## The Business Case for Women’s Empowerment _IMF News, November 18, 2016_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [The Business Case for Women’s Empowerment](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2016/11/18/sp111816-the-business-case-for-womens-empowerment) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2016/11/18/sp111816-the-business-case-for-womens-empowerment/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2016/11/18/sp111816-the-business-case-for-womens-empowerment/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2016/11/18/sp111816-the-business-case-for-womens-empowerment/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Authors: Christine Lagarde - Published: November 18, 2016 --- ### Overview - Context: Remarks by Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, at the APEC CEO Summit, Peru, November 18, 2016. - Core message: Tapping the potential of women can boost growth, reduce inequality, mitigate demographic challenges, and support economic diversification. ### Why Women’s Empowerment Is a Game Changer - Key statistics and findings: - APEC: home to "40 percent of the world’s population and about 60 percent of global economic output." - Global labor force participation: "55 percent" of women versus "80 percent" of men. - Women’s earnings: "about 50 percent less than men for the same type of work." - Women in politics: represent "only 20 percent of parliamentarians across the world." - If Latin American countries raised female labor participation to the average of the Nordic countries ("about 60 percent"), "GDP per capita could be up to 10 percent higher." - Moving from perfect gender inequality to perfect gender equality is equivalent to reducing income inequality "from the levels prevailing in Venezuela to those in Sweden." - Japan: raising female labor force participation to Northern Europe levels could boost GDP growth "by up to 0.4 percentage points in the transition years." - Japan’s near-term growth context: "growth rates in Japan currently hovering around 0.5 percent in this year and next." - Canada: employing more highly educated women could raise overall productivity growth "by up to 0.4 percentage points per year." - Diversification: in low-income and developing countries, moving from perfect gender inequality to perfect equality is equivalent to moving "from the least diversified economy to one with average export diversification." ### How to Get There — A Role for Everyone - Overarching point: Narrowing gender gaps requires a comprehensive agenda and commitment by governments, the private sector, and international financial institutions. - Governments — policy levers and evidence: - Fiscal/tax policy: "tax reforms that reduce taxes on a family’s secondary earner" can encourage female labor force participation. - Canada example: 1990s tax cuts and benefits for families with children contributed to a female labor participation rate "over 80 percent" (compared with "74 percent" in the United States). - Family support policies: Mexico’s Estancias Infantiles (free/subsidized childcare) increased mothers’ probability of employment; Chile’s Jornada Escolar Completa freed up time for mothers to work more hours. - Legal reform: "in more than a 100 countries, women face at least one legal barrier to economic participation." - Peru: mid-1990s legal changes led to a "15 percentage points" increase in women’s labor force participation a decade later. - Namibia: strengthening women’s legal rights saw female labor force participation rise by "10 percentage points." - Conclusion: "Small changes in the law can make a big difference." - The Private Sector — business benefits and practices: - Corporate leadership: adding one more woman in senior management or on the corporate board (keeping board size unchanged) is associated with "8-13 basis points higher return on assets." - Board and CEO representation (as of April 2015): for every 100 corporate board members of large publicly listed firms in Europe, only "23 were women," and only "4 percent of chief executive officers of these companies were female." - Team dynamics: Google study — successful teams created "zones of 'psychological safety'" where members spoke in roughly the same proportion, enabling better use of diverse views. - Workplace policies: ensure pay parity for equal jobs; expand maternity leave; improve women’s access to financial services. - Peru financial-inclusion data: "Close to 90 percent of firms had access to a bank account in 2014," yet women's access levels were only "22 percent." - International Financial Institutions — research, operationalization, and programs: - SDGs: "Gender equality and women’s empowerment are now one of the 17 priorities of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve inclusive growth by 2030." - IMF role: - Increased research on gender-related topics; many examples cited draw on this research. - Operational steps: incorporating gender-equality goals into Article IV consultations where women’s economic participation can be of material impact. - Completed analysis for "13 countries" to provide tailored policy recommendations on gender equity. - Program examples: included a goal of raising women’s economic participation in an IMF-supported program with Jordan; similar goal in the recently announced program in Egypt, with a focus on "improving the safety of transportation for women." ### Conclusion and Takeaway Messages - APEC countries have made significant progress in women's economic participation over the past two decades and are positioned to lead further advances. - The IMF positions itself as a partner in advancing gender equity through research, policy advice, and program support. - Bottom line: increasing women’s economic participation can make the economy larger, more equitable, more resilient to demographic change, and better diversified. *Source: Speech by Christine Lagarde, "The Business Case for Women’s Empowerment," APEC CEO Summit, Peru, November 18, 2016.* --- ## Content in this bundle - [091516 (PDF)](/external/np/blog/dialogo/091516.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - [Staff Discussion Note (PDF)](/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1502.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- ## References - [Christine Lagarde](http://www.imf.org/external/np/omd/bios/cl.htm) - [Canada and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/CAN/index.htm) - [Japan and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/JPN/index.htm) - [Peru and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/PER/index.htm) - [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews) - [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/) - [Catalyst for Change: Empowering Women and Tackling Income Inequality](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=43346) - [Can Women Save Japan?](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=40048.0) - [To Boost Growth: Employ More Women](https://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/2016/09/14/to-boost-growth-employ-more-women/) - [Gender Equality and Economic Diversification](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=44091.0) - [Unlocking Female Employment Potential in Europe: Drivers and Benefits](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=43712.0) - [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2016/11/18/sp111816-the-business-case-for-womens-empowerment_