ActionAid-supported garment workers
in Savar, Bangladesh demand theirrights under the country’s labour laws.
PHOTO: Nicola Bailey/ActionAid

Close the gap!
The cost of inequality
in women’s work

Executive summary
Women’s economic inequality is not inevitable.
Exploitation of women’s work prevails because of
the unjust politics that shape our economy, andbecause it is rooted in and further drives wider
gender discrimination in society. Governments,
businesses and international institutions all havethe power to create the conditions that are needed
to give women in developing countries the chancesthat they deserve in and at work.

Today, hundreds of millions of women will collectfirewood and water for their families, cook and clean,take care of the elderly, the young and the sick; all thewhile scratching a living from the poorest paid andmost precarious jobs. Women’s labour – in and outside
the home – is vital to sustainable development, andfor the wellbeing of society. Without the subsidy it
provides, the world economy would not function. Yet it
is undervalued and for the most part invisible.
To reveal the scale of the crisis, ActionAid has calculated
the economic value of addressing gender inequality inwork in developing countries. Our findings show thatwomen in developing countries could be US$9 trillion
better off if their pay and access to paid work wereequal to that of men. This huge price tag illustrates themagnitude of the injustice and represents a vast mine ofuntapped potential for poor women to improve their own
lives, and those of their families. And these costs are not
only to women’s finances; women’s economic inequality
limits their life choices too – such as their sexual andreproductive health and rights – leaving them vulnerable toviolence and other forms of discrimination and exploitation.

ActionAid calls on governments,
international institutions andbusinesses to:1. 	Guarantee women’s access to and enjoyment
of decent work opportunities
2. 	Recognise, reduce and redistributeunpaid care responsibilities that fall
disproportionately on women
3. 	Ensure that economic policies work for
women, not against them, and end the pursuitof growth at any cost

But gender inequality in work not only has consequences
for women; it carries major costs for all, including
businesses and the wider economy. In 2012 theInternational Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that
globally an additional US$1.6 trillion in output could be
generated by reducing the gap in employment between
women and men.1 Ensuring that women’s work, both inand outside the home, is valued and rewarded fairly is a
key factor in fighting poverty and driving prosperity for all.

4. 	Promote women’s voice, agency andleadership at all levels
5. 	Ensure women’s economic equality is highon the agenda of the new Sustainable
Development Goals

Recognition is growing worldwide that our economic
system needs profound reform. There is also increasing
understanding that economic growth alone is not going
to lead to gender equality, alleviate poverty and reduce
inequality for all. A few governments have taken boldsteps to address gender inequality in work, while some
progressive businesses have shown greater understandingthat giving decent work opportunities2 to women goes
hand in hand with sustainable business and economic
returns. The challenge remains to spread this vision fromthe champions to the mainstream.

www.actionaid.org.uk

2

January 2015

“We cannot fulfill 100% of the world’s potential by excluding 50% of the world’s people. The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all.”Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General3

Introduction
Today, hundreds of millions of women will wake up to
face yet another day of backbreaking work for little or no
reward. Although their labour – in and outside the home –is vital to the global economy, to sustainable development,
and for the wellbeing of society at large, it is undervalued
and for the most part invisible.

Women’s economic inequality is not inevitable. Exploitationof women’s work prevails, as this briefing reveals, becauseof the unjust politics shaping our economy, and because
it is founded upon (and further drives) wider gender
discrimination in society. Manifestations of the latterinclude, among others, the fact that one in three women
will experience violence in her lifetime7 and that more
women than men are concentrated in lowest paid andvalued jobs.8

While public outrage grows at the fact that the richest 1%of the world’s population owns almost half the world’s
wealth,4 and even bastions of international finance suchas the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Economic Forum (WEF) are increasingly talking about
the corrosive effect of economic inequality,5 the humanmade injustice of women’s economic inequality remains
a pervasive crisis that is largely absent from the political
spotlight and inequality debates.

Until now, the international community has all too often
approached the issue of women’s economic inequality
as if extending a helping hand to women – such as
through microcredit or corporate social responsibility
initiatives (CSR) – would solve the problem altogether.
But by doing so it has systematically neglected the factthat the vast amount of women’s work, which iseither rewarded poorly or not rewarded at all, isbeing used to subsidise the world economy and fuelunequal and unsustainable growth. To end poverty
and ensure prosperous lives for all, this broken and highly
dysfunctional system needs transformational change.

It seems obvious that women should enjoy the same rights
as men in every aspect of life, and indeed international
conventions and national legislation in many (though by
no means all) countries grant equal rights to women.
However, realising these rights remains a distant dream,with women still being economically unequal to men by
virtually every measure.6 What’s more, while the situationis unfair and unacceptable for women everywhere, it ispoor women in developing countries who bear the biggest
share of the costs, and are constantly pushed to thebottom of the economic pile.

www.actionaid.org.uk

It is therefore crucial that women‘s work – both in andoutside home – is recognised, valued and rewarded
fairly. It is, without doubt, a matter of efficiency andsustainability; but most importantly it is a matter ofjustice and human rights.

3

January 2015 lways at the bottom: how poorA
women are exploited at work

redress when injustices are faced at work, or right tocollective bargaining. The April 2013 Rana Plaza disasterin Bangladesh, in which a garment factory collapsed
killing over 1,100 people13 (most of them young women),
was indeed a stark reminder of the shocking conditions
that women continue to face in global value chains ofinternational corporations.

The worst jobs are women’s jobs
Working men and women in developing countries face astruggle for daily survival, often earning poverty wages indesperate circumstances. The dream of decent work for
all is still a distant one. Yet – despite their lower rates ofparticipation in the labour force overall – women make up
roughly 60% of the world’s working poor9 and are subject
to highly exploitative forms of work in both the formal andinformal economy.

The missing women of the workforce
Scandalously, despite the enormous international effort
that has gone into getting girls into school, womencontinue to face discrimination in the labour market, which
seriously affects their opportunities, limits their life options
and economic potential.

Indeed, women are overrepresented in the informal sector
jobs, without social protection and beyond the oversightof the state. The International Labour Organisation (ILO)
estimates that in 2012 more than half of all employed
women worldwide were in informal vulnerable employment 10
and in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia over 80% of alljobs for women are unregulated and precarious work.11

Since 1990, women’s participation in the labour market
globally has stagnated at around 50%.14 While the global
average masks regional and country differences (from as
low as 21% in North Africa and the Middle East, to over
63% in East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific)15 theproblem remains widespread: in each country and in every
region, women are less likely to join the labour force thanmen. ActionAid has calculated that unequal participation in
the labour market could be costing women in developing
countries a vast sum of potential earnings that amount toover US$6 trillion. This is nearly two times the total value of
the GDP for the whole of Africa and the Middle East
in 2013.16

Women from the global South are also among the mostvulnerable to exploitation in global supply chains. For
example, approximately 80% of the world’s garment
workers are women.12 They often work in dangerous
environments and are at risk of violence or sexual abuseand have no basic labour rights, including access toRelatives of the victims of Bangladesh’s Rana
Plaza disaster hold photographs of missing family
members. The majority of the 1,134 people killedin the factory collapse were women.
PHOTO: Nicola Bailey/ActionAid

www.actionaid.org.uk

4

January 2015

Figure 1: Female labour force participation by region

Female labour force participation (%)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

East Asia & Pacific
Latin America & Caribbean

Europe & Central Asia
MENASouth Asia
World

Sub-Saharan Africa
North America

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Source: IMF Staff Discussion Note (2013) Women,
Work and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from
Gender Equity.

Male minus female labour force participation rates (%)

Figure 2: Gender gaps in the labour force participation by region
60
50
2010

1990

2000

40
30
20
10
0

EasternandMiddleAfricaOECD Southern Caribbean Eastern Western East Asia South Central Southern Middle
AfricaEurope Africa
and the America America
Asia
East and
and
Pacific
North
CentralAfricaAsia

Source: IMF Staff Discussion Note (2013) Women,
Work and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from
Gender Equity.

