G20 leaders have committed to reducing the gap in participation rates between men and women by 25 per cent by 2025.
Delivering on this commitment will bring more than 100 million additional women into the labour force across the G20 economies and will significantly increase global growth and reduce poverty and inequality.
The OECD estimates a boost to women’s participation of this scale would increase G20 GDP by between 1.2 and 1.6 per cent by 2025, adding more than $1 trillion to the global economy.
Many G20 economies face the challenge of an ageing population.
Increasing women’s participation can help mitigate the impact of ageing populations and support stronger economic growth and productivity.
It also makes best use of the world’s most underutilised resource: the workplace capacity of women.
The actions G20 leaders take will vary from country to country but could include improving access to education and child care, expanding maternity leave options, fostering female entrepreneurs, improving financial literacy and better access to business finance.
16 November 2014