## _sdn1310 ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [_sdn1310](https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/_sdn1310.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/_sdn1310.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/_sdn1310.pdf.json) --- ### Macroeconomic implications of the labor market divide: does gender matter? - When women develop their full labor market potential, there can be significant macroeconomic gains. - GDP per capita losses attributable to gender gaps in the labor market have been estimated at up to 27 percent in certain regions. - Raising the female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) to country-specific male levels is estimated to raise GDP by: - 5 percent in the United States, - 9 percent in Japan, - 12 percent in the United Arab Emirates, - 34 percent in Egypt. - Of the 865 million women worldwide who have the potential to contribute more fully to their national economies, 812 million live in emerging and developing nations. - In rapidly aging economies, higher FLFP can mitigate the impact of a shrinking workforce; for example, in Japan: - the annual potential growth rate could rise by about ¼ percentage point if the female labor participation rate reached the average for the G7 countries, - resulting in a permanent rise in per capita GDP of 4 percent compared to the baseline scenario. - Greater female earnings and control over income can contribute to broader development outcomes, including higher school enrollment for girls and poverty reduction. - Equal access to productive inputs would raise the productivity of female-owned companies and could yield considerable output gains. - Employing women on an equal basis allows firms to better use the available talent pool and may improve company performance, corporate governance, and risk profiles. ### Female labor force participation: stylized facts - Global FLFP has hovered around 50 percent over the past two decades. - Women now represent 40 percent of the global labor force. - Regional FLFPR variations: - around 21 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, - over 63 percent in East Asia and the Pacific and in sub-Saharan Africa. - Latin America and the Caribbean experienced strong increases in FLFPR of some 13 percentage points over the past two decades. - Rates have been declining in South Asia; Europe and Central Asia rates have stayed broadly constant. - The average gender participation gap (male minus female labor force participation rates) has declined since 1990 but remains significant: - Highest gap: 51 percentage points in the Middle East and North Africa. - Gaps above 35 percentage points in South Asia and Central America. - Lowest levels around 12 percentage points in OECD countries and Eastern and Middle Africa. - Cross-country and OECD variations: - Japan: gender gap of 25 percentage points. - Major advanced economies: just over 10 percentage points on average. - Sweden: 6 percentage points. - Sectoral concentration in OECD: - Services account for 80 percent of employed women versus 60 percent for men. - Within services, women are disproportionately represented in health and community services, followed by education. - FLFP varies with per capita income, with evidence pointing to a U-shaped relationship: - High FLFPR at low income levels due to necessity. - Withdrawal from market work at middle-income levels with rising household income and social protection. - Rebound at advanced income levels due to better education, lower fertility, labor-saving household technology, and market-based household services. - Education and literacy: - Gender gaps in primary education have largely closed; ratio of female to male primary enrollment rates reaches 94 percent even in the least developed countries. - Ratio of female to male enrollment in secondary education averages 97 percent. - Women are now more likely to be enrolled in tertiary studies than men. - Literacy rates for women continue to lag those of men, especially in South Asia and East and North Africa regions. ### Gender-specific labor market characteristics - Women perform large amounts of unpaid work (child-rearing and household tasks), often unseen and unaccounted for in GDP. - Time allocation: - On average, women spend twice as much time on household work as men and four times as much time on childcare. - In OECD countries, women spend about 2½ hours more than men on unpaid work (including care work) each day, regardless of the employment status of their spouses. - The higher allocation of time to unpaid work constrains women’s ability to participate in the formal labor market. - Total working time (paid plus unpaid, including travel) yields a gender difference that is close to zero in many countries, highlighting the substantial unpaid contribution of women. - Part-time work and career patterns: - Part-time work remains predominantly female and is often used to balance work with family responsibilities. - Gender-specific career paths—more part-time work and career breaks for child care among women—raise risks of old-age poverty for women and can perpetuate disadvantages in career development. ### Gender wage gaps and drivers - The gender wage gap across OECD countries, defined as the difference between male and female median wages divided by male median wages, is estimated at 16 percent (OECD 2012). - Occupational segregation and reduced working hours, in combination with differentials in work experience, explain around 30 percent of the wage gap, on average. - The “motherhood penalty” is estimated at 14 percent across OECD countries; the wage gap increases steeply during childbearing and childrearing years. - Wage gaps vary significantly among emerging economies; they are relatively high in China, Indonesia, and South Africa. - Comparatively narrow wage gaps in the Middle East and North Africa are explained by the small share of women in wage employment who are often more highly educated than male colleagues. - In several countries, earnings differences are even more significant when comparing women and men with higher educational attainment (OECD, 2012). ### Self-employment, enterprise performance, and informality - The gender gap in earnings is even higher in self-employment than in wage employment; one explanatory factor is less time devoted by women to their business. - On average, female-owned enterprises register lower profits and labor productivity than male-owned enterprises, explained by enterprise size, capital intensity, and more limited access to external finance and productive resources (OECD, 2012). - In many countries, lack of basic necessities and rights inhibits women’s potential to join the formal labor market or become entrepreneurs (World Bank, 2011). - Women dominate the informal sector, characterized by vulnerability in employment status, low protection, mostly unskilled work, and unstable earnings (ILO, 2012a; Campbell and Ahmed, 2012). - Women often have limited property and inheritance rights and limited access to credit; in agriculture, particularly in Africa, women operate smaller plots and farm less remunerative crops and have more limited access to agricultural inputs (World Bank, 2011). ### Labor market representation and leadership - During 2008-12, the share of women among CEOs in Standard and Poor’s 500 companies remained at 4 percent. - In the 27 EU countries, only 25 percent of business owners with employees are female. - In 2012, only about 20 percent of national parliamentary seats across the world were held by women. - Women who assume higher public office are more likely to occupy ministries with socio-cultural focus rather than economic and key strategic functions (OECD, 2012). - Micro-level evidence suggests gender stereotypes may hamper women’s participation in politics (Beaman and others, 2009). ### Crisis impacts on gendered employment - During the economic downturn of 2007-09, gender-based employment gaps shrank in most OECD countries, largely because female employment is concentrated in services. - In the United States during 2007–12, male employment losses of 4.6 million were almost twice as high as female employment losses (Kochhar, 2011). - Between 2009 and 2011–12 the pattern changed in many countries: female unemployment continued to rise while male unemployment either declined or stayed constant (OECD, 2012). - In Latin America and the Caribbean during the crisis, women accounted for about 70 percent of all layoffs in Mexico and Honduras (Mazza and Fernandes Lima da Silva, 2011). - In North Africa, the female youth unemployment rate increased by 9.1 percentage points, compared to 3.1 percentage points for young males (Stavropoulou