Figure 3: Male labour force participation by region

Male labour force participation (%)

90
85
80
75
70
65

World

East Asia & Pacific
Latin America & Caribbean
South Asia
North America

Europe & Central Asia
Middle East & North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

60
55
1990

www.actionaid.org.uk

1995

2000

2005

2010

5

Source: IMF Staff Discussion Note(2013) Women, Work and the Economy:
Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity.

January 2015

Women and work – education is
no guarantee

Our research shows that in 2013 in low-income
countries, more than twice as many women with asecondary education were unemployed than men
with the same education.18

Most people would expect that significant progress inincreasing the number of girls in schools over the past
two decades17 would improve the life chances andopportunities for women. However, the consistently low
participation rates of young women in the job market
prove that the knowledge and skills that they haveacquired are systematically ignored.

Disparities vary from region to region and country tocountry reflecting the scale of the challenge young
women face in search for jobs. For instance, in the
Middle East and North Africa almost 60% of unemployed
women hold advanced degrees, while the same statistic
for men is at 20%.19

Double standards: women paid little andalways less than men

Women’s exploitation in the labour market is further
compounded by their disproportionate share of unpaid
care responsibilities (such as child rearing, domestic
chores, and caring for the sick and elderly), which
effectively means that women are subsidising the economy
with free and often invisible work.

Entering employment does not automatically lead toempowerment and equality for women. Many women andmen, especially in developing countries simply do not earna living wage – in other words, enough to have a decent
standard of living and meet their own and their families’
basic needs.20

Unpaid care responsibilities narrow women’s choices in thetype of job they get, often condemning them to informal or
low-paid employment and dramatically swelling their hours
of work overall. So it is unsurprising that women’s wages
everywhere lag far behind those of men. In developing
countries, according to ActionAid’s calculations, this hascreated a gender wage gap equivalent to some US$2
trillion in women’s earnings, or as much as the worth ofIndia’s entire economy.23

What’s more, when women are paid for a job, they earn on
average between 10% to 30% less than men for work ofequal value.21 The ILO estimates that at the current rate ofprogress it will take 75 years to make the principle of ‘equalpay for equal work’ a reality for women and men.22

Figure 4: Gender wage gap in selected countries 2008-2012

Bangladesh
BrazilEgypt
India
Indonesia
MexicoPakistan
Philippines
TurkeyVietnam
0

20

40

60

Ratio of women to men in earnings (%)

www.actionaid.org.uk

6

80

100

Source: World Bank (2014)
Gender at Work: A Companion
to the World Development
Report on Jobs, and the WorldBank Gender Data Portal.

January 2015

“We want an economic system that allows people to live with dignity, not in slavery.
We’re not asking to live like CEOs, but to at least get paid a living wage. Corporates
are earning millions, even billions a year.”
Sopheary, Workers Information Centre, Cambodia24

Mind the gap
Women’s economic inequality in numbers
CHOICE
Women make up 60% of theworld’s working poor, they are
denied access to decent workand experience exploitative
conditions at work.

On average women spend
at least twice as much time
on household work thanmen and four times asmuch time on childcare.

POWER

VOICE
Many women don’t earn aliving wage and receive 10%
to 30% less pay than men
for work of equal value.

Women face discriminationin corridors of power
and are denied rights tocollective organisation.
In January 2015 only
13 finance ministers
worldwide, and on average
1 in 5 parliamentarians,
were women.

HUMAN
RIGHTS

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7

Out of 143 economies
90% have at least one law
restricting economic equality
for women.

January 2015

“In the case of the labour market, we have to start with raising women to the positionof men!” Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund25

US$9 trillion: the cost of
inequality in women’s workthan the GDP of Britain, France and Germany combined.27
This huge disparity is a shocking illustration of the depthof women’s economic inequality, which too often denies
women the right to a decent job and equal pay.

Women: bearing the brunt

If women in developing countries were paid as much as
men they could earn an extra US$2 trillion. And if womenparticipated in the workforce at the same rate as men,
women could earn another US$6 trillion. If women indeveloping countries were both paid as much as men andhad the same access to jobs as men, they could be US$9
trillion better off – this is because more women would be in
employment at a higher rate of pay.28

ActionAid has calculated that US$9 trillion26 is thecost that women in developing countries beareach year due to unequal wages and the fact thatwomen have less access than men to paid jobs (seemethodological annex for details).
The staggering amount of US$9 trillion is equal to more

US$ 9 trillion = Raising women’s pay and accessto jobs to the same level as men’s

$

JOBS

PAY

$9 trillion

$
$
$
$

www.actionaid.org.uk

8January 2015

This calculation is made on the basis of average
earnings of men and women in developing countries
today. However, it is a well-known fact that wages indeveloping countries continue to lag significantly behindrich countries29 and are insufficient to meet the standardsof a living wage. Men and women alike struggle to secure
decently paid work. This means that achieving equal
wages for women and men does not necessarily imply thatwomen’s pay would be enough to provide adequately forthemselves and their families, indeed it would be unlikely to
do so. Finally, our calculations don’t include the potential
value of women’s unpaid care work if it were translated
into monetary terms. This means that in reality the price ofgender inequality in work is even higher than
US$9 trillion – already a mind-boggling amount.

be it standing up to violence, enjoying their sexual andreproductive health and rights, pursuing education or acareer of choice, or caring for family and household without
being economically worse off.
Such shocking levels of women’s economic inequality
should concern us all, because when women lose,
everybody loses. For example, unemployment, job
insecurity and low pay all limit women’s ability to feed,educate and nurture their children.30 And on the other
hand, women enjoying decent work and equal and living
wages is a path to poverty eradication, gender equality,
sustainable development and inclusive growth. According
to the ILO, valuing and recognising women‘s work, bothpaid and unpaid, might be one of the most importantfactors for keeping many households out of poverty,31 thus
driving progress and prosperity for all.

But these costs hit not only the purse. Women, who
suffer from economic exploitation, are less able to makelife choices and are often unable to act on them anyway,

What is my work worth? Women everywhere face similar challenges
The fact that women cannot access the workforce equally as men do, and that the gap in wages between men and women
is staggering, is of course not limited to developing countries. Gender discrimination exists everywhere and thus genderinequality in the labour market is a global problem.
With this in mind, ActionAid has extended its analysis to the global level and broken findings down by region. Using the same
methodology and data sources as we have used to calculate the values for developing countries, we found that the total valueof the global employment participation gap and the wage gap between women and men is US$17 trillion. Closing both ofthese gaps could increase women’s income globally by up to 76%.
Table 1: How much women stand to gain in US$ trillion in Purchasing Power Parity terms (PPP) by closing thewage and employment gaps
RegionClosing wage gap

Closing employment
participation gap

Closing both wage andemployment participation gaps

US$trillions

Income %increaseUS$trillions

Income %increase

US$ trillions

Income %increase

Africa

0.1

22.5

0.4

80.4

0.7

120.6

Eastern Europe

0.5

22.5

0.8

39.2

1.4

67.6

Asia

0.8

13.5

3.0

51.3

4.3

72.9

Middle East & North Africa

0.0

13.0

1.0

312.4

1.1

366.2

Latin America

0.5

27.7

0.9

53.4

1.7

94.5

Developing countries

1.9

18.1

6.2

58.4

9.1

86.5

Advanced economies

3.6

30.7

3.1

26.7

7.8

66.1

Global total

5.5

24.8

9.3

41.7

16.9

75.7

www.actionaid.org.uk

9January 2015

Devaluing women’s work has costs forthe economy

workers, a more reliable and sustainable supply ofcommodities and new or expanded markets for products
and services.

