Gender Equality and Inclusive Growth

Abstract

This paper considers various dimensions and sources of gender inequality and presents policies and best practices to address these. With women accounting for fifty percent of the global population, inclusive growth can only be achieved if it promotes gender equality. Despite recent progress, gender gaps remain across all stages of life, including before birth, and negatively impact health, education, and economic outcomes for women. The roadmap to gender equality has to rely on legal framework reforms, policies to promote equal access, and efforts to tackle entrenched social norms. These need to be set in the context of arising new trends such as digitalization, climate change, as well as shocks such as pandemics.

Flexibility for equality: Examining the impact of flexible working time arrangements on women's convergence in working hours

“…This is the time when many women take on more household and family responsibilities and when children are born, and demanding childcare is required. As many studies show, the gender stereotype persists in the division of housework (Chung & Booker, 2023;Fernández et al, 2022), so these tasks are still mainly the responsibility of women. Consequently, the combination of these tasks becomes incompatible with career development, leading to a conflict between work and family, and many women quit their jobs or reduce their working hours.…”

Budgeting for Gender Equality

“…These models draw on the innovations to treat male and female labor separately and to see the household as a place of production, not just consumption. Fernandez et al (2021) provide an overview of recent work on the relationship between gender equality and economic growth. In an earlier examination, Duflo (2012) concludes that there is a simultaneous cause-and-effect relationship between equality and economic development.…”