PARIS – Governments looking to boost growth should focus on narrowing the “gender gap” that still holds women back in education, employment and entrepreneurship, a new report said Monday.
Women continue to earn less than men, are less likely to make it to the top of the career ladder and are more likely to spend their final years in poverty, according to a report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Trimming or eliminating this discrimination could provide a significant source of growth for ailing economies, the OECD says: on average, a 50 percent decrease in the gender gap in labor force participation would lead to a 0.3 percentage point increase in annual GDP per-capita growth rate in OECD countries.
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