An economy that is permanently subsidised by the
exploitation of women’s work is dysfunctional and can only
bend so far before it breaks. Relying on women’s unpaid
care work and limiting their access to paid employment
is costly, unsustainable and makes no economic sense.
According to the ILO, globally an additional US$1.6 trillion
in output could be generated by reducing the gaps in
employment between women and men.32

Indeed, research shows that the financial returns ofcompanies with three or more women on their board arein general better than for companies without women at
the top, by some estimates even with a 47% average on
equity.39 Also, strong links exist between diverse leadershipteams and catering for broader array of stakeholders
and this hardly stops at the boardroom.40 Pursuing rapid,
short-term returns at the expense of women is thus not
only unjust but also unsustainable and unprofitable for any
business in the long term.

However, simply getting more women into the labour
market as a means to boost growth, as the briefing further
shows, has far too often led to the knock-on effect ofwomen putting their lives on the line and further subsiding
today’s dysfunctional economy by working backbreaking
jobs for little recognition or reward.

There is undoubtedly scope for business to help break
down the barriers that prevent women from achieving
their full economic potential, while still generating returns.
However, this is only possible if investments are made in
enforcing legal regulations, social security, and decent
and equitable work. The key challenge is moving from a
few industry champions to the mainstream, from CSR tocorporate accountability, and from the pursuit of shortterm returns, to sustainable, profitable and ethical businessmodels for the long-term.

These days even the International Financial Institutions
acknowledge that economic growth alone won’t lead tothe greater empowerment of women and gender equality,
or alleviate poverty if women remain in low-skilled andundervalued jobs.33 Jim Yong Kim, President of the World
Bank, has stated that if both growth rates and income
distribution remain unchanged, world poverty will only fallby 10% by 2030, which is far from enough.34

Businesses leading the way

Investing in social security, on the other hand, boosts
economies, and drives equality and more and better
jobs, especially for women. In Brazil, for example,
women’s participation in the labour market has increased
by 15% over the past two decades to almost 60%.35
Comprehensive social security programmes, including
introduction of minimum wage, boosted women’s incomesand saw the bulk of resources spent on families’ wellbeing,
fuelling financial independence and employment for
women.36, 37

Progressive businesses understand that helping todismantle barriers to women goes hand in hand withsustainable business and economic returns. Somecompanies are thus taking more transformational
approaches that go beyond CSR. They are analysing
and changing their core business structure andpractices, whether by providing their employees withaccess to childcare, to family friendly benefits, or safe
transport to and from work.41
There are also promising developments in investment
circles with a growing group of ‘gender-lens’investors who are using gender analysis to drive
financial returns and benefit women and girls.42 As
they point out, it is not enough to invest in womenand girls as if they were commodities, or to teachthem to operate within the existing economic andfinancial systems. Instead, gender analysis should
be used as a tool for changing the system, looking
at what is valued, and how this guides investment
priorities and shapes business and economies oftoday and tomorrow.43

Women’s economic inequality is bad forbusiness
Businesses need to play their part for women’s economic
equality and respect international standards such as the
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,38
as well as laws in many countries that aim to secure
gender equality and rights in the workplace.
Yet dividends for businesses that promote women’s
economic equality are significant – beyond the legal or
reputational risks of failing to respect the law. Empowering
women creates a more talented and diverse pool of

www.actionaid.org.uk

10January 2015

“Policy strategies geared toward economic growth or increasing general educationlevels, although necessary, are generally insufficient to close gender gaps. Targeted,gender-specific and multi-sectoral solutions are also needed to respond to countryspecific constraints.”
The World Bank Group (2014) Gender at Work: A Companion to the World Development Report on Jobs44

Why is women’s work the worst?
The causes

At the same time, many multinational brands and retailers
also create downward pressure on women’s wages by
progressively squeezing their suppliers to produce more
for less in order to please and fuel consumer demands,
especially in rich countries’ markets.49 Their rapidlychanging demands and production schedules lead many
suppliers to subcontract to smaller, informal factories,
invisible to the authorities and creating ever more pressure
on women at work.

Women’s economic inequality is not natural or inevitable.
The permanent subsidy to the global economy that poor
women’s work represents is a human-made, structuralproblem: a direct consequence of policies, laws, systems
and power structures that prevent women from achieving
their true potential and living decently rewarded anddignified lives.

While such operations can be heavily dependent on poor
women’s labour, they are also the first to lay off women,
especially in times of economic shocks and markets
crises. The ILO estimates that the global economiccrisis destroyed 13 million jobs for women,50 with young
low-skilled women’s jobs in export manufacturing being
particularly hard hit as a result of declines in demand
for major exports from late 2007.51 For example, ofenterprises laying off workers in Indonesia, almost a third
laid off every one of their female workers.52 In Cambodia,
where majority of women work in the garment industry,
38,000 jobs were lost in 2009 alone.53

There are at least four major structural causes that drive
this injustice.

1. Growth at any cost: economic
policies fuel inequality in work
Free trade and the rapid globalisation of markets, together
with the expansion of many corporations’ supply chainsin developing countries, have undoubtedly createdunprecedented opportunities for women to access paid
work. However, this has still far too often been on unequaland highly exploitative terms.

Women are also disproportionately affected when
governments attempt to minimise budget deficits and keep
inflation low through limiting government investment inpublic services.54 Tax avoidance and evasion further puts
the squeeze on the public purse, with governments unable
to raise revenues effectively from wealthy individuals andmultinational businesses operating in their countries.55
Women indeed depend on public services more thanmen and are frequently strongly represented in public
sector jobs, so when cutbacks strike, it is they who are hit
hardest. All of this supports the case that macroeconomic
policies are all too often geared towards creating theconditions for GDP growth, without much attention tobringing societies closer to achieving gender equality andsocial justice.56

For instance, women in developing countries often workin Export Processing Zones (EPZs)45 that attract foreign
direct investment, and create demand for cheap labour
to manufacture inputs that enter the value chains ofmultinational corporations. In these EPZs women typicallyenter paid work in the lowest positions in garment,
footwear, cut flowers or small electronics industries,
among others.46 Frequently they work in environments
resembling sweatshops, encountering a high risk ofviolence, and with many aspects of labour rights on hold.47
What’s more, while governments in many developing
countries in fact have helped to crowd women into suchexport manufacturing jobs48 they have largely failed toenact - or in some cases to enforce - strong laws andregulations to hold investors accountable to respect labourlaws and rights in the workplace.

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January 2015

Kicking the base of the ladder:the exploitation of women garment
workers in Cambodia
In January 2014, exasperation at years of low pay erupted
into nationwide strikes in Cambodia. At least four maleprotestors were killed by government security forces anddozens more were injured.57 Another 23 were released
with suspended sentences after being held for four months
in a trial that was widely condemned as a sham.58
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s GDP almost doubled between
2007 and 2013,59 fuelled significantly by the country’s
multibillion dollar garment industry. However, thisimpressive growth masks deep economic inequalities,60
especially for women. Some 90% of Cambodia’s garment
workers are women.61 But while their labour has been amajor contributor to the country’s economic rise, with thegarment industry accounting for a massive 80% of export
earnings,62 the gender wage gap in the country more thandoubled between 2004 and 2009.63

delivery comes, a worker does not have sufficientmoney to pay for medical care.”65
Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, recently disclosedthat subsidies to factories and enterprises, including tax
and duty incentives, amounted to US$1.3 billion in theyear preceding the strikes.66 This is equivalent to overfour times Cambodia’s combined government and donor
spending on healthcare in 2012.67
Following the January 2014 protests, 30 major brands
joined with an international trade union federation tocondemn the violence.68, 69 Several companies havesince expressed their willingness to support a living
wage.70 Such unprecedented pressure from brands
has been welcomed and might have contributed to thelatest wage increase in Cambodia to US$128 a month.71
However, this rise still amounts to just US$6.40 a day –one billionth of the net worth of Amanico Ortega, founderof Inditex and owner of Zara, the clothing brand,72 which
also operates in Cambodia.

