Harnessing the economic potential of women is essential for building stronger economies, prosperous communities and more stable and just societies.
According to the UN, research in developing countries has shown that when women and girls earn income they reinvest some 90% of it into their families, compared to just 30-40% for men. But it's not just communities that benefit. A 2006 report in The Economist ('The importance of sex', 15 April) estimated that over the past decade, women's work has contributed more to global economic growth than China. It suggested that were Japan to raise its share of working women to American levels – from 57% to 65% – it would boost annual growth by 0.3% over 20 years.
This message was echoed by a 2007 study by Goldman Sachs ('Gender, Inequality, Growth and Global Ageing), which reported that many countries could dramatically increase gross domestic product (GDP) by closing the gender gap in employment rates: the Euro zone could increase GDP by 13%, Japan by 16% and the US by 9%.
Empowering women is also an important driver of business performance. The World Bank has accumulated a growing amount of research showing correlations between a higher share of women in top management and a firm's financial performance and governance. Fortune 500 firms with a high number of women executives outperform their industry median firms on three different measures of profitability: return on equity, return on sales and return on invested capital. The firms with the very best scores for promoting women appear to be consistently more profitable than those whose scores were merely good. Companies with more women executives demonstrate better corporate governance practices. More diverse boards are also more likely to hold CEOs accountable for poor stock performance.
The UN Global Compact, a voluntary corporate responsibility initiative for businesses, has published a set of women's empowerment principles for business, with tips and case studies. (find out more)
The full report is available from www.unglobalcompact.org. UNA-UK is encouraging all Young Professionals to ensure that the relevant people in their organisation are aware of this initiative.
