Empowering women could drive global economic recovery from the Pandemic

By: Rajan Sarma | Thursday, 30 July 2020

According to philanthropist Melinda Gates, in order to help the world, recover from the Coronavirus Pandemic, the world must give lead roles to women. Recovery policies and strategies must give impetus to women – and must not be overlooked or minimized. Stimulus programs must include the smallest business operations as most often than not such businesses are run by women.

"You've got to get the money in the hands of the women... because of the sensible decisions they make," says Melinda Gates, who co-chairs the Bill Gates Foundation with her husband, Bill Gates.

For decades, women had been devoting more time to unpaid labor, extra housework, childcare, and even caring for elders. Women have been bearing some of the most onerous burdens of COVID-19 more than anyone else, and they are the ones that could guide us through this tough situation. Countries like New Zealand, Germany, and Finland have fared well against the Pandemic fight as women leaders lead these countries.

Creating a gender-diverse work environment improves work efficiency and, thus, delivers profitability and growth. According to Trina Limpert, the former President of Women for eBay – 86 percent of the women become mothers by the time they reach age 44. It is a colossal waste of the human resource pool. Yet women drive 85 percent of the business and consumer purchasing, returning 90 percent of their income to the local economy. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to invest in women to ensure the continuity of products and services. Companies benefit a lot by increasing employment and leadership opportunities for women, which is shown to increase organizational effectiveness. It is estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management positions score higher in all dimensions of organizational performance.

According to the Boston Consulting Group, Women's control over the world's wealth is on the rise, reaching 72 trillion dollars in 2020. Empowering women in the economy and closing the gender gaps existing at work is also listed as one of the agendas in the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030. Women's economic empowerment boosts productivity, economic diversification, income equality, and other positive developmental outcomes