gender wage gap – IMF Blog

Chart of the Week: Educate Girls and Women to Boost Equality

IMFBlog2019-03-13T15:16:51-04:00August 22, 2018|

August 22, 2018

Versions in عربي, 中文, Español,, Français, 日本語, Português

Schoolgirls in Valladolid, Mexico: Policies that focus on educating girls increase the likelihood that they will enter the labor force (photo: kertu_ee/iStock by Getty Images)

Government policies have boosted women’s participation in the work force. But women still make up a smaller percentage of the labor force than men in most countries. Of the many policies available, such as education and legal rights, which ones provide the most “bang for the buck” to reduce inequality between men and women? […]

5 Things You Need to Know About the IMF and Gender

IMFBlog2019-03-15T13:27:28-04:00November 22, 2017|

Woman engineer at work: The IMF’s research shows that countries can reap benefits from closing gender gaps (photo: nimis69/iStock by Getty Images)

By IMFBlog

November 22, 2017

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文(Chinese); Español (Spanish); Français (French); 日本語 (Japanese); Русский (Russian)

Women count. They contribute to society in every way, including as a crucial part of their countries’ economic growth and prosperity.

Not long ago, few people would have expected the International Monetary Fund to be engaged in work on gender inequality. We began by incorporating gender analysis and policy advice in our annual assessments of countries’ economies. Today, with some 30 gender consultations completed, and a dozen more planned, we have made a dent. But there is still a long way to go. […]

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Chart of the Week: Banking on Women—A Case for More

IMFBlog2019-03-15T16:08:47-04:00September 19, 2017|

By IMFBlog

September 19, 2017

Versions in 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish),日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian)

Worldwide, women hold less than 20 percent of board seats of banks and banking supervision agencies. More women on bank boards may have a positive effect on bank stability (photo: istocksdaily/iStock by Getty Images)

The “glass ceiling” in finance has barely cracked. Compared to the available talent pool, there is still a large gap between the representation of men and women in leadership positions in banks and bank supervision agencies worldwide.

A recent IMF staff paper provides a comprehensive dataset on banking sector characteristics and performance, as well as on the share of women on the boards of directors and banking supervision agency boards, covering 72 countries over 13 years. […]

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Chart of the Week: More Women, More Growth

IMFBlog2019-03-26T11:37:23-04:00March 6, 2017|

By iMFdirect

International Women’s Day and the United States’ February jobs report are both coming up this week. So, we decided today’s chart should focus on women and work.

Around the world, women seeking employment face barriers—from legal hurdles to disincentives like lower wages. Leveling the playing field could bring significant benefits. […]

Doing It All—Women Boost the Bottom Line for Home, Firm, and Country

IMFBlog2019-03-27T11:28:19-04:00March 7, 2016|

By Christine Lagarde

(Versions in عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Русский, Deutsch, and Italiano)

International Women’s Day—March 8—is one of my favorite days. It is a time to celebrate the impressive progress women at all levels of the career ladder have made in recent decades. More women in the labor force, and in more senior positions is good news for women, for their companies, and for their countries’ economies.

A new IMF staff study finds that in Europe, national policies, even taking account of personal preferences, can boost women’s participation in the workforce and enhance their chances for advancement.

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Empowering Women, Tackling Income Inequality

IMFBlog2019-03-27T14:39:18-04:00October 22, 2015|

By Sonali Jain-Chandra, Kalpana Kochhar, and Monique Newiak

(Versions in عربي, 中文, Français, 日本語, Русский, and Español)

Despite progress, wide gaps between women and men’s economic empowerment and opportunity remain, which policymakers need to tackle urgently. In most countries, more men than women work, and they get paid more for similar work. Also, there are considerable gender gaps in access to education, health and finance in a number of countries. There is mounting evidence that the lack of gender equity imposes large economic costs as it hampers productivity and weighs on growth.

Our new study analyzes the links between these two phenomena—inequality of income and that of gender. We find that gender inequality is strongly associated with income inequality across time and countries of all income groups.

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Fair Play—Equal Laws for Equal Working Opportunity for Women

IMFBlog2017-04-14T01:46:01-04:00February 23, 2015|

By Christine Lagarde

(Versions in 中文, Français, 日本語, Русский, عربي and Español)

Leveling the legal playing field for women holds real promise for the world—in both human and economic terms. Unfortunately, that promise remains largely ignored and its potential untapped. In too many countries, too many legal restrictions conspire against women to be economically active—to work.

What can be done to remove these barriers? A new study done by IMF economists seeks to answer that question.

The bottom line? It’s about a fair, level playing field.

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What We Can Do To Improve Women’s Economic Opportunities

IMFBlog2017-04-15T13:56:19-04:00March 8, 2013|

On International Women's Day, the IMF's Managing Director celebrates the progress women have made and discusses how we can improve women's economic opportunities.