The vast majority of women working in Cambodia’s
garment factories are young, poorly educated migrants
from the impoverished rural provinces.64 Heavy
expectations on girls to be ‘good, dutiful daughters’
compel many to give up their education to earn money
to support their families. At the same time, low wages
and precarious, short-term contracts force them to work
excessive hours in cramped, stifling conditions, and deny
them basic labour rights. Expectant mothers find theircontracts are not renewed, and their access to maternity
leave is denied. One female garment worker told us:

Keo is a single
mother in SvayRieng
province, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia. She does
three jobs and earns
just enough to support
her family.
PHOTO: Savann Oeurm/
ActionAid“If a worker becomes pregnant, she starts toworry about [contract] non-renewal and when the
The 2012 World Development Report found that per
day women devote one to three hours more than men
to housework; two to 10 times the amount of time tochildren, elderly, and the sick; and one to four hours less tomarket activities.73 In India, for example, national time-use
data estimates that on average, women spend 10 times
as much time on unpaid care work than men,74 while thelatest population census showed that as many as 45%
of women of working age in India (28 times more womenthan men) are confined solely to domestic duties.75

2. Caring for our people: not counted,
not rewarded
Across countries, and regardless of income, women are
excessively responsible for unpaid care work, while men
are primarily engaged in market-based activities.
Care work includes cooking, cleaning, collecting firewood,taking care of children, the ill and the elderly. It is absolutely
central to the proper functioning and wellbeing of societies,
as well as to the reproduction of the workforce. It is
nonetheless completely invisible in national accounts andstatistics. It is taken for granted as a subsidy provided by‘women’s work’, but it is not really regarded as ‘work’, thus
enjoying little recognition or reward.

www.actionaid.org.uk

Another study in Latin America and the Caribbean showedthat in over half of cases where women aged 20 to 24 do
not seek work outside the home, the main factor was their
unpaid care burden.76

12

January 2015

While women all over the world spend time on unpaid
caring, the burden in terms of poverty and opportunity costis much greater for poor women in developing countries.
For example, it is estimated that globally women provide
between 70% and 90% of care to people living with
HIV/AIDS.77 The task of collecting water in Sub-SaharanAfrica also falls disproportionately on women and girls,
who spend 40 billion hours a year doing just this.78
This pressure becomes all the more intense at times of
economic shock or other crises, when governments tend
to fall back heavily on women’s unpaid care work to pickup the slack as public services are cut back.79

Quality childcare: an essential
service to support women at work

2006 to more than 4,000 by the end of 2009, and from
14,000 in 2005 to 85,000 by March 2010.81

Many women outside the job market often say that theycannot do paid work because they must take care of
their children.

Early evaluations of recent reforms indicate thataccessing childcare could increase the probability ofChilean mothers gaining employment by close to 15%.82

Strong evidence has indeed shown that where affordable
and high-quality childcare is available, women’s labour
force participation increases.80 Chile, for example, hasseen remarkable progress in the number of children
covered by childcare services over recent decades. As aresult of a flagship government programme (Chile CreceContigo: Chile Grows with You) introduced in 2007, thenumber of public crèches and places for children under
one year of age increased respectively from 700 in MarchYet even beyond supporting women, quality childcare
services have also proven to mitigate social inequalities
and improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged
children.83 It is thus important to view investing inchildcare not as a luxury that only the richest countries
can afford, but as a successful strategy for boosting
gender equality, driving inclusive growth and reducing
poverty for all.

Paulina Yusuf, Nigeria, prepares food for the
10 people she feeds each mealtime. “Thework takes my time. There’s no time to rest.”
PHOTO: Femi Ipaye/ActionAid

www.actionaid.org.uk

13

January 2015

3. Financing for gender equality: shortof the mark4. Women’s voices: silenced andignoredIn recent years, states, donors and businesses have alltalked about investing more in women and girls. But whilemore money to support women and girls is of course
a good thing, these investments have too often notmaterialised or have had very limited impacts.

That fact that women’s work is subsidising the world
economy at a massive scale is also a reflection of gender
discrimination at all levels of decision-making as well as thefact that voices of human rights defenders, both womenand men, are silenced and ignored.

For example, the OECD DAC Network on Gender Equality
shows that despite good intentions, donors’ investments
in women and the economy have been stagnant since2007. In 2011 and 2012 only US$469 million – just 2%of all bilateral aid was directed towards initiatives that
had women’s economic empowerment as a principal
objective.84

All over the world advances in respect for women andworker’s rights have been achieved largely as a resultof the work of feminist organisations and trade unions.
However, governments and businesses continue toundermine rights to association and union representation,
while union leaders and women human rights defenders
suffer violence and harassment as a result of their work.
According to the International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC), unions are increasingly under attack.92 The same
trend is true for women human rights defenders, who areharassed because of the fact that they are women andbecause they stand up for women’s rights.93

As emphasized above, raising and spending revenue on
public services is vital to address women’s inequality inwork – and are often under the squeeze. Moreover, incountries where data is available, levels of spending by
ministries or agencies specifically responsible for women’s
rights and empowerment is shockingly low and not morethan 0.4% of GDP.85

Discrimination is also visible in the corridors of power.
In January 2015, only 13 finance ministers worldwide,94
and on average only one in five parliamentarians,
were women.95

Another vital issue is that tax policies are often (explicitly
and implicitly) biased against women – pushing themfurther to the bottom of the economic pile. Explicit biases
are easy to identify. In Morocco, for example, joint income
is automatically assigned to the man as the person filingthe tax return on behalf of the household.86 Implicit biases
are usually reflected in indirect taxation, such as Value
Added Tax (VAT), and have a disproportionate impact on
women because they are primary care givers and the main
consumers of the basic household products.87

Even the world’s most privileged women suffer significant
inequality in the economic sphere. Of the world’s
30 wealthiest people, only three are women.96 Globally,
women constitute roughly 24% of senior management in
mid-sized companies97 and in S&P 50098 companies they
make up just 4% of CEOs.99
Yet the effects of inequality in having a voice and making
decisions are much more serious for women living andworking in developing countries. In Ethiopia, men are fivetimes more likely than women to hold leadership positions
in cooperatives.100 Similarly, in garment factories in
Bangladesh, just one in 20 supervisors is a woman.101

Underinvestment in women entrepreneurs is also a
global phenomenon, despite the evidence that womenled companies may deliver higher and more consistent
returns.88 Women launching businesses around the world
have an estimated collective credit gap of US$320 billion.89
In Africa, female-owned companies in the formal sectorin urban areas have 2.5 times less start-up capital thanmale-owned equivalents.90 Increasing women’s accessto microcredit – a popular strategy in recent years – canonly be a partial response and has a troubling record ofincreasing the workload and debt burden for the poorest
women.91

www.actionaid.org.uk

Women’s limited representation, voice and leadership areboth cause and consequence of gender inequality. Whilemen can be important advocates for change, the lack ofwomen in positions of power means that they are not able
to advance politically, express their demands in politicalprocesses, or influence the law or resource allocation
directly. It is thus not surprising that out of 143 economies
surveyed by the World Bank, as many as 90% have atleast one law restricting economic equality for women,
further driving them to the bottom of the economic pile.102

14January 2015

“Women’s full and equal participation in the political and economic arena isfundamental to democracy and justice.”
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women103

Call to action

gap in economic participation and opportunity now stands
at 60% worldwide, having closed by only 4% from 56% in
2006.105

The case for action to lift the status of women in theeconomy is not new. However, despite its potential to yield
benefits for women, the economy and for wider society,making women’s economic equality a reality is still a far-off
dream.

While there is no simple one size fits all solution, it isclear that efforts made by the international communityand business leaders to fix the problem have so far
failed to tackle the major causes of exploitation in
women’s work.

In 2014 The Global Gender Gap Report by the World
Economic Forum confirmed that progress remains
excruciatingly slow and huge gender gaps continue todivide across and within regions.104 Data analysed for 111
countries shows that over almost a decade, the genderWith the new development framework that will replace
the Millennium Development Goals in 2015, and as wecelebrate the 20th anniversary of the landmark Beijing
Platform for Action the time has come to mend the gaps in
the broken and unequal economy by ensuring that womencan enjoy equality of access to, and recognition andreward for their work.

