In the age of tearing down various harmful social constructs and aiming towards equality, the topic of women's presence in the labor market and business appears to be one of the most frequently discussed.
If you follow this matter carefully, the chances are big that you've heard the term 'womenomics' at least several times. But if you have not, let's sum up its meaning and talk about its origins and the future.
Womenomics is the concept that the advancement of women's presence in the economy and economic development are significantly linked with each other. It is also the general term referring to female presence in the global economy and politics.
In an interview for UN News, Kristin Hetle from UN Women explained that the meaning of Womenomics is "to look at your economy from the national perspective with a gender lens and see, is our country really harnessing the full potential of half of its population?" The most significant focuses of this aspect are the measures necessary for both women and men, to be able to participate in the workplace and be able to have and take care of their family.
The term "Womenomics" also serves as the name of the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe's policy. In 2013 he initiated a plan to increase the employment rate amongst women and increase their empowerment.
This policy is a part of Abe's growth strategy for the economy. Growth in women's participation in the labor market and leadership is an integral part of reforming organizations' corporate structures to meet the requirements of an aging society that we can observe in Japan.
Earlier, the Japanese government introduced Japan's Basic Law for Gender Equality; however, the participation of women in the labor market didn't grow as expected. One of its main contributors was that many Japanese mothers struggled with balancing their professional careers while raising their children. The shortage of daycare was one of the contributors to hardships faced by working women.
Unluckily, Japanese female labor participation - after hitting a decade-high of above 70% - became significantly threatened by the pandemic. The Japan Times indicated that: "women in Japan are suffering a bigger share of the pain as the country heads for its worst economic slump in the postwar era." That happens because more than half of them tend to hold vulnerable part-time or temporary jobs.
But how crucial female participation really is for the global economy?
The most straightforward answer can be found in the article by The Economist "Women and the world economy – a guide to womenomics" from 2006. It has observed that: "the future of the world economy lies increasingly in female hands," pointing out the fact that more women are getting university degrees than man, and that female workers are filling new jobs.
Moreover, the study from Barclays and the University of Cambridge revealed that "on average, businesses run by women are reporting higher pre-tax profits than businesses run by men.
Basic economic reasoning lets us discover that the economy benefits from unleashing the maximum potential of the whole society.
The more significant number of women work, the more economies grow due to the boost in productivity, economic diversification, specialization, and other positive development outcomes.
PwC's Women in Work Index 2020 report suggests that the increase in female employment rates in OECD countries to the levels matching the one of Sweden could boost OECD's GDP by over $6 trillion.
The research paper "Aggregate Effects of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate" by David Cuberes and Marc Teignier has examined that gender gaps bring the cost of approximately 15% of GDP to the economy.
We shouldn't also forget that gender equality is beneficial for companies by increasing their effectiveness and growth. The more prominent number of diverse people are trying to get a job, which leads to a more competitive business environment.
Also, particular spheres requiring significant doses of creativity – like project management, for instance – greatly benefit from the diversity of team members.
Bearing all of that in mind, we should all point out towards the conclusion I have already mentioned in one of my previous texts: in today's world, all of us can benefit from a just and sustainable economic growth!
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