and Jones, 2013). ### Policies in support of higher female labor force participation — overview - Providing equal economic opportunities requires an integrated set of policies to promote and support female employment (Sen, 2001). - Well-designed, comprehensive policies can boost women’s economic opportunities and participation (Revenga and Shetty, 2013; Aguirre and others, 2012; Duflo, 2012). ### A. Fiscal policies — scope and rationale - Taxation of labor income and government spending on social welfare benefits and pensions weaken the link between labor supply and income, influencing the decision to participate in the labor market; benefit design is important to avoid disincentives to work. - Even gender-neutral fiscal measures can have a disproportionately large positive effect on women (IMF, 2012d; World Bank, 2011; Duflo, 2012). Tax measures - Replacing family income taxation with individual income taxation would boost FLFP; empirical studies indicate female labor supply is more responsive to taxes than male labor supply (IMF, 2012d). - Countries with potential to reduce the secondary earner tax wedge significantly include France, Portugal, and the United States. - Tax credits or benefits for low-wage earners (“in-work” tax credits) reduce net tax liability and are usually phased out as income rises; phasing out with family income creates high marginal tax rates for primary and secondary earners and adverse labor supply effects for secondary earners. - Phasing out credits with individual income (preferred to increase FLFP) is followed in Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden; phasing out with family income (income support emphasis) is the case in Canada, France, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, the Slovak Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Expenditure measures - Properly designed family benefits can help support FLFP (Jaumotte, 2003). - Publicly financed parental leave schemes help reconcile work and family life and maintain labor market attachment; the average duration of paid parental leave in advanced economies is 26 weeks, and all OECD countries except the United States and Korea currently offer paid parental leave. - Long periods outside the labor market risk reducing skills and earnings (Ruhm, 1998). - Policies that provide and encourage greater parity between paternity and maternity leave could support a more rapid return to work among mothers and help shift gender norms; Iceland and Norway have introduced mandatory paternity leave, and in Sweden one part of parental leave is earmarked for the father and forfeited if not taken. - Reform of child support and other social benefits could increase incentives to work; linking benefits to labor force participation, job training, or active labor market programs can increase incentives for women to rejoin the labor market. Childcare and labor supply - Better access to comprehensive, affordable, high-quality child care frees up women’s time for formal employment. - Studies for 10 countries find the elasticity of female labor supply with respect to the price of child care ranges from –0.13 to –0.2 (Gong, Breunig, and King, 2010; Kalb, 2009). - If the price of childcare is reduced by 50 percent, the labor supply of young mothers will rise on the order of 6.5 to 10 percent. - Child care support reforms could target benefits to those at work (e.g., child care subsidies for working mothers) to boost FLFP without distorting labor market incentives. Pensions and social insurance - Reforms of pension systems could be considered where there is a large gap in retirement ages of women and men (the gap reaches up to five years in several OECD countries). - Pension systems should ensure spells of maternity leave do not translate into lower pensions by providing special credits for women with children (examples cited: Chile, France, Germany, and Sweden). - Reforms of social insurance could focus on strengthening links between contributions and benefits to discourage early retirement. Education and rural infrastructure - Expenditure on women’s education and improvements in rural infrastructure can boost FLFP in emerging and developing countries. - Educational attainment correlates positively with FLFP (example: Turkey — only 17 percent of illiterate women participate in the labor force, while participation exceeds 70 percent among women holding a graduate degree (Ercan, Hoşgör, and Yimlaz, 2010)). - Policies to increase incentives to send girls to school include conditional cash transfers for daughters’ school attendance (examples: Bangladesh and Cambodia). - Improving rural infrastructure (clean water access, transportation) can reduce time women spend on domestic tasks and facilitate access to markets (Koolwal and van de Walle, 2013). ### B. Policies to increase demand for female labor - Removing labor market distortions and creating a level playing field would boost demand for women’s labor. - Discrimination and social norms artificially restrict demand for women’s labor; legal constraints in some countries limit women’s participation to specific sectors and restrict access to credit and property rights. - Tradition and unwritten rules in many economies curtail women’s economic opportunities; addressing these norms and constraints is part of creating a more inclusive labor demand environment. ### Evidence of persistent gender-based discrimination - Despite legislative and social-norm changes enabling greater female labor market participation, evidence of gender-based discrimination persists in advanced market economies. - Anti-discrimination provisions have been adopted legally within all OECD countries, but some measures have proven difficult to enforce (Figure 7; OECD, 2008). - Public awareness of anti-discriminatory labor laws is still low in the majority of OECD countries: in most OECD countries, less than 50 percent of the population are aware of anti-discrimination laws for the hiring process. - Policies to improve anti-discrimination enforcement (OECD, 2008) include: - Increasing the awareness of legal rights to equal treatment via national equality bodies and information campaigns. - Providing the right incentives, including a robust burden-of-proof framework to encourage discrimination claims. - Empowering national equality bodies to conduct formal investigations on their own initiative. - Providing alternative resolution mechanisms such as mediation and conciliation procedures. ### Other policy measures to support female labor force participation - Flexible work arrangements (including telework and compressed work schedules) allow women to better balance formal employment with other demands (Aguirre and others, 2012). - Policies could encourage more gender-neutral use of flexible work arrangements and higher uptake of parental leave benefits by fathers. - Part-time employment is an entry point for women constrained by family responsibilities; facilitating transition from part-time to full-time employment could mitigate lower pay, benefits, and limited career opportunities associated with part-time work (ILO, 2010). - Regulatory reform for child and elderly care: - Deregulation to increase availability of childcare can raise FLFP (example: Japan; Steinberg and Nakane, 2012). - Job creation in child and elderly care can increase female labor force participation by reducing unpaid work and expanding income-earning options (Anatonopoulos and Kim, 2011). - Access to finance, training, and support networks enhances productivity of women-owned enterprises (OECD, 2012; World Bank, 2011; Blackden and Hallward-Driemeier, 2013). - Social acceptance, leadership, and role models: - Top leadership on gender issues in private and public sectors helps create opportunities through sponsorship, talent management, and targeted search for female senior candidates (Barsh and Yee, 2012; Barsh, Cranston, and Craske, 2008). - Complementary change in women’s aspirations and joint family responsibility by men and women supports broader high-level female participation. ### IMF follow-up: analysis, surveillance, and policy engagement - The IMF will continue enhancing analysis of macroeconomic effects of gender inequality and inclusion, including in surveillance work (Boxes 1–4 and Appendix 1). - Improved gender-disaggregated data and collaboration with other organizations (such as the World Bank and the OECD) can help establish data on measures that enhance economic opportunities for women. - Close collaboration with other international financial institutions is essential; IMF’s macroeconomic focus complements World Bank’s broader gender-related development work. - IMF fiscal policy analysis and advice can take into account potential gender-specific impacts of measures (Steinberg and Nakane, 2012); IMF can assist members in reviewing tax codes to identify and remove provisions that discriminate against women (IMF, 2012d). - As part of a gender mainstreaming strategy, the IMF can encourage countries to assess and report on the gender-specific effects of fiscal policy measures. ### Country and cross-country policy evidence and proposals (selected highlights) - Advanced market economies: - Canada: decrease in the secondary earner’s tax wedge contributed significantly to the increase in Canadian women’s labor force participation rate between 1995 and 2001 (Tsounta 2006). - Netherlands: FLFPR increased from about 35 percent in 1980 to more than 80 percent in 2008, attributed to breakdown of barriers between full-time and part-time contracts and well-compensated parental leave (ILO, 2010; Steinberg and Nakane, 2012). - Norway: introduction of a 40 percent quota for women on boards of publicly traded companies raised the share of women on boards from 9 percent in 2003 to 40 percent in 2008. - Sweden: small gender gap in participation (6 percent) attributed to generous and flexible parental leave and high childcare coverage. - EU Lisbon strategy target: increase FLFPR across the EU-27 to 60 percent by 2010; actual outcome in 2010 was 58.3 percent (European Parliament, 2010). - Proposed policies: Germany’s 2011 “Skilled Labor Strategy” to improve childcare and family-friendly hours (IMF, 2012a); Italy: reduce marginal tax rates for married second earners to raise female participation (IMF, 2012b); Japan: raising FLFPR could raise annual potential growth by about ¼ percentage point if FLFPR rose to G7 average (Steinberg and Nakane, 2012; IMF 2012c). - Brazil: - FLFPR increased by more than 15 percentage points to almost 60 percent over two decades, driven by married women and women with children (Barros and others, 2011). - Gender gap in labor force participation remains at 21 percentage points; women are 9 percent more likely than men to live in poverty. - National reforms: National Documentation Program for Rural Women Workers increased share of women with land titles from 13 to 56 percent between 2003 and 2007 (SIGI, 2012). - Bolsa Familia: covered around one fourth of Brazil’s population by 2007; most payments distributed directly to women and increased women’s financial independence and labor force participation. - Maternity benefits: 120 days of paid leave at 100 percent salary paid by employer but reimbursed by Brazil’s Social Security Institute; an additional 60 days allowance tax-deductible. - Pronaf-Mulher credit line (2003) increased women’s credit share in rural development financing programs by some 15 percent to almost 26 percent between 2001 and 2006. - Development issues and low-income country measures: - Gender-responsive budgeting example: Bangladesh began compiling gender budgeting reports in 2005; 20 ministries now compile such reports (World Bank 2012b). - Access to health, education, and vocational training facilitates transition from informal to formal work; Bangladesh Health and Community Services associated with near doubling of young women’s participation in the late 1990s. - Enhancing property and inheritance rights and access to credit reduces gender productivity gap; microfinance has helped reduce the gap with higher repayment rates among women (Kabeer, 2005). - Infrastructure, transport, electricity, and water access reduce time burdens and increase women’s labor market participation: electrification in rural South Africa increased women’s labor market participation by 9 percent. - Better access to information and communication technologies (e.g., mobile banking) facilitates market access and lowers transaction costs. ### Education, demographic transition, and India (Box 4 highlights) - India: - FLFPR is low, concentrated in rural areas and agriculture; urban FLFPR below 25 percent; rural rates almost twice urban but still below world average (Bhalla and Kaur, 2011). - FLFPR has been declining over the last 20 years; among employed women, 85 percent engage in vulnerable employment, including around two-thirds in agriculture (World Bank, 2013). - Adjusting urban FLFPR for 15 to 59 year-old women attending school increases the rate by almost 13 percentage points (Bhalla and Kaur, 2011). - With rising education and declining fertility, India’s demographic transition could yield demographic dividends of an additional 1 to 2 percentage points of annual growth. - Returns to investments in female education are on average 1 percentage point higher than investments in male education. - Lawson (2008) estimate: if the gender gap is halved by 2017 and cut to one-fourth of its 2008 value in 2027, India’s per capita income could be 10 to 13 percent higher than under a baseline of unchanged gender inequality in 2020 and 2030, respectively. ### Appendix 1 — IMF analysis and policy engagement highlights - Board papers and working papers reiterate: - Labor markets remain segregated along gender lines; female participation is persistently lower; women account for most unpaid work; wage differentials persist despite equal or higher education; senior positions remain largely male. - Policy recommendations include replacing family taxation with individual taxation, gender specific tax exemptions, special tax relief for single parents, enhanced publicly financed parental leave schemes, and child care subsidies for working mothers. - Article IV and country-specific findings cited for Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, and Japan emphasize tailored tax, childcare, and labor-market reforms to raise FLFP. - Selected IMF Working Paper findings: - Raising female labor force participation could help slow the steady fall of Japan’s potential growth rate (Steinberg and Nakane, 2012). - Gender-responsive budgeting effectiveness requires appropriate budget classifications, gender analysis expertise, and gender-disaggregated data (Sarraf, 2003; Stotsky, 2006a). *Source: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE ECONOMY: MACROECONOMIC GAINS FROM GENDER EQUITY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY; _sdn1310 (IMF Staff Discussion Note excerpt).* ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ___________________________________________________________________________ 4 ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ### Macroeconomic implications of the labor market divide: does gender matter? - When women develop their full labor market potential, there can be significant macroeconomic gains (references in source). - GDP per capita losses attributable to gender gaps in the labor market have been estimated at up to 27 percent in certain regions. - Raising the female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) to country-specific male levels is estimated to raise GDP by: - 5 percent in the United States, - 9 percent in Japan, - 12 percent in the United Arab Emirates, - 34 percent in Egypt. - Of the 865 million women worldwide who have the potential to contribute more fully to their national economies, 812 million live in emerging and developing nations. - In rapidly aging economies, higher FLFP can mitigate the impact of a shrinking workforce; for example, in Japan: - the annual potential growth rate could rise by about ¼ percentage point if the female labor participation rate reached the average for the G7 countries, - resulting in a permanent rise in per capita GDP of 4 percent compared to the baseline scenario. - Greater female earnings and control over income can contribute to broader development outcomes, including higher school enrollment for girls and poverty reduction. - Equal access to productive inputs would raise the productivity of female-owned companies and could yield considerable output gains. - Employing women on an equal basis allows firms to better use the available talent pool and may improve company performance, corporate governance, and risk profiles. ### Female labor force participation: stylized facts - Global FLFP has hovered around 50 percent over the past two decades. - Women now represent 40 percent of the global labor force. - Regional FLFPR variations (as reported): - around 21 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, - over 63 percent in East Asia and the Pacific and in sub-Saharan Africa. - Latin America and the Caribbean experienced strong increases in FLFPR of some 13 percentage points over the past two decades. - Rates have been declining in South Asia; Europe and Central Asia rates have stayed broadly constant. - The average gender participation gap (male minus female labor force participation