Why now? The time is ripe for change
In 2015 the international community will adopt new
Sustainable Development Goals and celebrate
the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing
Platform for Action (BPFA)106 – the most ambitious
blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights. Twenty
years on, the Beijing Platform remains a source ofinspiration, and guides efforts towards full realisationof the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).107
Commitment to ending women’s economic inequality,
alongside other critical areas or concerns, features
prominently in the Beijing Platform and is also
included in CEDAW. There is no doubt that if bothwere implemented in full, women’s work – both in andoutside the home – would no longer be subsidising
today’s global economy. Yet this is still a distant
dream, the pace of progress has been slow and incertain places women’s economic inequality has
actually deteriorated.

Governments, international institutions and businessleaders must all take up this opportunity to tackle women’s
economic inequality. ActionAid is calling for concerted
action to recognise, reward and value women’s work in
its entirety – from caring for families and communities, totoiling long hours on the factory floor – and to address
the prevailing forms of discrimination that women face inaccessing decent work and in bearing an unequal burdenof caring responsibilities.
Addressing the root causes and taking a transformational
approach to the issue of women’s economic inequality will
benefit people, countries, businesses and the economy,
and will lead to a more just, sustainable and growing
economy for all.
Urgent action is needed to:1) 	Guarantee women’s access to andenjoyment of decent work

Women in developing countries and all over the world
need and demand change today. ActionAid is callingfor action to end exploitation and inequality in women’swork. Governments and business leaders must walkthe talk now and throughout the critical milestones
in 2015.

www.actionaid.org.uk

Governments and international institutions should:• A dhere to globally agreed human and labour rights
standards by introducing and implementing legislationand policies that guarantee and promote women’s
access to decent and safe employment, whether in the

15

January 2015

Businesses should:

formal or informal sector. This should include a living
wage, secure contracts, access to social protection(such as parental and sick leave, and unemployment
benefits), women’s right to organise and access toremedy, equal pay for work of equal value, equal
opportunities and non-discrimination in the workplace.

• G uarantee paid maternity and paternity and medical
leave, alongside flexible working hours, and support theprovision of childcare services for workers withcaregiving responsibilities.

3)	Ensure that the economy works for
women, not against them, and end the
pursuit of growth at any cost• E liminate all laws that discriminate against women andinhibit their economic equality.
• D evelop and implement binding international andnational regulations, policies and mechanisms that
require companies’ full compliance with international
human rights standards throughout their supply
chains, including taking responsibility and being held
accountable when violations occur, and guaranteeing
access to remedy.

Governments and international Institutions should:• S ystematically review the impact of macroeconomic
and fiscal policies on women and implement policies
to redress inequality in women’s work, alongsidechallenging discriminatory social norms and genderstereotyping that underpins this.

Businesses should:• D esign progressive tax regimes and institute genderresponsive budgeting that enhance women’s economic
rights, their productivity and access to public services
and commodities, while redressing discrimination andinequality.

• A bide by ILO decent work standards and conventions,as well as in-country legislation, and support new andimplement existing standards and regulations.
• U ndertake rigorous gender-sensitive human rights due
diligence throughout supply chains.

• P rioritise and increase funding for driving genderequality – including funding to support feminist andwomen’s rights organisations – and for achieving
women’s full economic equality.

• E nter into collective bargaining and social dialogue with
unions and workers’ organisations, including whenensuring access to remedy where rights violations
occur.

4) 	Promote women’s voice, agency andleadership at all levels2) 	Recognise, reduce and redistributeunpaid care responsibilities that fall
disproportionately on women

Governments and international Institutions should:• P romote women’s leadership, voice and agency at
all levels, from household to international spheres,
including through engaging with trade unions, civilsociety and feminist organisations in economic policy
making processes and spaces, such as in national
development planning, meetings of the International
Financial Institutions, G20, or the World Economic
Forum in Davos.

Governments and international Institutions should:• R ecognise the contribution of unpaid care work to
the economy and invest in infrastructure, time-saving
technologies and quality public services such as
childcare, care for the elderly, and healthcare.
• Institute family-friendly policies that promote women’s
opportunities to access and enjoy decent work, andenable women and men to balance work with theircaring responsibilities.

www.actionaid.org.uk

Businesses should:• E nsure that women workers and their voices areequally and meaningfully represented at all levels ofdecision-making.

16

January 2015

• S
 upport and invest in women entrepreneurs and invest
in training and promotional activities.
• D evelop transformational approaches to core businessactivities that ensure respect for women’s rights
and bring down the barriers that women face in theeconomy.
Civil society organisations and trade unions should:• S upport poor women’s collective organisation and givethem a platform to raise their concerns and demands
to decision makers at all levels.
• H old governments and businesses accountable for
their commitments to deliver on women’s rights andwomen’s economic equality.
• E ngage in policy dialogue to promote alternatives tothe current unsustainable economic model and pursue
rights-based alternatives that work for all, especiallypoor women and men.

5) 	Ensure that ending women’s economic
inequality is high on the agenda of the
new Sustainable Development Goals
All development partners should:• S upport a strong, stand-alone gender equality andwomen’s rights goal with targets on redistribution of
women’s unpaid care work, control over economic
resources and assets, and women’s full and equal
participation at all levels of decision making• S upport an ambitious goal on full and productive
employment and decent work, alongside targets toensure living wage and equal pay for work of equal value• A gree to the goal on reducing inequality within andamong countries, and formulate ambitious strategies
to implement and finance all Sustainable Development
Goals.

www.actionaid.org.uk

17

January 2015

Methodological annex

Methodology

Overview and caveats

Income for men in USD PPP terms can be expressed as a
product of the following terms:
wm x em = (wm / w) x (em / e) x LS x GDPUSD PPP
where male wages are given by wm, average wages are
given by w, male employment and total employment are
given by em and e, respectively, the labour share is given
by LS and GDP in PPP USD is given by GDPUSD PPP.

ActionAid has calculated the value in women’s wages of
the gap between the earnings of women and men andthe gap between their rates of participation in developing
countries and globally. In other words we calculate theadditional income women could earn if their wage andemployment rates were brought in line with men’s.

In other words, males’ income is equal to ratio of malewage to average wage, multiplied by the ratio of male
employment to total employment, multiplied by the shareof labour income in GDP, multiplied by GDP. This is justan identity (something that holds by definition). The only
complicating factor is that we have expressed GDP in PPP
terms.

In our analysis we use the ILO data to show that women indeveloping countries are paid on average 14.9% less thanmen, while we draw on the World Bank and UN population
data and find that 36.8% fewer women than men are
employed in developing countries. Using this data,
ActionAid is able to estimate that for developing countries,
the value of closing these gaps is US$2 trillion for the wage
gap, and US$6 trillion for the employment participation
gap. If both gaps were closed, however, the total would infact be US$9 trillion – because more women would be in
employment, at a higher rate of pay.

Total wage income for women can then be expressed
as a function of male wage income and the pay andemployment gaps:
wf x ef = wm x em x (1 - pay gap) x (1 - employment gap);
where the pay gap is defined as (wm - wf) / wm andthe employment gap is defined as (em - ef) / em. Again,
the expression for female wage income is then just an
identity and follows from these definitions of the pay andemployment gaps.

The analysis does not model the effect of such equalisingon men’s wages and employment which would
undoubtedly occur.
As with many assessments of wage inequality, comparable
data is a challenge and in this analysis, where there aregaps in the country data – as there are in many SubSaharan African countries – regional averages (medians)
are used to fill in gaps for wage data (see table ofcountries without average wage data for 2012 below).
This weakness in the data points to a further aspect ofwomen’s economic inequality, that of data gaps. As theWorld Bank notes, the coverage, definitions and methodsof compiling wage statistics differ significantly’108 and in
the absence of strong, reliable data and investments incountries’ capacity to improve tracking and comparisonof key gender indicators, our understanding of the true
scale of the injustice of women’s economic inequality isconstrained and potentially underestimated.

