Lack of employment of women costs world $12 trillion

When people say gender equality is a must for development, they are not just speaking empty words. Research indicates that if women participate in working life equally with men, $12 trillion more will be added to the global economy. 

The unpaid jobs that women do, the unseen production of women, the value of the free labor, and the loss to the economy amounts to $12 trillion: Almost 13 percent of the global GDP. 

According to the survey named “The Impact of Women in the Workforce” conducted by Skillsoft in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Asia, even though women may be offered equal opportunities in training, women workers are facing more barriers and advancing more slowly than their male counterparts.

Prejudices, as you all know, peak when it comes to women’s roles and skills. Top managements do not feel the responsibility to contribute to the advancement of women in working life. 

Most respondents to the survey said the balance between work and private life was the biggest issue that working women have to tackle. While men are not obliged to choose between family/home and career, it is exactly the opposite for women. 

For this reason, women do not have the means to be able to focus on work as much as men. Childcare, elderly care, cooking, cleaning… Overall, some 75 percent of unpaid jobs in the world are done by women, according to a 2015 report by McKinsey Global Institute. 

According to 92 percent of respondents, there is a lack of women in leadership. This perception conforms to current statistics. Women make up just 5 percent of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies and 17 percent of corporate board members among Fortune 500 companies. Some 71 percent of respondents think there is not enough being done within their organizations to address gender imbalance. 

If development is the main goal, companies should support women at every step in their career and determine what can be done for equal access.  

Gender inequality is not only a social issue, it is also an important economic challenge. This should always be kept in mind.  

If women’s participation in work life is equalized with men’s, there could be double digit rises in developing countries’ national incomes. It has been calculated that the financial performance of institutions where the women-to-men rate is fairer is 15 percent above the sector average. 

It is not logical for companies not to consider this issue when addressing it would boost their profitability.  

As a matter of fact, once the daycare center issue is solved, women will have achieved a lot. 

The biggest expectation of women is the crèche. Many women think to themselves that the small amount of money they will earn will only go to the caretaker. So instead they decide to not work and stay at home to look after their children. Because childcare is overwhelmingly the woman’s responsibility in our society, it will be difficult to solve other issues before the crèche problem is solved.

Let’s keep reminding managers who are not taking any steps to solve this issue that there is a better economy at the end of this. If for nothing else, just for this reason, will you not open the way of women?