rates) has declined since 1990 but remains significant. - Highest gap: 51 percentage points in the Middle East and North Africa. - Gaps above 35 percentage points in South Asia and Central America. - Lowest levels around 12 percentage points in OECD countries and Eastern and Middle Africa. - Cross-country and OECD variations: - Japan: gender gap of 25 percentage points. - Major advanced economies: just over 10 percentage points on average. - Sweden: 6 percentage points. - Sectoral concentration in OECD: - Services account for 80 percent of employed women versus 60 percent for men. - Within services, women are disproportionately represented in health and community services, followed by education. - FLFP varies with per capita income, with evidence pointing to a U-shaped relationship: - High FLFPR at low income levels due to necessity. - Withdrawal from market work at middle-income levels with rising household income and social protection. - Rebound at advanced income levels due to better education, lower fertility, labor-saving household technology, and market-based household services. - Education and literacy: - Gender gaps in primary education have largely closed; ratio of female to male primary enrollment rates reaches 94 percent even in the least developed countries. - Ratio of female to male enrollment in secondary education averages 97 percent. - Women are now more likely to be enrolled in tertiary studies than men. - Literacy rates for women continue to lag those of men, especially in South Asia and East and North Africa regions. ### Gender-specific labor market characteristics - Women perform large amounts of unpaid work (child-rearing and household tasks), often unseen and unaccounted for in GDP. - Time allocation: - On average, women spend twice as much time on household work as men and four times as much time on childcare. - In OECD countries, women spend about 2½ hours more than men on unpaid work (including care work) each day, regardless of the employment status of their spouses. - The higher allocation of time to unpaid work constrains women’s ability to participate in the formal labor market. - Total working time (paid plus unpaid, including travel) yields a gender difference that is close to zero in many countries, highlighting the substantial unpaid contribution of women. - Part-time work and career patterns: - Part-time work remains predominantly female and is often used to balance work with family responsibilities. - Gender-specific career paths—more part-time work and career breaks for child care among women—raise risks of old-age poverty for women and can perpetuate disadvantages in career development. *WOMEN, WORK, AND THE ECONOMY: MACROECONOMIC GAINS FROM GENDER EQUITY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY* ### 13. Moreover, there is a significant wage gap associated with gender, even for the same ### _sdn1310 - 13. Moreover, there is a significant wage gap associated with gender, even for the same ### Gender wage gaps and drivers - The gender wage gap across OECD countries, defined as the difference between male and female median wages divided by male median wages, is estimated at 16 percent (OECD 2012). - Occupational segregation and reduced working hours, in combination with differentials in work experience, explain around 30 percent of the wage gap, on average. - The “motherhood penalty” is estimated at 14 percent across OECD countries; the wage gap increases steeply during childbearing and childrearing years. - Wage gaps vary significantly among emerging economies; they are relatively high in China, Indonesia, and South Africa. - Comparatively narrow wage gaps in the Middle East and North Africa are explained by the small share of women in wage employment who are often more highly educated than male colleagues. - In several countries, earnings differences are even more significant when comparing women and men with higher educational attainment (OECD, 2012). ### Self-employment, enterprise performance, and informality - The gender gap in earnings is even higher in self-employment than in wage employment; one explanatory factor is less time devoted by women to their business. - On average, female-owned enterprises register lower profits and labor productivity than male-owned enterprises, explained by enterprise size, capital intensity, and more limited access to external finance and productive resources (OECD, 2012). - In many countries, lack of basic necessities and rights inhibits women’s potential to join the formal labor market or become entrepreneurs (World Bank, 2011). - Women dominate the informal sector, characterized by vulnerability in employment status, low protection, mostly unskilled work, and unstable earnings (ILO, 2012a; Campbell and Ahmed, 2012). - Women often have limited property and inheritance rights and limited access to credit; in agriculture, particularly in Africa, women operate smaller plots and farm less remunerative crops and have more limited access to agricultural inputs (World Bank, 2011). ### Labor market representation and leadership - During 2008-12, the share of women among CEOs in Standard and Poor’s 500 companies remained at 4 percent. - In the 27 EU countries, only 25 percent of business owners with employees are female. - In 2012, only about 20 percent of national parliamentary seats across the world were held by women. - Women who assume higher public office are more likely to occupy ministries with socio-cultural focus rather than economic and key strategic functions (OECD, 2012). - Micro-level evidence suggests gender stereotypes may hamper women’s participation in politics (Beaman and others, 2009). ### Education, enrollment, and labor outcomes (high-level figure findings) - The gender gap in primary education is closing across all income groups (1980-2011). - Female tertiary school enrollment is now on average exceeding male enrollment rates (1973-2011). - Despite progress in education, earnings gaps remain significant in the majority of countries (annual earnings ratio female to male, 2006* shown in Figure 5). - Gender literacy gap (male minus female literacy rates) declined between 1990-2010 but female literacy rates are still lower than male rates on average. - All regions have seen decreases of gender gaps in secondary enrollment rates over the last four decades. ### Crisis impacts on gendered employment - During the economic downturn of 2007-09, gender-based employment gaps shrank in most OECD countries, largely because female employment is concentrated in services. - In the United States during 2007–12, male employment losses of 4.6 million were almost twice as high as female employment losses (Kochhar, 2011). - Between 2009 and 2011–12 the pattern changed in many countries: female unemployment continued to rise while male unemployment either declined or stayed constant (OECD, 2012). - In Latin America and the Caribbean during the crisis, women accounted for about 70 percent of all layoffs in Mexico and Honduras (Mazza and Fernandes Lima da Silva, 2011). - In North Africa, the female youth unemployment rate increased by 9.1 percentage points, compared to 3.1 percentage points for young males (Stavropoulou and Jones, 2013). ### Policies in support of higher female labor force participation — overview - Providing equal economic opportunities requires an integrated set of policies to promote and support female employment (Sen, 2001). - Well-designed, comprehensive policies can boost women’s economic opportunities and participation (Revenga and Shetty, 2013; Aguirre and others, 2012; Duflo, 2012). ### A. Fiscal policies — scope and rationale - Taxation of labor income and government spending on social welfare benefits and pensions weaken the link between labor supply and income, influencing the decision to participate in the labor market; benefit design is important to avoid disincentives to work. - Even gender-neutral fiscal measures can have a disproportionately large positive effect on women (IMF, 2012d; World Bank, 2011; Duflo, 2012). Tax measures - Replacing family income taxation with individual income taxation would boost FLFP; empirical studies indicate female labor supply is more responsive to taxes than male labor supply (IMF, 2012d). - Countries with potential to reduce the secondary earner tax wedge significantly include France, Portugal, and the United States. - Tax credits or benefits for low-wage earners (“in-work” tax credits) reduce net tax liability and are usually phased out as income rises; phasing out with family income creates high marginal tax rates for primary and secondary earners and adverse labor supply effects for secondary earners. - Phasing out credits with