Finally, we also define the population gap as (pm - pf) / pm
where pm is male population etc.
In a world of equal pay and equal employment rates there
would be no pay gap and the employment gap would
be equal to the population gap (i.e. if there are fewer
women than men aged 15+ then there will still be a gap in
employment even if employment rates are the same).
So one can construct the following counterfactuals:
1. No pay gap: wf x ef = wm x em x (1 - employment gap
2.	No employment gap: wf x ef = wm x em x (1 - wage gap)
x (1 - population gap)
3	No gaps: wf x ef = wm x em x (1 - population gap)

Furthermore, this analysis does not take into account thepotential value of women’s unpaid care work if it weretranslated into monetary terms. Nevertheless, it illustrates
the scale of the pervasive crisis and the huge price thatwomen continue to pay.

www.actionaid.org.uk

Note that 1 and 2 do not add up to 3 because the effects
are multiplicative, not additive.

18

January 2015

Data sources
Employment rates taken from World Bank WDI; we use
2012 data.
Population estimates (aged 15+) taken from UN population
database; 2012 data.
Employment numbers calculated from employment rates
and population estimates.
Pay gaps and ratio of male to average wage taken from
ILO data. There are many missing values. We fill the pay
gaps using regional medians, and estimate the ratio ofmale to average wages using these regional median
pay gaps combined with 2012 employment data for the
relevant country. Because data for 2012 are not available,
we use the latest available observation – but we would
expect pay gaps to be fairly stable from one year to thenext.
Countries with data and the relevant year are listed below.
Note that the pay gap for the US was obtained from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male%E2%80%93female_income_disparity_in_the_United_States#cite_noteBLS2011-2.
Labour share data are taken from a working paper(Guerriero, Marta: The Labour Share of Income around
the World. Evidence from a Panel Dataset (2012) Institutefor Development Policy and Management Development
Economics and Public Policy Working Paper Series WP
32/2012; Manchester University), ultimately based on UN
data. These data are averaged over a number of years.
GDP in PPP USD taken from World Bank WDI; 2012 data.
Advanced and developing country groupings are based on
IMF definitions.
GDP in PPP USD taken from World Bank WDI; 2012 data.
Advanced and developing country groupings are based on
IMF definitions.

www.actionaid.org.uk

19

January 2015

Wage gap data available for following countries and years:
Year

Country

Year

Country

2010

Argentina

2010

Lithuania

2010

Armenia

2011

Luxembourg

2011

Australia

2011

Malta

2010

Austria

2007

Martinique2010

Azerbaijan

2011

Mexico2010

Bahrain2011

Mongolia

2010

Belarus

2008

Myanmar2009

Belgium

2008

Nepal

2010

Botswana

2010

Netherlands

2009

Brazil2011

New Zealand2010

Bulgaria

2011

Norway2009

Cambodia

2010

Oman

2011

Canada2011

Pakistan2010

Colombia

2010

Panama2010

Costa Rica

2008

Paraguay

2010

Croatia

2010

Peru

2009

Cyprus2011

Philippines

2011

Czech Republic

2010

Poland2005

Democratic Republic of Congo2009

Portugal

2010

Denmark

2011

Qatar

2011

Ecuador

2007

Reunion

2007

Egypt

2010

Romania

2008

Estonia

2011

Singapore

2010

Finland2011

Slovakia

2009

France2010

Slovenia

2010

Georgia

2011

Spain

2011

Germany

2008

Sri Lanka

2005

Ghana

2011

Sweden

2007

Guadeloupe

2010

Switzerland

2010

Hondura2011

Syrian Arab Republic2010

Hong Kong (China)

2011

Taiwan (China)

2011

Iceland2011

Thailand

2007

Iraq

2010

Timor-Leste

2007

Ireland2010

Turkey2010

Israel

2011

Ukraine

2010

Japan

2011

United Kingdom

2010

Jordan2010

United States

2010

Kazakhstan

2011

Uruguay

2006

Korea, Republic of2010

Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of

2011

Latvia2010

Viet Nam

2009

Lebanon2011

West Bank & Gaza

www.actionaid.org.uk

20

January 2015

Referencesreflect a greater number of women educated to a secondary level than men in wider
society

1. The International Labour Organization (2012) Global employment trends for
women http://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/
publication/wcms_195447.pdf p.14

19. Ibid

2. After the ILO ActionAid identifies four aspects of decent work agenda: creating
jobs, guaranteeing rights at work, social protection and social dialogue, with genderequality as a cross-cutting objective. See: http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/
decent-work-agenda/lang--en/index.htm Accessed 12/2014

20. Unlike the minimum wage, the living wage is an informal benchmark, not alegally enforceable minimum level of pay. It is based on the amount an individual
needs to earn to cover the basic costs of living for themselves and their family.
According to the ILO Conventions 95 and 131: “Wages and benefits paid for astandard working week should meet at least legal or industry minimum wage
standards and always be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families
and to provide discretionary income.” The call for living wage has received widespread support from civil society organisations, trade unions and some politicalparties, but limited endorsement by employers.

3. UN Secretary General Press Release (29/10/2014) ‘Evidence is clear: equality
for women means progress for all’, Secretary-General says in remarks to United
Nations Association Awards Dinner http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sgsm16295.
doc.htm Accessed 12/2014
4. See for example: Fuentes-Nieva, R. and Galasso, N. (2014) Working for the few:
Political capture and economic inequality, Oxfam International, http://policy-practice.
oxfam.org.uk/publications/working-for-the-few-political-capture-and-economicinequality-311312

21. The World Bank Group (2014) Gender at Work: A Companion to the World
Development Report on Jobs http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/
Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf p.2
22. The International Labour Organisation (2011) Report of the director general: A
new era of social justice, International Labour Conference, 100th Session, Geneva
2011, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/
meetingdocument/wcms_155656.pdf p.11

5. See for example: The World Economic Forum (2014) Global Risk Report 2014
http://www3. weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalRisks_Report_2014.pdf
6. The World Bank Group (2014) Gender at Work: A Companion to the World
Development Report on Jobs http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/
Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf p.2

23. See: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/India-setto-become-2-trillion-economy-this-year/articleshow/44881279.cms Accessed
12/2014

7. World Health Organization (2013) Global and regional estimatesof violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate
partner violence and non-partner sexual violence http://apps.who.int/iris/
bitstream/10665/85239/1/9789241564625_eng.pdf p 35

24. Interview conducted by Rachel Noble, ActionAid UK, May 2014
25. Keynote Speech by Christine Lagarde (12/20/2014) The economic power ofwomen’s empowerment https://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2014/091214.
htm Accessed 12/2014

8. See for example: The World Bank (2014) Gender at Work: A Companion to
the World Development Report on Jobs http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf

26. The figure is expressed in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms. PPP
is a technique used to determine the relative value of different currencies.
See: OECD http://www.oecd.org/fr/std/prix-ppa/purchasingpowerparitiesfrequentlyaskedquestionsfaqs.htm. Accessed 12/2014

9. The working poor are defined as those employed, but earning less than $1.25 a
day as in 2005. See: UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (2013) The twin
challenges of reducing poverty and creating employment http://www.un.org/esa/
socdev/documents/employment/twinchallenges.pdf p.29

27. In 2013 GDP in Germany accounted for US$3.730 trillion, in France for
US$2.806 trillion and in the UK for US$2.678 trillion. Source: World Bank data;
http://data.worldbank.org/country. Accessed 12/2014

10. The ILO defines vulnerable employment as the sum of own-account workers
and contributing family workers (as opposed to wage and salaried workers).
See: International Labour Organization (2012) Global employment trends for
women http://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/
publication/wcms_195447.pdf p. 8 and 22

