According to a report that the European think tank Bruegel published on Monday, 24 February, gender equality is reportedly not only a matter of social justice but also an underestimated driver of economic prosperity.
The work of Professor of Economics Jonathan D. Ostry, who authored this document, challenges the assumption that men and women would be interchangeable in production. And with good reason: the study shows that the lower the elasticity of substitution between the sexes is, the more economic growth benefits from diversity in the workforce.
However, according to Eurostat, 66.1% of women between the ages of 20 and 64 had a job in the EU in 2020, compared with 77.2% of men.
The report’s simulations indicate that if the employment rate for women were to reach that for men, the GDP of OECD countries could grow 8% to 14%.
While traditional models attribute certain productivity gains to technological improvements, the study emphasises that women being increasingly integrated into the workforce is making a major contribution. Women reportedly bring diverse skills and perspectives—an advantage in decision-making and innovation.
The report thus calls for an overhaul of economic analytical tools in order to better integrate gender dynamics as well as for the development of public policies that foster female employment.
The European Union continues to take this approach [to the matter] through various initiatives, such as the ‘Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025’, the 2023 directive on pay transparency, and the 2019 directive on work-life balance for parents and carers.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/fn6 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)