individual income (preferred to increase FLFP) is followed in Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden; phasing out with family income (income support emphasis) is the case in Canada, France, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, the Slovak Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Expenditure measures - Properly designed family benefits can help support FLFP (Jaumotte, 2003). - Publicly financed parental leave schemes help reconcile work and family life and maintain labor market attachment; the average duration of paid parental leave in advanced economies is 26 weeks, and all OECD countries except the United States and Korea currently offer paid parental leave. - Long periods outside the labor market risk reducing skills and earnings (Ruhm, 1998). - Policies that provide and encourage greater parity between paternity and maternity leave could support a more rapid return to work among mothers and help shift gender norms; Iceland and Norway have introduced mandatory paternity leave, and in Sweden one part of parental leave is earmarked for the father and forfeited if not taken. - Reform of child support and other social benefits could increase incentives to work; linking benefits to labor force participation, job training, or active labor market programs can increase incentives for women to rejoin the labor market. Childcare and labor supply - Better access to comprehensive, affordable, high-quality child care frees up women’s time for formal employment. - Studies for 10 countries find the elasticity of female labor supply with respect to the price of child care ranges from –0.13 to –0.2 (Gong, Breunig, and King, 2010; Kalb, 2009). - If the price of childcare is reduced by 50 percent, the labor supply of young mothers will rise on the order of 6.5 to 10 percent. - Child care support reforms could target benefits to those at work (e.g., child care subsidies for working mothers) to boost FLFP without distorting labor market incentives. Pensions and social insurance - Reforms of pension systems could be considered where there is a large gap in retirement ages of women and men (the gap reaches up to five years in several OECD countries). - Pension systems should ensure spells of maternity leave do not translate into lower pensions by providing special credits for women with children (examples cited: Chile, France, Germany, and Sweden). - Reforms of social insurance could focus on strengthening links between contributions and benefits to discourage early retirement. Education and rural infrastructure - Expenditure on women’s education and improvements in rural infrastructure can boost FLFP in emerging and developing countries. - Educational attainment correlates positively with FLFP (example: Turkey — only 17 percent of illiterate women participate in the labor force, while participation exceeds 70 percent among women holding a graduate degree (Ercan, Hoşgör, and Yimlaz, 2010)). - Policies to increase incentives to send girls to school include conditional cash transfers for daughters’ school attendance (examples: Bangladesh and Cambodia). - Improving rural infrastructure (clean water access, transportation) can reduce time women spend on domestic tasks and facilitate access to markets (Koolwal and van de Walle, 2013). ### B. Policies to increase demand for female labor - Removing labor market distortions and creating a level playing field would boost demand for women’s labor. - Discrimination and social norms artificially restrict demand for women’s labor; legal constraints in some countries limit women’s participation to specific sectors and restrict access to credit and property rights. - Tradition and unwritten rules in many economies curtail women’s economic opportunities; addressing these norms and constraints is part of creating a more inclusive labor demand environment. *Source: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE ECONOMY: MACROECONOMIC GAINS FROM GENDER EQUITY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND* ### 31. Despite significant progress in ### 31. Despite significant progress in ### Evidence of persistent gender-based discrimination - Despite legislative and social-norm changes enabling greater female labor market participation, evidence of gender-based discrimination persists in advanced market economies. - Anti-discrimination provisions have been adopted legally within all OECD countries, but some measures have proven difficult to enforce (Figure 7; OECD, 2008). - Public awareness of anti-discriminatory labor laws is still low in the majority of OECD countries: in most OECD countries, less than 50 percent of the population are aware of anti-discrimination laws for the hiring process. - Figure 7: Awareness of Laws Prohibiting Gender-based Discrimination When Hiring (Percent of Survey Respondents) — in most OECD countries, less than 50 percent awareness. ### Policies to improve anti-discrimination enforcement (OECD, 2008) - Increasing the awareness of legal rights to equal treatment: - National equality bodies in several countries conduct information campaigns to raise awareness. - Providing the right incentives: - A robust burden-of-proof framework can encourage discrimination claims before courts while minimizing the risk for unjustified claims. - Empowering national equality bodies: - Allowing these bodies to conduct formal investigations on their own initiative (without an individual complaint) can increase employers’ awareness of equality issues and help potential victims of discrimination. - Providing alternative resolution mechanisms: - Mediation and conciliation procedures can reduce barriers to enforcing legal rights by avoiding court procedures. ### Social norms and information diffusion - Social norms evolve; traditional intra-household divisions still imply that women do most household work, and in some countries norms and legislation curtail women’s opportunities to engage in formal employment. - Attitudes toward working women are changing; Fernandez (2013) argues that improved information diffusion explains a substantial part of the transformation in married U.S. women’s labor force participation over the past century. ### Other policy measures to support female labor force participation - Flexible work arrangements: - Availability of flexible work arrangements (including telework and compressed work schedules) allows women to better balance formal employment with other demands (Aguirre and others, 2012). - Policies could encourage more gender-neutral use of flexible work arrangements and higher uptake of parental leave benefits by fathers. - Part-time employment: - Part-time employment is an entry point for women constrained by family responsibilities; facilitating transition from part-time to full-time employment could mitigate lower pay, benefits, and limited career opportunities associated with part-time work (ILO, 2010). - Regulatory reform for child and elderly care: - Deregulation to increase availability of childcare can raise FLFP (example: Japan; Steinberg and Nakane, 2012). - Job creation in child and elderly care can increase female labor force participation by reducing unpaid work and expanding income-earning options (Anatonopoulos and Kim, 2011). - Access to finance, training, and support networks: - Enhanced access to finance and training and more developed support networks among female entrepreneurs raise productivity of women-owned enterprises (OECD, 2012; World Bank, 2011; Blackden and Hallward-Driemeier, 2013). - Social acceptance, leadership, and role models: - Social acceptance of women in the labor market and in high-level positions contributes to higher female participation and entrepreneurship. - Top leadership on gender issues in private and public sectors helps create opportunities through sponsorship, talent management, and targeted search for female senior candidates (Barsh and Yee, 2012; Barsh, Cranston, and Craske, 2008). - Complementary change in women’s aspirations and joint family responsibility by men and women supports broader high-level female participation. ### IMF follow-up: analysis, surveillance, and policy engagement - The IMF will continue enhancing analysis of macroeconomic effects of gender inequality and inclusion, including in surveillance work (Boxes 1–4 and Appendix 1). - Improved gender-disaggregated data and collaboration with other organizations (such as the World Bank and the OECD) can help establish data on measures that enhance economic opportunities for women. - Close collaboration with other international financial institutions is essential; IMF’s macroeconomic focus complements World Bank’s broader gender-related development work. - IMF fiscal