28. All figures are expressed in Purchasing Power Parity Terms, PPP. See annex for
full details of methodology and analysis.
29. The International Labour Organization (2014) Global wage report 2014/15 http://
www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_324678/lang--en/index.htm

11. Over 80% is the sum of women as own-account workers and contributing family
workers. See: International Labour Organization (2012) Global employment trends
for women, figure 5: Share of status in total employment by region and sex http://
ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/
wcms_195447.pdf p. 23

30. See for example: The International Labour Organization (12/2003) Investing inevery child: An economic study of the costs and benefits of eliminating child labour
http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_071311/lang--it/index.htm

12. Nanda, P. et al. (2013) Advancing women, changing lives: An evaluation of
Gap Inc.’s P.A.C.E. program, Washington DC, International Centre for Research on
Women http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/PACE_Report_PRINT_singles_lo.pdf

31. See: Heintz, J. (2006) Globalisation, economic policy and employment: Poverty
and gender implications, Employment Strategy Department, International Labour
Organization http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_elm/
documents/publication/wcms_114024.pdf p.1

13. See for example: http://www.ranaplaza-arrangement.org/. Accessed 12/2014

32. The International Labour Organization (2012) Global employment trends for
women http://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/
publication/wcms_195447.pdf p.14

14. IMF Staff Discussion Note (2013) Women, Work and the Economy:
Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/
sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf p.6

33. See for example: The World Bank (2012) Gender Equality and Development;
World Development Report 2012 or The World Bank Group (2014) Gender at Work:
A Companion to the World Development Report on Jobs http://www.worldbank.
org/content/dam/Worldbank/Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf

15. Ibid
16. In 2013 GDP in the Middle East & North Africa accounted for US$1.496 trillion
and in Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for US$1.613 trillion. Source: World Bank
data: http://data.worldbank.org/country. Accessed 12/2014

34. The World Bank Group press release (10/04/2014) Ending poverty requires
more than growth, says WBG http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pressrelease/2014/04/10/ending-poverty-requires-more-than-growth-says-wbg
Accessed 12/2014

17. United Nations (2014) The Millennium Development Goals Report 2014 http://
www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20
English%20web.pdf

35. IMF Staff Discussion Note (2013) Women, Work and the Economy:
Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/
sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf p.19

18. Economists Without Borders (2014) Gender Discrimination and Unemployment,
report for ActionAid. See http://datatopics.worldbank.org/Gender/topic/education
which shows that in most regions of the world female secondary school enrolment
is lower than male secondary school enrolment, therefore we can assume that theover-representation of educated women among the unemployed does not simply

www.actionaid.org.uk

36. Ibid

21

January 2015

54. See for example: Heintz, J. (2013) Missing Women: The G20 gender equality
and global economic governance, The Green Political Foundation http://www.peri.
umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/Heintz_Missing_Women.pdf

37. Among the social security programmes in Brazil, Bolsa Familia is the mostprominent, and is the biggest conditional cash transfer programme in the developingworld. Its results included reduction of income inequality, improvement of school
performance and health conditions of beneficiaries, and emergence of small
businesses in poor areas. At the same time however, Bolsa Familia and otherconditional cash transfers programmes are controversial from a gender perspective
because they reinforce the role of women as primary care givers responsible forthe education and health of their children. See for example: Molyneux, M. (2008)
Conditional cash transfers: A pathway to women’s economic empowerment
http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/pathwaysofempowerment-org-staging/
downloads/conditional_cash_transfers_a_pathways_to_women_s_empowerment_
working_paper_original1ca95e24558819bfe2c860f01ccbb088.pdf

55. See for example: ActionAid (2009) Accounting for poverty: How internationaltax rules keep people poor http://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/doc_lib/
accounting_for_poverty.pdf
56. See for example: Elson, D. and Cagatay, N. (2000) The social content ofmacroeconomic policies http://www.cepal.org/mujer/curso/social.pdf p.13–47
57. http://www.businessoffashion.com/2014/01/cambodian-forces-open-fire-asfactory-strikes-turn-violent.html. Accessed 12/2014
58. Cambodia Centre for Human Rights (2014) CCHR calls for the acquittal of“the 23” and for their immediate release http://www.cchrcambodia.org/index_old.
php?url=media/media.php&p=press_detail.php&prid=497&id=5&lang=eng.
Accessed 12/2014

38. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
are widely supported global standard for preventing and addressing the risk ofadverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. Known as the ‘Ruggie
Principles’, the UNGPs encompass three pillars outlining how states and businesses
should implement the framework. These are: the state duty to protect human rights;
the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and access to remedy forvictims of business-related abuses. For full document see: UN Human Rights (2011)
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations“Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/
Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf

59. Source: the World Bank data http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.
MKTP.CD. Accessed 12/2014
60. For instance, the income/consumption share of the top 10% was 31.6% in2008 compared to just 3.34% of the lowest 10% and 7.54% of the lowest 20%.
However, the increase in equality appeared to stall in the wake of the financial crisis
in 2007/8. More recent data is not yet available. See: http://www.indexmundi.com/
facts/cambodia/income-distribution. Accessed 12/2014

39. The World Economic Forum (2014) The Global Gender Gap Report 2014 http://
www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR14/GGGR_CompleteReport_2014.pdf p.43

61. The World Bank (2006) Cambodia: Women and work in the garment
industry http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTJUSFORPOOR/Resources/
WomenandWorkinthefactory.pdf p.1

40. Kaplan, S. and Vandrbrug, J. (2014) The rise of gender capitalism, Stanford
Social Innovation Review http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_rise_of_
gender_capitalism. Accessed 12/14

62. The World Bank (09/2013) Improving trade competitiveness: Cambodian
garment exports http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/
WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/12/03/000461832_20131203145218/
Rendered/PDF/830750BRI0P1090Box0379884B00PUBLIC0.pdf p.1

41. Kidder, T. et al. (2014) Meaningful Action. Effective approaches to women’s
economic empowerment in agriculture, Oxfam International http://policy-practice.
oxfam.org.uk/publications/meaningful-action-effective-approaches-to-womenseconomic-empowerment-in-agricu-334788

63. The International Labour Organization (2012) Decent work country profile:Cambodia 2012 http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--integration/documents/publication/wcms_185267.pdf p. 59–61

42. Kaplan, S. and Vandrbrug, J. (2014) The rise of gender capitalism, Stanford
Social Innovation Review http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_rise_of_
gender_capitalism. Accessed 12/14

64. Dasgupta, S. et al. (2011) From downturn to recovery: Cambodia’s garment
sector in transition, Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao Peoples’
Democratic Republic, International Labour Organization http://betterwork.com/
cambodia/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/From-Downturn-to-Recovery.pdf p.14

43. Ibid
44. The World Bank (2014) Gender at Work: A Companion to the World
Development Report on Jobs http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf p.5

65. Interview conducted by Rachel Noble, ActionAid UK, May 201445. Export Processing Zones (EPZs) are special regulatory areas within countries
established to promote export-led growth. The ILO has defined EPZs as “industrial
zones with special incentives set up to attract foreign investors, in which imported
materials undergo some degree of processing before being exported again.” See
McCallum, J. (3/2011) Export processing zones: Comparative data from China,
Honduras, Nicaragua and South Africa, Working Paper No 21, International Labour
Office Geneva p. 1

66. http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=ZDQ4
MzRlMDg1ZDh. Accessed 12/2014
67. Spending on health care in Cambodia reached US$197 million in 2012. See:
Bureau of Health Economics and Financing, Department of Planning and Health
Information (2013) Kingdom of Cambodia Annual Health Financing Report 2012
http://www.moh.gov.kh/files/dphi/Health%20Financing%20Report%202012_Final.
pdf p.13

46. See for example: Pillinger, J. (2012) Gender equality and global solidarity: Decent
work and the Millennium Development Goals, Irish Congress of Trade Unions/ Irish
Aid, Dublin http://www.ictu.ie/download/pdf/gender_report_final_pdf. p.12

