Gender Inequality and Gender Gaps

As the world grapples with climate change, inequality, and economic development, there is growing recognition of the need to make greater efforts to address gender inequality. Across the globe, women are often disadvantaged in terms of health, education, and economic participation. They are more likely to live in poverty and are more affected by armed conflict, disasters, and climate change. They are outnumbered by men in parliaments, and they are less represented in the highest levels of government.

As a result, the policies that we adopt and implement have great potential to reduce these inequalities. But the design of policy interventions is key. There is a wealth of evidence that gender inequality and gender gaps are influenced by many different factors, including gender bias, social norms, and structural conditions, so any policies designed to eliminate these inequalities need to take into account these influences.

The current focus of policy interventions varies by country, ranging from more focused attention on female tertiary enrollment and labor force participation to more subtle and implicit measures such as the quality of education, field of study, and employment, as well as the distribution of job sectors and pay. In these cases, targeted gender policies have the potential to be more effective than general ones. However, it is important to understand the tradeoffs between these approaches and research needs to continue to explore the pros and cons of each.

In addition to the direct impact on women and girls, the broader effects of reducing gender inequality are substantial. It is estimated that reducing gender gaps will boost household consumption and investment by about 1 percent globally, which would translate into additional economic growth of about 1.5 to 2 percent per year.

Moreover, lower gender inequality will generate substantial macroeconomic benefits in the form of stronger economic growth and financial stability, increased jobs and income, and reduced income inequality (Kochhar and others, 2017; Sahay and others, 2015; Gonzales and Cihak, 2020). The economic costs of inequalities between men and women are significant.

Gender equality is essential for the economic and social welfare of people everywhere. The goal should be to achieve gender equality as quickly as possible, while minimizing the costs and distortions of doing so.

One misstep that is common in this area is treating women as a monolithic group with similar experiences and expectations, which can lead to the assumption that interventions will have universal impact. However, women’s experiences and needs vary by many different dimensions, from their intersectional identities to their age, location, and level of socioeconomic advancement.

The next step is to work together to create a more equitable society for all, especially for the benefit of children and the economy. This can be done by understanding the current state of gender inequality, identifying key gaps and opportunities for improvement, and taking action to tackle them with the right mix of policies and interventions. The global progress that has been made in closing the gap is reason for hope, but more work remains to be done.