policy analysis and advice can take into account potential gender-specific impacts of measures (Steinberg and Nakane, 2012); IMF can assist members in reviewing tax codes to identify and remove provisions that discriminate against women (IMF, 2012d). - As part of a gender mainstreaming strategy, the IMF can encourage countries to assess and report on the gender-specific effects of fiscal policy measures. ### Country and cross-country policy evidence and proposals (selected highlights from Boxes) - Advanced market economies: - Canada: decrease in the secondary earner’s tax wedge contributed significantly to the increase in Canadian women’s labor force participation rate between 1995 and 2001 (Tsounta 2006). - Netherlands: FLFPR increased from about 35 percent in 1980 to more than 80 percent in 2008, attributed to breakdown of barriers between full-time and part-time contracts and well-compensated parental leave (ILO, 2010; Steinberg and Nakane, 2012). - Norway: introduction of a 40 percent quota for women on boards of publicly traded companies raised the share of women on boards from 9 percent in 2003 to 40 percent in 2008. - Sweden: small gender gap in participation (6 percent) attributed to generous and flexible parental leave and high childcare coverage. - EU Lisbon strategy target: increase FLFPR across the EU-27 to 60 percent by 2010; actual outcome in 2010 was 58.3 percent (European Parliament, 2010). - Proposed policies: Germany’s 2011 “Skilled Labor Strategy” to improve childcare and family-friendly hours (IMF, 2012a); Italy: reduce marginal tax rates for married second earners to raise female participation (IMF, 2012b); Japan: raising FLFPR could raise annual potential growth by about ¼ percentage point if FLFPR rose to G7 average (Steinberg and Nakane, 2012; IMF 2012c). - Brazil: - FLFPR increased by more than 15 percentage points to almost 60 percent over two decades, driven by married women and women with children (Barros and others, 2011). - Gender gap in labor force participation remains at 21 percentage points; women are 9 percent more likely than men to live in poverty. - National reforms: National Documentation Program for Rural Women Workers increased share of women with land titles from 13 to 56 percent between 2003 and 2007 (SIGI, 2012). - Bolsa Familia: covered around one fourth of Brazil’s population by 2007; most payments distributed directly to women and increased women’s financial independence and labor force participation. - Maternity benefits: 120 days of paid leave at 100 percent salary paid by employer but reimbursed by Brazil’s Social Security Institute; an additional 60 days allowance tax-deductible. - Pronaf-Mulher credit line (2003) increased women’s credit share in rural development financing programs by some 15 percent to almost 26 percent between 2001 and 2006. - Development issues and low-income country measures: - Gender-responsive budgeting example: Bangladesh began compiling gender budgeting reports in 2005; 20 ministries now compile such reports (World Bank 2012b). - Access to health, education, and vocational training facilitates transition from informal to formal work; Bangladesh Health and Community Services associated with near doubling of young women’s participation in the late 1990s. - Enhancing property and inheritance rights and access to credit reduces gender productivity gap; microfinance has helped reduce the gap with higher repayment rates among women (Kabeer, 2005). - Infrastructure, transport, electricity, and water access reduce time burdens and increase women’s labor market participation: electrification in rural South Africa increased women’s labor market participation by 9 percent. - Better access to information and communication technologies (e.g., mobile banking) facilitates market access and lowers transaction costs. ### Education, demographic transition, and India (Box 4 highlights) - India: - FLFPR is low, concentrated in rural areas and agriculture; urban FLFPR below 25 percent; rural rates almost twice urban but still below world average (Bhalla and Kaur, 2011). - FLFPR has been declining over the last 20 years; among employed women, 85 percent engage in vulnerable employment, including around two-thirds in agriculture (World Bank, 2013). - Adjusting urban FLFPR for 15 to 59 year-old women attending school increases the rate by almost 13 percentage points (Bhalla and Kaur, 2011). - With rising education and declining fertility, India’s demographic transition could yield demographic dividends of an additional 1 to 2 percentage points of annual growth. - Returns to investments in female education are on average 1 percentage point higher than investments in male education. - Lawson (2008) estimate: if the gender gap is halved by 2017 and cut to one-fourth of its 2008 value in 2027, India’s per capita income could be 10 to 13 percent higher than under a baseline of unchanged gender inequality in 2020 and 2030, respectively. *Source: _sdn1310 - 31. Despite significant progress in (IMF Staff Discussion Note excerpt).* ### Appendix 1. IMF Analysis of Gender-Related Policies ### Appendix 1. IMF Analysis of Gender-Related Policies ### Board Policy Papers - IMF (2013a) findings: - Labor markets and access to economic opportunities across the globe remain segregated along gender lines. - Female labor market participation is persistently lower than male participation. - Women account for most unpaid work. - When women are paid, they face significant wage differentials vis-à-vis their male colleagues, often in spite of equal or higher education levels. - The career patterns of women differ substantially from those for men, and in most countries, senior positions in both the private and the public sectors remain a largely male domain. - To unleash the full potential of the female labor force, with significant prospective growth implications, policymakers need to pursue an integrated set of policies to promote and support female employment. - IMF (2012d) recommendations: - Address low female labor force participation rates (FLFPRs), particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Southern Europe. - Suggested tax reforms: replacing family taxation with individual taxation, gender specific tax exemptions, and special tax relief for single parents. - Social policy measures: enhanced publicly financed parental leave schemes, with incentives for mothers to rejoin the labor force within a few years, and child care subsidies for working mothers. ### Article IV Consultation Reports - Saudi Arabia (IMF, 2013b): - Examines labor market policies and high unemployment, including among women. - Despite large gains in female education and falling fertility rates, the FLFPR in Saudi Arabia has risen slowly from low levels. - Part of the large gap between Saudi Arabia’s FLFPR and the OECD’s mean FLFPR can be explained by education and fertility; the large unexplained residual could be attributed to cultural factors. - Authorities are examining ways to increase opportunities for female employment, with specific sectors (e.g., retail) being targeted, but more needs to be done. - Germany (IMF, 2012a): - Ongoing efforts to increase the labor force through higher participation of female and older workers would help raise the economy’s potential above that envisaged under the baseline, while generating positive outward spillovers. - Italy (IMF, 2012b): - Authorities’ reform agenda includes introducing more flexibility in the labor market and increasing its inclusiveness by promoting open-ended and apprenticeship contracts for young workers. - Better availability of child care would support higher female participation. - Japan (IMF, 2012c): - Calls for a far-reaching package of reforms to raise the long-term GDP growth rate to 2 percent despite adverse demographic trends. - “Low-hanging fruit” in the labor market includes encouraging higher female labor force participation through expanded child care and the elimination of the tax deduction for dependent spouses. ### Joint IMF/World Bank Report - IMF and World Bank (2007) conclusions: - Gender equality and the empowerment of women are central to the development agenda because gender equality makes good economic sense and helps advance other development objectives, including education, nutrition, and reducing child mortality. - Better monitoring and efforts at mainstreaming gender equality require realistic goals, strong leadership, technical expertise, and financing. ### Articles - Lagarde (2013): - Women constitute half the working-age population but represent less than one-third of the actual labor force. - Progress toward gender equality seems to have stalled. - Despite overwhelming evidence that gender inclusion makes economic, business, and social sense, the gender gap is not being closed fast enough. - Women still face glass ceilings, glass walls, and even glass cliffs. - The challenges of growth, job creation, and inclusion are closely interlinked; growth and stability are necessary to give women the opportunities they need. - Revenga and Shetty (2012) (based on World Bank research and the 2012 World Development Report): - Policymakers need to focus on: - reducing excess mortality of girls and women; - eliminating remaining gender disadvantages in education; - increasing women’s access to economic opportunity and thus earnings and productivity; - giving women an equal voice in households and societies; - limiting the transmission of gender inequality across generations. - IMF and World Bank (2007) and IMF’s Finance & Development (IMF, 2013c): - Summarize diverse gender-related research and analyze gains women have made in equalizing job opportunities and leadership roles and the challenges remaining to achieve genuine equality. ### IMF Working Papers (selected findings) - Brixiova, Bulir, and Comeneta (2001): - Analyze the gender gap in Eritrea during the 1990s linked to lower female teacher participation and limited employment opportunities. - Widening gender gap associated with a long-term negative impact on both economic growth and poverty reduction. - Evangelista de Carvallo Filho (2008): - Girls’ labor participation rates were reduced by access to increased benefits resulting from a social security reform, but only when benefits were received by a female elderly. - Effects on boys' school enrollment rates and labor participation were in general smaller and statistically insignificant. - Freeman Garcia-Escribano (2004): - Spousal labor can buffer transitory shocks to husbands' earnings; smoothing from wives' labor response is larger for households with limited access to credit. - Laframboise and Trumbic (2003): - Government expenditure and taxation policies in the Middle East and North Africa: relatively weak social outcomes are not explained by the level of government social spending, but by the efficiency and reach of present spending. - Loko and Diouf (2009): - Determinants of total factor productivity (TFP) growth: reforms in the Maghreb that would result in TFP gains include encouraging women to enter the work force. - Sarraf (2003): - Gender-responsive government budgeting: effectiveness requires addressing lack of appropriate budget classifications, lack of gender analysis expertise, and lack of gender-disaggregated data. - Steinberg and Nakane (2012): - Raising female labor force participation could help slow the steady fall of Japan’s potential growth rate. - To increase participation, Japan should consider policies to reduce the gender gap in career positions and provide better support for working mothers. - Stotsky (2006a): - Experience with “gender budgeting” has been mixed; to be useful, gender budgeting should be integrated into budget processes to generate tangible improvements in policy outcomes. - The IMF should encourage fiscal authorities to take into account the external benefits of reducing gender inequality and remove from fiscal legislation any arbitrary discrimination against women. - Stotsky (2006b): - Gender differences in economic behavior have implications for macroeconomic policy; reducing gender inequality and improving the status of women may contribute to higher rates of economic growth and greater macroeconomic stability. - Macroeconomic policies should consider the benefits of reducing gender inequality, especially in the lowest-income countries, and consider the potentially harsher short-term effects of economic austerity measures on women. - Stotsky (1996): - Examines explicit and implicit gender bias in tax systems; explicit gender bias can be found in personal income tax systems and has been addressed in several countries; implicit gender bias is more difficult to identify but has also been addressed by tax reforms. - Tsounta (2006): - Analyzes the role of taxes and benefits in spurring the increase in Canadian female labor participation; policy initiatives similar to the “family-friendly” policies introduced in Canada could boost female participation in other countries and help address the challenges of population aging. *Source: Appendix 1. IMF Analysis of Gender-Related Policies* ### REFERENCES ### _sdn1310 - REFERENCES ### References (alphabetical) - Agenor, P.-R., and O. Canuto, 2013, “Gender Equality and Economic Growth in Brazil. A Long-Run Analysis,” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6348 (Washington). - Aguirre, DeAnne, Leila Hoteit, Christine Rupp, and Karim Sabbagh, 2012, “Empowering the Third Billion. Women and the World of Work in 2012,” Booz and Company. - Antonopoulos, R. and K. Kim, 2011, “Public Job Creation Programs: the Economic Benefits of Investing in Social Care. Case Studies in South Africa and the United States,” Levy Economics Institute of Bard College Working Paper No. 671. - Bandiera, O. and A. Natraj, 2013, “Does Gender Inequality Hinder Development and Economic Growth? Evidence and Policy Implications,” The World Bank Research Observer. - Barros, R., P. Olinto, T. Lunde, and M. Carvalho, 2011, “The Impact of Access to Free Childcare on Women’s Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Low-income Neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro,” paper prepared for the World Bank Economists’ Forum. - Barsh, J., and L. Yee, 2012, “Unlocking the Full Potential of Women at Work,” McKinsey & Company/Wall Street Journal. - Barsh, J., S. Cranston, and R.A. Craske, 2008, “Centered Leadership: How Talented Women Thrive,” McKinsey Quarterly (September). - Beaman, L., R. Chattopadhyay, E. Duflo, R. Pande, and P. Topolova, 2009, “Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 124, No. 4: 1497-540. - Bhalla, S., and R. Kaur, 2011, “Labour Force Participation of Women in India: Some Facts, some Queries,” LSE Asia Research Centre Working Paper No. 40. - Blackden, M., and Mary Hallward-Driemeier, 2013, “Ready to Bloom?” Finance & Development (June), International Monetary Fund. - Brixiova, Z., A. Bulir, and J. Comenetz, 2001, “The Gender Gap in Education in 1991-98: A Missed Opportunity?” IMF Working Paper 01/94. - Campbell, D., and I. Ahmed, 2012, “The Labour Market in Developing Countries,” September 19. http://www.iza.org/conference_files/worldb2012/campbell_d2780.pdf. - Catalyst, 2004, “The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity,” Catalyst, New York, San Jose, and Toronto. - Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS), 2011, “Re-Examining the Female Path to Leadership Positions in Business,” Cornell University. - Coates, J.M., and J. Herbert, 2008, “Endogenous Steroids and Financial Risk Taking on a London Trading Floor,” PNAS, Vol. 105, No. 15: 6167-172. - Committee for Economic Development (CED), 2012, “Fulfilling the Promise: How More Women on Corporate Boards Would Make America and American Companies More Competitive” (Washington). - Cuberes, D., and M. Teignier, 2012, “Gender Gaps in the Labor Market and Aggregate Productivity,” Sheffield Economic Research Paper SERP 2012017. - Deszo, C., and D. Ross, 2011, “Does Female Representation in Top Management Improve Firm Performance? A Panel Data Investigation,” RHS Research Paper 06-104. - Do, Q.-T., A. Levchenko, and C. Raddatz, 2011, “Engendering Trade,” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 5777 (Washington). - Dollar, D., and R. Gatti, 1999, “Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth. Are Good Times Good for Women?” World Bank Gender and Development Working Paper No. 1 (Washington). - Duflo, E., 2012, “Women Empowerment and Economic Development,” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 50, No. 4: pp. 1051-079. - Ercan, H, A., Gündüz Hoşgӧr, and Ӧ. Yimlaz, 2010, “Factors that Affect Women’s Labour Force Participation and Suggestions for Provincial Employment and Vocational Education Boards: Ankara, Gaziantep, and Konya,” background paper for the ILO-Ankara Office and the Turkish Employment Agency joint pilot project on “Active Labour Market Policies for Gender Equality through Decent Work for Women,” January. - European Commission, 2007, “Discrimination in the European Union,” Special Eurobarometer 263, Wave 65.4. - European Parliament, 2010, “The Lisbon Strategy 2000-2010” (Brussels). - Evangelista de Carvallo Filho, I., 2008, “Household Income as a Determinant of Child Labor and School Enrollment in Brazil: Evidence from a Social Security Reform,” IMF Working Paper 08/241 (Washington). - Fernandez, R., 2013, “Cultural Change as Learning: The Evolution