How much does gender equality cost?

Gender equality will add 28 million dollars to the world GPA up to 2025.

Exclusion of women’s full participation in the world economy costs very expensive. McKinsey&Co company has estimated how much it costs now.

According to the report of research and consulting company, full gender equality could add 26% or 28 trillion dollar to the world GPA up to 2025.

It should be mentioned that increase of the world GPA by 28% equals to the economies of the America and China together.

According to the more realistic scenario, taking into account regional differences, gender equality may add 12 trillion dollars to the world GPA. According to the report, in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, it is possible to add GPA by 9% or by 0,4 trillion dollars up to 2025.

“Women represent so important sector of the society and are still underestimated human resource”, – says senior researcher of the company and the main author of the report Anu Magdavkar.

The report was released last year in autumn and coincided with 20 – year anniversary of Beijing Action Plan celebrated by the UN-Women, which is called to ensure women’s equal rights and opportunities in economic, social and cultural life and in making political decisions.

Researchers of the McKinsey&Co company note that some companies lead such policy that can be an example for the others in terms of promoting equality. Wal-Mart stores Inc. is among them which has a program of assigning women in leading positions and involving women-entrepreneurs in its network of suppliers. Hennes&Maurits is another example which has created educational programs in Bangladesh where the most part of its clothes is sewed.

Such companies representing private sector improve women’s situation due to stimulus of high-level leadership and concrete actions following them, – as mention researchers of McKinsey&Co company.

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