
Background
• Over thirty years of equality legislation in the European Union
 combination of hard and soft approaches to promote
gender equality
• Gender Equality widely accepted as socially important goal
but also viewed as…
 not necessarily in line with economic goals
 a constraint or a cost
 a societal choice or preference
• Need to recognise the costs of non-equality and the positive
economic contribution of gender equality

An Economic Case
• Gender Equality can be viewed as an investment
 a productive factor that can be leveraged
 exploit full productive potential of the labour force
• An ‘Economic Case’ develops the ‘Business Case’
 encompassing all organisations
 economic merits at a national or regional level
• Sharing the investment in, and the benefits of, Gender
Equality
• An economic case as a complement rather than replacement
to the moral case

Gender Equality and Growth
• Women make the difference when we focus on
employment rates
• Productive use of women’s investment in education and
human capital
 Utilisation of all human capital investments
 Access to full range of skills - address shortages
 Returns on personal investment in human capital
• Gender equality as contributor to GDP
 closing gap with competitor nations and regions
 higher productivity through avoidance of skill loss

Gender Equality for Sustainable Populations
and States
• Sustainable regions
• sustainable populations through the positive
relationship between female employment and fertility
• address rising dependency ratios and ageing
populations
• Integration of informal work
• recognising the value of unpaid and informal work
• positive contribution of tax and social contributions
• modern fiscal systems that avoid perverse
thresholds for job creation and/or household
disincentives
• Integration into employment more than covers
investment in social infrastructure

Economic Case: a summary
Macro
Participation
Growth
Fertility
Fiscal
Employment rates,
Investing in a
productive labour
force
Sustainable
populations
Funding and
sustainability
Work life balance
policies supporting
retention
Avoidance of
perverse tax
thresholds
Individual rights,
individual
employment
preferences
Taxation without
perverse
disincentives
Utilisation of
investment in
education system
Meso
Utilisation of Human
resources
Reduced
poverty/social
exclusion
skill diversity
avoid skill loss
Access to full range of
skills
Micro
Return on personal
investment in human
capital
domestic division of
labour
Reduce social risks
and personal costs
of inequality
Receive benefits on
work done
Rights for nonstandard workers

Looking Forward with the Economic Case
• Gender equality can be viewed as …
 an investment and not a cost
 a productive factor not a constraint
• Investment in social infrastructure
 to reap rewards of investment in human capital
 akin to investment in physical infrastructure
• These benefits of equality expand when we move beyond
GDP as a measure of progress
 quality of life, well being, child poverty, etc.
• Gender equality central to economic development and
sustainability

One step forward, one step back?
Factors Leveraging Equality Benefits
Macro
policies to expand access to employment
gender-based Targets
gender mainstreaming obligations
Meso
organisational innovations (WLB, retention)
progress in organisation hierarchies
Micro
Improved education attainment
more continuous participation
shorter and fewer career breaks
>8
Factors Limiting Equality Benefits
Macro
lack of gender mainstreaming economic policy
short-term crisis responses
public sector cuts
Meso
segregation occupations
women’s concentration in low-paid work
Micro
unequal division of care and unpaid work
limited support for carers
>9

A time to underline the economic case
• Progress under threat…
 Exit Strategies from the recession risk a reduced focus on
gender equality goals and thus economic benefits
 Risk of trying to turn back the clock on gender equality
 Long-term challenges remain for European societies
• Making the case
 Importance of gender mainstreaming policies
 Promoting coherent social and economic policy
 Drawing on the potential contribution from the whole
population