Unrealized Potential : The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings
This first note in the series on the cost of gender inequality focuses on the losses in national wealth due to gender inequality in earnings. There is a substantial literature on the impact of gender inequality on economic growth and performance. B...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Economic & Sector Work |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/172021527258723053/Unrealized-potential-the-high-cost-of-gender-inequality-in-earnings http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29865 |
| Summary: | This first note in the series on the
cost of gender inequality focuses on the losses in national
wealth due to gender inequality in earnings. There is a
substantial literature on the impact of gender inequality on
economic growth and performance. By focusing on wealth, the
approach usedfor measurement in this note is different.
Wealth is the assets base that enables countries to produce
income Gross Domestic Product or GDP). A country’s wealth
includes various types of capital. Produced capital comes
from investments in assets such as factories, equipment, or
infrastructure. Natural capital includes assets such as
agricultural land and other renewable and non-renewable
natural resources. However, the largest component of
countries’ wealth typically resides in their people. As
noted in the recent World Bank study on the Changing Wealth
of Nations, human capital measured as the present value of
the future earnings of the labor force accounts for two
thirds of global wealth. If gender equality in earnings were
achieved, countries could increase their human capital
wealth, and thereby their total wealth substantially. This
would enable them to strengthen the sustainability of their
development path. Gender inequality has major economic
implications forwomen, communities, and countries in a range
of areas. While the cost of gender inequality – in terms of
human capital losses - for development is not solely due to
losses in earnings, the impact of gender inequality on
earnings is key. This is the area on which this note focuses. |
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