of Female Labor Force Participation over a Century,” American Economic Review, Vol. 103, No. 1: 472-500. - Freeman Garcia-Escribano, M., 2004, “Does Spousal Labor Smooth Fluctuations in Husbands’ Earnings? The Role of Liquidity Constraints,” IMF Working Paper 04/20 (Washington). - Freeman, R.B. and R. Schettkat, 2002, “Marketization of Production and the US-Europe Employment Gap,” NBER Working Paper 8797. - Glewwe, P., and A. Kassouf, 2010, “The Impact of the Bolsa Escola/Familia Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Enrollment, Drop Out Rates and Grade Promotion in Brazil,” University of Minnesota and Sao Paul. Unpublished. - Golden, C., 1995, “The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Development and Economic History,” in Investment in Women’s Human Capital, ed. T.P. Schultz (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). - Gong, X., R. Breunig, and A. King, 2010, “How Responsive is Female Labour Supply to Child Care Costs? New Australian Estimates,” IZA Discussion Paper No. 5119 (Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor). - Heintz, J., 2006, “Globalization, Economic Policy and Employment: Poverty and Gender Implications,” International Labour Organization, Geneva. - Hicks, J., P. Basu, and R. Sappey, 2010, “Ageing, Labour Force Participation and Education: Comparing the Implications for Economic Growth in China and India,” Economic Papers, Vol. 29, No. 3: 333-41. - International Labour Organization (ILO), 2010, “Women in Labour Markets: Measuring Progress and Identifying Challenges”, Geneva. - International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012a, “Employment and Gender Differences in the Informal Economy,” PowerPoint presentation, Geneva. - International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012b, “Global Employment Trends,” Geneva. - International Labour Organization (ILO), 2013, ILO TRAVAIL database. http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/travmain.home (accessed on June 17, 2013). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2012a, Country Report No. 12/161, Germany (Washington). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2012b, Country Report No. 12/167, Italy (Washington). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2012c, Country Report No. 12/208, Japan (Washington). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2012d, “Fiscal Policy and Employment in Advanced and Emerging Economies,” Board Paper (Washington). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2013a, “Jobs and Growth—Analytical and Operational Considerations for the Fund,” SM/13/73 (Washington). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2013b, Country Report No. 13/229, Saudi Arabia (Washington). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2013c, “Women at Work,” Finance and Development (June special issue). - International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank, 2007, “Global Monitoring Report. Confronting the Challenges of Gender Equality and Fragile States.” - Jaumotte, F., 2003, “Labour Force Participation of Women. Empirical Evidence on the Role of Policy and Other Determinants in OECD Countries,” OECD Economic Studies No. 37 (Paris). - Kabeer, N., 2005, “Is Microfinance a ‘Magic Bullet’ for Women’s Empowerment? Analysis of Findings from South Asia,” Economic and Political Weekly (October 29). - Kalb, G., 2009, “Children, Labour Supply and Child Care: Challenges for Empirical Analysis,” Australian Economic Review, Vol. 42, No. 3: pp. 276–99. - Kochhar, R., 2011, “Two Years of Economic Recovery. Women Lose Jobs, Men Find Them,” PEW. - Koolwal, G., and D. van de Walle, 2013, “Access to Water, Women’s Work, and Child Outcomes,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 61, No. 2: 369-405. - Laframboise, N., and T. Trumbic, 2003, “The Effects of Fiscal Policies on the Economic Development of Women in the Middle East and North Africa,” IMF Working Paper 03/244 (Washington). - Lagarde, C., 2013, “Dare the Difference,” Finance & Development (June), International Monetary Fund. - Lawson, S., 2008, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky”, Goldman Sachs Global Economics Paper No. 164. - Loko, B., and Mame A. Diouf, 2009, “Revisiting the Determinants of Productivity Growth: What’s New?” IMF Working Paper 09/225 (Washington). - Lord Davies of Abersoch, 2013, “Women on Boards 2013: Two Years On,” Government of the United Kingdom. - Luxembourg Income Study Database, Wave VI, 2011. www.lisdatacenter.org (accessed on June 17, 2013). - Mammen, K., and C. Paxson, 2000, “Women’s Work and Economic Development,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 14, No. 4: 141-64. - Mazza, J., and Danilo Fernandes Lima da Silva, 2011, “Latin America Experience with Crisis-Driven Labor Market Programs,” Inter-American Development Bank discussion draft. - McKinsey and Company, 2008, “A Business Case for Women,” The McKinsey Quarterly, September 2008. - Medeiros, M., T. Britto, and F. Soares, 2008, “Targeted Cash Transfer Programmes in Brazil: BPC and the Bolsa Familia,” International Poverty Centre Working Paper No.46. - Miller, G., 2008, “Women’s Suffrage, Political Responsiveness, and Child Survival in American History,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics (August): 1287-326. - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2008, “The Price of Prejudice: Labour Market Discrimination on the Grounds of Gender and Ethnicity.” - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2012, Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now (Paris: OECD). - Pande, R., and Petia Topalova, 2013, “Women in Charge,” Finance & Development (June), International Monetary Fund. - Revenga, A., and S. Shetty, 2012, “Empowering Women is Smart Economics,” Finance & Development, Vol. 49, No. 1, International Monetary Fund. - Ruhm, C.J., 1998, “The Economic Consequences of Parental Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 113, Issue 1: 285-317. - Sarraf, F., 2003, “Gender-Responsive Government Budgeting,” IMF Working Paper /03/83 (Washington). - Sen, A., 2001, “Many Faces of Gender Inequality,” in: Frontline, Volume 18, Issue 22, October-November 2001. - Soares, F., R. Ribas, and R. Osorio, 2007, “Evaluating the Impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia: Cash Transfer Programmes in Comparative Perspective,” International Poverty Centre Evaluation Note No. 1. - Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), 2012. http://genderindex.org (accessed on June 17, 2013). - Stavropoulou, M., and N. Jones, 2013, “Off the Balance Sheet. The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Girls and Young Women. A Review of the Evidence.” http://www.plan-eu.org/content/uploads/2013/01/Economic-report-2013_Girls-and-young-women.pdf (accessed on September 17, 2013). - Steinberg, C., and M. Nakane, 2012, “Can Women Save Japan?” IMF Working Paper 12/48 (Washington). - Stotsky, J., 2006a, “Gender Budgeting,“ IMF Working Paper 06/232 (Washington). - Stotsky, J., 2006b, “Gender and Its Relevance to Macroeconomic Policy: A Survey,” IMF Working Paper 06/233 (Washington). - Stotsky, J., 1996, “Gender Bias in Tax Systems,” IMF Working Paper 96/99 (Washington). - Tsani, Stella, Leonidas Paroussos, Costas Fragiadakis, Ioannis Charalambidis and Pantelis Capros, 2012, “Female Labour Force Participation and Economic Development in Southern Mediterranean Countries: What Scenarios for 2030?” MEDPRO Technical Report No. 19, European Commission. - Tsounta, E., 2006, “Why Are Women Working So Much More in Canada? An International Perspective,” IMF Working Paper 06/92 (Washington). - United Nations (UN) and International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012, “Decent Work and Women’s Economic Empowerment: Good Policy and Practice.” Policy Brief, UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the ILO. - Wolf, Charles, Jr., Siddhartha Dalal, Julie DaVanzo, Eric V. Larson, Alisher Akhmedjonov, Harun Dogo, Meilinda Huang, and Siliva Montoya, 2011, “China and India, 2025, A Comparative Assessment,” RAND National Defense Research Institute. - World Bank, 2011, World Development Report 2012. Gender Equality and Development (Washington). - World Bank, 2012a, World Development Report 2013. Jobs (Washington). - World Bank, 2012b, “Accelerating Progress on Gender Mainstreaming and Gender-Related MDGs. A Progress Report,” IDA 16 Mid-Term Review (Washington). - World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2013. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators (accessed on June 17, 2013). *International Monetary Fund* --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/_sdn1310.pdf_