Innovation fuels economic growth by generating new businesses and jobs, but today's innovators mostly come from a narrow demographic, resulting in many “lost Einsteins” and “lost Marie Curies.” In this podcast, economist Xavier Jaravel explores the cost of untapped talent, estimating that achieving parity among innovators could raise global productivity growth from a baseline of 2% to as much as 3.4% per year.
This global analysis of international patent applications from 1999 to 2020 shows that women were involved in 23% of filings and only 13% of listed inventors. While the number of women inventors has steadily risen, gender parity in patenting is unlikely to be achieved before 2061 if current trends continue.
"Greater than the Sum of the Parts? Evidence on Mechanisms Operating in Women's Groups", by Seema Jayachandran – Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University.
"When Does Decision-Making Reflect Agency? Evidence from Rural Philippines", by Forest Jarvis – Consultant, EAP Gender Innovation Lab.
Women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have the lowest labor force participation globally. This study uses recent data from Egypt to compare wages of men and women in public and private sectors. Advanced statistical methods show the wage gap is widest at the top in the public sector, signaling a "glass ceiling." In the private sector, lower-paid jobs show wider gaps, pointing to "sticky floors." Overall, Egypt's public sector is relatively fair in gender wage distribution, except for senior roles. The private sector, however, shows significant wage discrimination against low-paid women. Since less-educated women often do not participate in work, actual wage discrimination could be worse than reported.
Women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have the lowest labor force participation globally. This study uses recent data from Egypt to compare wages of men and women in public and private sectors. Advanced statistical methods show the wage gap is widest at the top in the public sector, signaling a "glass ceiling." In the private sector, lower-paid jobs show wider gaps, pointing to "sticky floors." Overall, Egypt's public sector is relatively fair in gender wage distribution, except for senior roles. The private sector, however, shows significant wage discrimination against low-paid women. Since less-educated women often do not participate in work, actual wage discrimination could be worse than reported.
This report details findings from a multi-year program aimed at promoting regional growth and women’s economic empowerment through trade facilitation and connectivity in the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) sub-region. It specifically targeted women-owned and micro businesses, integrating approaches to women’s economic empowerment, poverty reduction, value chain development, and market competitiveness. Thematic chapters focus in-country programs in the four countries: transport and regional connectivity development (Bangladesh), tourism (Bhutan), gender-blind transport system in inland riverways (India), women agri-entrepreneurs (Nepal), and women in power and utilities sector (Sri Lanka). Colorful case studies from the four countries complement the report’s findings, revealing importance of development programming to bring change in women engaged in small businesses.
Could safe transport unlock women’s workforce participation in Pakistan? In a recent VoxDev podcast, SAR GIL’s Kate Vyborny discusses how limited mobility keeps women in urban Pakistan out of the labor market – and how a subsidized, women-only transport program can be a game-changer for latent job seekers.
With more than 400 million working-age women outside the labor force, South Asia has a significant loss of economic output. This blog details insights from a 2024 conference focused on policies to boost women’s workforce participation in the region, highlighting persistent barriers and potential solutions. Supply- and demand-side obstacles persist, including safety concerns, limited access to job networks and training, slow wage growth, hiring discrimination, and restrictive social norms. Global trends suggest that improving workplace safety, expanding access to social networks and job opportunities, offering skills training, and removing legal work restrictions can help increase women’s workforce participation – but that sustaining momentum will require changes in both policies and norms.
Comparisons between women- and men-led firms often assume they operate under similar conditions and constraints – a flawed assumption. This blog summarizes findings from a meta-frontier analysis that separates environmental constraints (factors outside a manager’s control) from managerial factors to understand gender gaps in firm performance better. Based on a representative sample of 225 registered hotels in India, the study finds that differences in productivity are entirely due to environmental factors, not managerial ability. The researchers argue that achieving gender parity requires targeted policies to improve the working environment for women managers – such as better access to finance, supportive infrastructure, family support programs, and stronger professional networks
This blog highlights key findings from a 2023 study that aims to uncover the intricate channels through which exports impact women’s employment. Analyzing data from nearly 30,000 manufacturing firms across 141 emerging economies, the study finds that, on average, firms that export employ 6.6 percentage points more women than those that do not export, even after controlling for factors like firm size, industry, and other variables. It concludes that competitive pressures from trade can reduce discrimination in employment, particularly in countries with limited domestic market competition. However, translating exports into jobs for women still largely depends on supportive laws and social norms that favor women’s mobility and workforce participation.
