Economics

| Peer-Reviewed |

The Economic Cost of Gender Inequality: The Global Progress and Creating Change

Received: 29 January 2020    Accepted: 28 February 2020    Published: 06 March 2020
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Background: Gender inequality is a contentious matter that cuts across economic and social aspects that are still prevalent globally. It is often framed as a problem of women, but in reality, it is more than that. Gender gaps that include lack of under-representation of women in the workforce and especially in senior positions are significant issues that pose substantial economic costs to countries. Gender inequality often manifested as discrimination in their advancement in careers, and higher time spent on household and care duties compared to men. Methods: The economic loss that results from gender gaps were reviewed. Against the same backdrop, countries with progressive and more inclusive policies were analysed in order to draw lessons that could be potentially useful for countries that are heading the direction of narrowing if not close the gender gaps. Results: Despite there are more initiatives to address this alarming issue over the years, progress towards gender equality is still far from satisfactory and gaps remain even in the dawn of 2020. Much remains to be done. To that end, some potential solutions and policies that have proven to be cost- and time effective in pursuit of gender equality are discussed in this paper. Conclusion: We conclude that there is no blanket solution for addressing gender inequality. Achieving gender equality will most likely to remain an uphill battle, but not one that is impossible to be overcome.

DOI 10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13
Published in Economics (Volume 9, Issue 1, March 2020)
Page(s) 17-20
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Gender, Inequality, Economic, Costs

References
[1] World Economic Forum, “The Global Gender Gap Report 2018’, 2018.
[2] International Labour Organization, “A quantum leap for gender equality – For a better future of work for all’, 2019.
[3] McKinsey Global Institute, “The power of parity: How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global health,” September 2015.
[4] McKinsey Global Institute, “The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific,” April 2018.
[5] World Economic Forum, “Insight Report: Global Gender Gap Report 2020,” 2019.
[6] Murad D., “Malaysia benefits by investing in women,” November 2019. The Star Online.
[7] Wordon Q. and La Brierre, “The cost of gender inequality. The unrealized potential: the high cost of gender inequality in earnings,” May 2018. The World Bank.
[8] Economic report of the president, “Chapter 4: The economics of family-friendly workplace policies,” February 2015.
[9] Yamaguchi K., “Japan’s gender gap,” Finance and Development, March 2019. Vol 56, no. 1.
[10] OECD, The pursuit of gender equality: an uphill battle, OECD Publishing, Paris. 2017.
[11] The American Association of University Women, “Barriers and bias: The status of women in leadership,” 2016.
[12] Schochet L., and Malik R., “2 Million Parents Forced to Make Career Sacrifices Due to Problems with Child Care,” Center for American Progress, 2017.
[13] Parker K., “Women more than men adjust their careers for family life,” Pew Research Center, 2015.
[14] Halpin J., Agne K., and Omero M., “Affordable Child Care and Early Learning for All Families”, Washington: Center for American Progress, 2018.
[15] Population Reference Bureau, “Progress in U.S. women’s well-being stalled in recent generations,” 2017.
[16] Bishop-Josef A. et al., “Want to Grow the Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis” Washington: Council for Strong America, 2019.
[17] Becker GS., “A Treatise on the Family, ”Harvard University Press, 1991.
[18] Wamsley L., “Finland's Women-Led Government Has Equalized Family Leave: 7 Months For Each Parent”, NPR, 2020.
[19] “Are the world's richest countries family friendly? Policy in the OECD and EU,” UNICEF, 2019.
Author Information
  • School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

  • School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    June Choon Wai Yee, Kenneth Lee Kwing-Chin. (2020). The Economic Cost of Gender Inequality: The Global Progress and Creating Change. Economics, 9(1), 17-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    June Choon Wai Yee; Kenneth Lee Kwing-Chin. The Economic Cost of Gender Inequality: The Global Progress and Creating Change. Economics. 2020, 9(1), 17-20. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    June Choon Wai Yee, Kenneth Lee Kwing-Chin. The Economic Cost of Gender Inequality: The Global Progress and Creating Change. Economics. 2020;9(1):17-20. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13,
      author = {June Choon Wai Yee and Kenneth Lee Kwing-Chin},
      title = {The Economic Cost of Gender Inequality: The Global Progress and Creating Change},
      journal = {Economics},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {17-20},
      doi = {10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eco.20200901.13},
      abstract = {Background: Gender inequality is a contentious matter that cuts across economic and social aspects that are still prevalent globally. It is often framed as a problem of women, but in reality, it is more than that. Gender gaps that include lack of under-representation of women in the workforce and especially in senior positions are significant issues that pose substantial economic costs to countries. Gender inequality often manifested as discrimination in their advancement in careers, and higher time spent on household and care duties compared to men. Methods: The economic loss that results from gender gaps were reviewed. Against the same backdrop, countries with progressive and more inclusive policies were analysed in order to draw lessons that could be potentially useful for countries that are heading the direction of narrowing if not close the gender gaps. Results: Despite there are more initiatives to address this alarming issue over the years, progress towards gender equality is still far from satisfactory and gaps remain even in the dawn of 2020. Much remains to be done. To that end, some potential solutions and policies that have proven to be cost- and time effective in pursuit of gender equality are discussed in this paper. Conclusion: We conclude that there is no blanket solution for addressing gender inequality. Achieving gender equality will most likely to remain an uphill battle, but not one that is impossible to be overcome.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Economic Cost of Gender Inequality: The Global Progress and Creating Change
    AU  - June Choon Wai Yee
    AU  - Kenneth Lee Kwing-Chin
    Y1  - 2020/03/06
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13
    T2  - Economics
    JF  - Economics
    JO  - Economics
    SP  - 17
    EP  - 20
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-6603
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20200901.13
    AB  - Background: Gender inequality is a contentious matter that cuts across economic and social aspects that are still prevalent globally. It is often framed as a problem of women, but in reality, it is more than that. Gender gaps that include lack of under-representation of women in the workforce and especially in senior positions are significant issues that pose substantial economic costs to countries. Gender inequality often manifested as discrimination in their advancement in careers, and higher time spent on household and care duties compared to men. Methods: The economic loss that results from gender gaps were reviewed. Against the same backdrop, countries with progressive and more inclusive policies were analysed in order to draw lessons that could be potentially useful for countries that are heading the direction of narrowing if not close the gender gaps. Results: Despite there are more initiatives to address this alarming issue over the years, progress towards gender equality is still far from satisfactory and gaps remain even in the dawn of 2020. Much remains to be done. To that end, some potential solutions and policies that have proven to be cost- and time effective in pursuit of gender equality are discussed in this paper. Conclusion: We conclude that there is no blanket solution for addressing gender inequality. Achieving gender equality will most likely to remain an uphill battle, but not one that is impossible to be overcome.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections