New Citi Report: Women in the Economy II - How Implementing a Women’s Empowerment Agenda Can Shape the Global Economy
November 16 2017 - 10:02AM
Business Wire
Follow-up to 2015 report finds that reductions in workplace
gender inequality could result in significant GDP growth
In a report issued today, Citi highlights the growth impacts
made possible by shrinking gender inequality and by increasing
women’s economic empowerment. Women in the Economy II explores the
economic case for women’s empowerment through fresh insights and a
series of case studies, and was produced as a follow-up to a 2015
report.
The report forecasts that raising women’s average labor force
participation; average hours worked, and average labor productivity
to the levels for men could raise OECD GDP by as much as 20%,
though it notes that a more realistic prediction is 6% over the
next two decades.
Put into context, the potential economic payoff from reducing
gender inequalities is larger and more sustainable than the
potential boost from many current stimulus policies. For example,
Citi’s economics team estimates that current fiscal stimulus
projects proposed in the U.S. have the potential to boost U.S. GDP
by 1 to 1.5 per cent from 2018-2021.
With the OECD estimating 1.5% total sustainable GDP growth per
year in 2016-18, potential gains from gender equality could add the
equivalent of four years of GDP growth in advanced economies. For
countries such as Italy or Japan, where growth estimates are often
near zero but gender gaps are large, the upside of pursuing gender
equality is even greater.
“Women’s economic empowerment is about creating gender equality
and removing barriers to entry into the workforce for women,” says
Tina Fordham, Citi's Chief Global Political Analyst, appointed to
the first-ever UN High Level Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment
and strategic author on Citi's Gender Economics coverage.
“Empowerment comes from creating onramps for women to be able to
work if they want to. It’s what happens when we address barriers
like unpaid care work, or a lack of access to property and
financial assets, which are just some of the reasons why women's
labor participation is lower.”
In addition to the Citi Research analysis, Women in the Economy
II provides an overview of the recommendations of the United
Nations’ High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment,
including its Seven Primary Drivers of Women’s Economic
Empowerment.
Other highlights of the report include:
- A discussion of workforce gender
inequality in Canada compared to the US; Sweden compared to Italy;
and an analysis of economic inequality in Japan, where harnessing
the potential of women in the economy will be vital to protecting
even modest growth prospects for the country’s economy.
- An overview of Citi’s own efforts to
pioneer additional financial inclusion opportunities for women,
through Citi’s Community Development work around the world.
- Interviews with Simona Scarpaleggia,
CEO of IKEA Switzerland on managing the corporate challenge of
increased female labor force participation and President Luis
Guillermo of Costa Rica on the government and public sector role in
advancing the UN’s principles around women’s economic
empowerment.
The report concludes with recommendations for corporates and
governments, and on the changes potentially brought about by social
impact investing, as asset owners begin to demand more focus on
diversity and women’s economic empowerment.
About Citi GPS
As Citi’s premier thought-leadership product, Citi GPS: Global
Perspectives & Solutions is designed to help its readers
navigate the global economy's most demanding challenges and to
identify future themes and trends, in a fast-changing and
interconnected world. Citi GPS accesses the best elements of the
global conversation and harvests the thought leadership of a wide
range of senior professionals across Citi. To learn more about Citi
GPS and view other recent reports, please visit:
https://www.citivelocity.com/citigps/
About Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million
customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and
jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments
and institutions with a broad range of financial products and
services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and
investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and
wealth management.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171116005930/en/
Citi Public AffairsElizabeth Kelly, (212)
559-2477elizabeth.kelly@citi.comorCiti Public AffairsSusan Monahan,
+44 207508-0786susan.monahan@citi.com
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