If more women earned and controlled their own money...

almost all measures of human development would improve, including economic growth, poverty and inequality, health and education, and in the long-run potentially peace and security. But the proportion of women who are employed globally is 45% (compared to 68% for men), and there are an estimated 1.7 billion non-employed women in the world today. These women represent a vast, untapped source for human development.

As the vast majority (70%) of non-employed women live in just twenty high-population countries, with more than 50% in India, China, Pakistan, the USA, and Indonesia, their labor market engagement has global implications. And just as importantly, in the smaller population countries with extremely low (<20%) female employment, most of which are in the Middle East and North Africa, increasing women’s employment could yield major national and regional development returns and even peace and security dividends.

Accordingly, all countries should make increasing women’s employment a central plank of national development and security policies by setting ambitious targets to increase the female employment to population ratio to above 60% by 2025 and to above 70% by 2030. To achieve this, countries should endorse policies and implement programs that simultaneously increase the supply of women who are “work-enabled” and the demand for their employment. It is important that all policies and programs are designed to specifically benefit women on the lowest incomes and women with dependent children, as they so often face the steepest barriers to earning incomes. Prioritizing progress among these women should also maximize reductions in poverty and inequality and improvements in population health. The ultimate goal is to equalize male and female employment to population ratios over time.

The United Nations (UN) and its agencies should elevate women’s employment to center stage in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensure that all agencies understand the primacy of women’s incomes to development, and incorporate a women’s employment agenda into their programs. Getting back on the convergence track with male and female employment to population ratios could drive the next wave of global growth and development.

Updated January 2024