4 ways to improve economic opportunities for women around the world

Too many women are locked out of economic opportunities, which is not only unfair but also harms growth and resilience for all. We know that in countries with greater gender inequality just closing the gap in women’s labor force participation could increase economic output by an average of 35 percent. Progress, however, is slow to come and shocks, such as health and climate disasters, social unrest, and war continue to worsen gender inequality by directly affecting women’s lives and livelihoods or keeping them out of school and work.

Appropriate economic and financial policies can help change these negative outcomes, improving economies by supporting the recovery and building resilience against future shocks. A dividend for women, in other words, is a dividend for all. For instance, while the pandemic set women further back everywhere, it also drove policy innovation s. Several extraordinary pandemic assistance programs targeted women and brought more people into social safety nets. The latter makes it easier to provide targeted assistance to cope with the current food and fuel price spikes. For policymakers, there are wellproven solutions to adopt gendersensitive macroeconomic actions. First, step up investment in women’s human capital. The gains from providing women equal access to food, healthcare, and education are especially large in emerging and developing economies. Think of cash transfers that help families afford the basics in countries with less developed social safety nets.