## WOMEN, WORK, AND EUROPEAN ECONOMIC GROWTH

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**Canonical URL:** [WOMEN, WORK, AND EUROPEAN ECONOMIC GROWTH](https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-publications/external/pubs/ft/dp/2016/_eur1601infog.pdf)

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### Key statistics and headline findings
- For every 10 men in Europe’s labor markets, there are on average 8.9 women.
- The growth rate in women joining the workforce has dropped a great deal from its peak in the 1990s to today.
- Increasing that number by even one woman to 3 out of 10 is associated with a 3–8% increase in a company’s return on assets.
- Currently only 2 of every 10 senior corporate positions are held by women.
- Europe faces serious challenges to increasing future output growth. Improving women’s participation in the overall labor market and their representation in senior corporate positions is one important strategy European countries could pursue to help mitigate the projected slowdown in growth.

### Factors influencing women’s labor market participation
- NUMBER OF CHILDREN: lower birth rates = higher labor force participation.
- SOCIAL NORMS & ATTITUDES: more favorable attitudes = higher participation rate to WOMEN IN SENIOR CORPORATE POSITIONS.
- EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: higher levels = higher labor force participation.
- MOTHER’S EMPLOYMENT: daughters of working moms = more likely to enter labor market.
- DEMOGRAPHICS & ATTITUDES: For women in Europe, the decision to work does not simply depend on demographics and personal attitudes—policies also matter.

### Policy levers and their associations
- PARENTAL LEAVE: More parental leave is associated with higher likelihood of employment.
- TAXATION: Higher tax rates on a family’s second earner discourages women from working, especially full time.
- PUBLIC SPENDING: Public investment in early education and child care programs increases likelihood of women working.

### Implications for firms and policymakers
- Firms: Increasing female representation—notably in senior positions—can be associated with measurable improvements in firm performance (example: a 3–8% increase in return on assets when female representation rises to 3 out of 10).
- Policymakers: Combining reforms that address social norms, parental leave design, taxation of second earners, and public spending on early education and child care can raise women’s labor force participation and help mitigate projected slowdown in Europe’s output growth.

*Source: IMF Department Paper Unlocking Female Employment Potential in Europe: Drivers and Benefits (March 2016).*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-publications/external/pubs/ft/dp/2016/_eur1601infog.pdf_