Women! Yes, Women Can "Turbocharge" Global Economic Growth, World Bank Says

If you’re also worried about the sputtering global economy, now is the time to read and share the World Bank’s latest findings on gender equality with your local representatives, community leaders, family, friends and push for effective change.

Officially launched on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., the organization’s 10th annual Women, Business and the Law report showed that boosting the participation of women in the global workforce could significantly brighten the world’s economic prospects. 

Analyzing the laws and practices that keep women out of work in 190 economies, the new study found that closing the gender gap in employment and starting new businesses could double the rate of global economic growth over the next decade, lifting the world GDP by 20 percent.

Unfortunately, according to the report, women are not afforded the same workforce rights and advantages as men in any nation around the world— including in high-income economies.

“Today, the world faces the prospect of persistently slow growth. However, women have the power to turbocharge the global economy,” said Indermit Gill, the chief economist at World Bank Group. 

Tea Trumbic, the report’s lead author, described increasing the labor force as “one key way that governments and countries can grow,” emphasizing that “if half of the world’s population is not fully empowered and they're not contributing, this is a really waste of talent and resources.”

Taking into account disparities in safety from violence and access to childcare—the two new indicators included this year—the study found that women on average have just 64 percent of the legal rights that men do. This is a significant reality check, since this figure was previously estimated to be above 75 percent. 

With a grim global average score of 36 for women’s safety, the World Bank’s research highlights harassment on public transit as one of the major obstacles preventing women from entering the global workforce. 

“Sexual harassment doesn't happen only in the workplace. It happens in public spaces, and increasingly now online as well,” Trumbic observed.

She explained that the idea was to create an indicator that could “go beyond the workplace into all of these other spaces,” adding that not just physical but psychological, sexual and financial violence is also hindering women’s access to equal opportunities. 

While workplace sexual harassment is a criminal offense in 151 countries, only 39 have laws banning it in public places, the study found. 

Similarly, with less than half of all economies offering financial support or quality standards governing childcare services, women spend two and a half hours more on unpaid care than men. Being more actively engaged in childcare allows only half of women to participate in the global workforce, compared to three-quarters of all men. 

Trumbic stressed that women should not have to choose between having children and going to work: In fact, “they should be able to do both.”

She said that ending gender-based violence while providing paid parental leave for both fathers and mothers, adequate childcare services, and equal pay could ensure that women are on the same footing. 

In a first, the report also looked into the gap between legal reforms and implementation on the ground, finding that countries around the world on average have established less than 40 percent of the required systems for full enforcement. 

For example, 98 of the 190 economies included in the study have enacted laws mandating equal pay. However, only 35 have formulated measures or mechanisms to tackle the issue. As a result, on average women make just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.

Amanda Ellis, a former United Nations ambassador and Senior Director of Arizona State University’s (ASU) Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, said that she became fascinated with the connection between women's legal empowerment and economic development during her first trip with the World Bank to Kenya. ASU collaborates with the World Bank on the advancement of gender equality.  

“I discovered that many women were unable to own property and therefore, couldn't get a business loan, which they needed collateral for, and therefore, their businesses were still micro,” she explained. 

Discussing the recent report, Ellis emphasized the importance of broadening the research scope beyond the enactment of laws to include their implementation. Additionally, Ellis highlighted the significance of incorporating expert opinion surveys, providing valuable insights into the prevailing cultural values and mores within a country.

Norman Loayza, director of the Global Indicators Group at the World Bank, pointed out that “a lot of progress” in women's legal and economic rights had taken place in the last 50 years but “huge gaps in the law and even wider gaps in the implementation of the law” remain. 

On how men can contribute in advancing gender equality, Loayza advised: “Don't interrupt, just listen.”

“The very first thing that men should do is listen to women. Understand what the situation of women is,” he said. “Number two, when women propose something, then have the openness of mind to advocate and implement those ideas.”