Women's Economic Opportunity 2012 Index and Report

Women’s economic opportunity 2012 – A global index and ranking from the Economist Intelligence Unit

  • “Women are the world’s greatest undeveloped source of labour: nearly one-half of working-age women are not currently active in the formal global economy. By working disproportionately in unpaid labour, particularly in developing countries, women traditionally have had less access than men to income and resources. Thus, they are often less productive than men, which holds back the overall economy. As governments worldwide seek short- and long-term fixes to waning economic performance, expanding opportunities for the 1.5bn women not employed in the formal sector will take on even greater importance. But simply increasing the number of working women will not be enough. The poorest regions of the world have among the highest levels of female labour force participation, and poverty in those regions persists. Rather, to realise greater returns from female economic activity, the legal, social, financial and educational barriers hindering women’s productivity need to be removed. Indeed, the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that giving male and female farmers equal access to time- and labour-saving tools could increase agricultural output in developing countries by as much as 2.5-4%. Women who are better educated, healthier and have greater control over household financial resources are also more likely to invest time in their children’s health and education—an investment in the workforce of tomorrow.”
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    Posted in: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Knowledge Management
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