economic sense—and including them can be a tremendous boon to
the 21st century global economy,” the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde
said in a keynote speech at the “World Assembly for
Women” in Tokyo.
She identified
three main ways to unleash the economic power and potential of women: change
economic policies, change laws and institutions, and change attitudes and
culture.
At the symposium “Women’s
Power as the Source of Growth” co-hosted by the Japanese
government, Japan business federation (Keidanren), Nikkei, and the Japan
Institute of International Affairs, Lagarde said “We will need all the economic
growth, dynamism, and ingenuity we can get in the years ahead. A key part of
the solution is unleashing the economic power of women. Bring the world’s
largest excluded group into the fold.”
Economic policies
Countries can lift
up women by adopting more pro-female, pro-family approaches, she said. Such
policies include moving more from family to individual taxation; providing more
affordable child care and parental leave; and providing a flexible working
environment.
Lagarde cited
examples of economic policies which have boosted female participation in the labor
market.
• In Sweden, the
country devotes a full one percent of GDP to child care and pre-primary
spending—more than most (and three times more than Japan).
• In the
Netherlands, female labor force participation rose sharply over the past few
decades as part-time work was given the same status as full-time work—the same
social security coverage, the same employment protection, the same rules.
• In Chile, female
labor force participation rose by 20 percentage points over the past quarter
century fueled by large increases in social spending, including on early
childhood education, childcare, and longer maternity leave.
Laws and
Institutions
Lagarde also cited
ongoing IMF research showing that gender gaps are lower when men and women are
treated equally under the law—in terms of inheritance, property, and economic
opportunity. She noted that, among the issues that seem to matter most here,
are “equal property rights for married women” and “women’s freedom to pursue a
profession, get a job, or open a bank account—without prejudice or partiality.”
Gender gaps
Eliminating gender
gaps in labor force participation can lead to big jumps in income per capita,
Lagarde added. “This is true everywhere in the world, but especially in lagging
regions like the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.”
In Japan, the
female participation rate is 65 percent, 20 percentage points lower than for
males. This is better than the Asian average, but still low for a member
country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. IMF
research suggests that raising Japan’s female labor force to the level of the
Group of 7 advanced industrial countries would raise income per capita by 4
percent—permanently.
“The lesson is
clear: if we want a strong and bright economic future, then we need strong and
bright women to help drive it. That means all strands of society need to
embrace inclusion.”
Empowering women
“Female
empowerment has particular urgency in Japan, and Japan is growing older at a
faster rate than anywhere else in the world,” Lagarde said. Its working age
population will fall from a peak of 87 million in the mid-1990s to 55 million
by mid-century, she added.
“There is one
obvious option for rescuing Japan from this harsh demographic fate—empowering
women.’’ Lagarde went on to note that “We all know that Japan’s women are among
the highest educated and most talented in the world. We all know that they have
the ability, the potential, and the desire to contribute even more.