68. http://www.industriall-union.org/global-unions-and-30-major-brands-call-oncambodian-government-to-investigate-deadly-violence. Accessed 12/2014
69. http://phnompenhpost.com/national/brands-gov%E2%80%99t-unions-meetissues. Accessed 12/2014

47. Ibid
48. See for example: Blecker, R. and Seguino, S. (2002) Macroeconomic effects ofreducing gender wage inequality in an export-oriented, semi-industrialized economy,
Review of Development Economics 6.1: 103-19, cited in: Kabeer, N. and Natali, L.
IDS working paper volume 2013 No 417, Gender equality and economic growth: Is
there a win win? http://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/Wp417.pdf p. 6-7

70. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/21/fashion-retailers-offer-raiseminimum-wage-cambodia. Accessed 12/2014
71. https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/govt-sets-minimum-wage-for-garmentworkers-at-128-72212/. Accessed 12/2014

49. See for example: http://wiego.org/informal-economy/occupational-groups/
garment-workers Accessed 12/2014

72. http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2014/03/03/forbes-billionaires-fulllist-of-the-worlds-500-richest-people/. Accessed 12/2014

50. The International Labour Organization (2012) Global employment trends for
women http://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/
publication/wcms_195447.pdf p.6

73. The World Bank (2012) Gender Equality and Development, World Development
Report 2012, p. 80
74. Budlender, D. (2008) Gender and development programme paper
number 4: The statistical evidence on care and non-care work across six countries,
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development http://www.unrisd.
org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpAuxPages)/F9FEC4EA774573E7C1257560003A96
B2/$file/BudlenderREV.pdf p.5

51. International Trade Union Confederation (2007) Living with economic insecurity:
Women in precarious work http://www.ituc-csi.org/living-with-economic-insecurity
p.8
52. Ibid p.8
53. Ibid p.7

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75. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/16-crore-jobless-women-form-IndiasGreat-Invisible-Force/articleshow/37669859.cms. Accessed 12/2014

97. Grant Thornton International (2014) Women in the boardroom 2004–2014 http://
www.grant-thornton.co.uk/en/Thinking/Women-in-the-boardroom-2004-2014/.
Accessed 12/2014

76. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2007)
Women’s contribution to equality in Latin America and Caribbean, United Nations
http://www.cepal.org/mujer/noticias/paginas/8/29288/WomensContribution.pdf
p.73

98. The Standard and Poor 500 is a US stock market index that tracks the 500
most widely held stocks on the New York Stock Exchange
99. IMF Staff Discussion Note (2013) Women, Work and the Economy:
Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/
sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf p.10

77. Faith A. and Blackden M. (2009) Unpaid care work: UNDP policy brief, UNDP
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/gender/Gender%20and%20
Poverty%20Reduction/Unpaid%20care%20work%20English.pdf p.2

100. McCarthy, L. et al. (2012) Gender equality: it’s your business, Oxfam
International http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/gender-equality-itsyour-business-213389 / p.15

78. UN Women (06/2014) Facts and figures: Decent jobs http://www.unwomen.
org/en/news/in-focus/the-united-nations-conference-on-sustainable-developmentrio-20/facts-and-figures. Accessed 12/2014

101. Filippo, S. (2014) Industrialisation and female empowerment: evidence fromthe Bangladeshi garments sector, Social Europe Journal http://www.socialeurope.
eu/2014/11/industrialisation-female-empowerment-evidence-bangladeshigarments-sector/. Accessed 12/2014

79. See for example: 76 UN General Assembly (09/2013) Report of the Special
Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights http://www.empowerwomen.
org/~/documents/2013/10/10/20/51/report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-extremepoverty-and-human-rights

102. The World Bank (2013) Women, Business and the Law 2014: Removing
Restrictions to Enhance Gender Equality http://wbl.worldbank.org/~/media/FPDKM/
WBL/Documents/Reports/2014/Women-Business-and-the-Law-2014-KeyFindings.pdf

80. In Sweden, for example, the expansion of childcare services during the 1970s
helped to increase women’s employment rates from 60% to over 80%. See: OECD
Economic Surveys: Chile (2013) p. 56
81. Staab, S and Gerhard, R. (2010) Childcare service expansion in Chile andMexico: For women or children or both? Gender and Development Programme
paper number 10, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development http://
www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpAuxPages)/5F0320F46ECBA3BFC1257
744004BB4E8/$file/StaabGerhard.pdf p.15

103. Statement of the UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
at the launch of Women Leading Africa Programme in Namibia 24/10/2013 http://
www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/10/ed-speech-at-women-leading-africaprogramme#sthash.0HGFZHrj.AEnjGpe4.dpuf Accessed 12/2014
104. The World Economic Forum (2014) The Global Gender Gap Report 2014
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR14/GGGR_CompleteReport_2014.pdf

82. Bentancor, A. (2012) http://www.sociedadpoliticaspublicas.cl/archivos/
CBLOQUET/Panel_Trabajo_y_Maternidad/The%20impact%20of%20accessing%20
childcare%20centers%20on%20Chilean.pdf p.1

105. Ibid p. 31
106. In 1995, at the Fourth World Conference on Women, UN member states
adopted and committed to implement the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). BPFA
is a global framework identifying 12 critical areas of concern with respect to theadvancement of women and the achievement of gender equality. Among others,
BPFA commit UN member states to actions on women and poverty and womenand the economy. See full document: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/ Accessed 12/2014

83. See for example: OECD (2013) Economic Surveys: Chile p. 56
84. OECD (2014) Financing the unfinished business of gender equality and women’s
rights: priorities for the post-2015 framework, http://www.oecd.org/dac/genderdevelopment/Short%20version%20-%20FINALFinancing%20the%20unfinished%20
business%20of%20gender%20equality.pdf p.2
85. Development Finance International (DFI) and Oxfam International, Putting
progress at risk? MDG spending in developing countries http://eudevdays.eu/sites/
default/files/GSW-Report-Progress-at-risk-MDG_160513.pdf p. 31-32

87. Ibid p.12

107. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly is often described
as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles,
it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda forthe state parties to end such discrimination in all spheres of live. See full text: http://
www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm

88. See for example: Kaplan, S. and Vandrbrug, J. (2014) The rise of gender
capitalism, Stanford Social Innovation Review http://www.ssireview.org/articles/
entry/the_rise_of_gender_capitalism. Accessed 12/14

108. The World Bank Group (2014) Gender at Work: A Companion to the World
Development Report on Jobs http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/
Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf p.70

86. Capraro, C. (2014) Taxing men and women: why gender is crucial for a fair tax
system, Christian Aid http://www.eurodad.org/files/pdf/53abdd685f13b.pdf p.10

89. Ibid
90. The World Bank (2012) Gender Equality and Development, World Development
Report 2012
91. See for example: Report of the expert group meeting organised by the Division
for the Advancement of Women, hosted by the Government of Norway, Oslo 4-7
September 2007 http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/financing_gender_
equality/EGM%20Report%20Final.pdf p.12-13
92. http://www.ituc-csi.org/new-ituc-report-on-violations-of. Accessed 12/2014
93. See for example: Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition(2012) Global report on the situation of women human rights defenders http://
defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WHRD_IC_
Global-Report_2012.pdf
94. http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/finance_ministers2000.htm. List last
updated 02/01/2015. Accessed 01/2015
95. UN Women (06/2014) Facts and figures: Leadership and political participation
http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/
facts-and-figures. Accessed 12/2014
96. Seery, E and Caistor Arendar, A. (2014) Even It up: time to end extreme
inequality, Oxfam http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/even-it-up-timeto-end-extreme-inequality-333012 p.10

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This briefing was written by Kasia Staszewska and theeconometric work was lead by Daphne Jayasinghe.
Support and input was provided by Lucia Fry, Rachel
Noble, Kerry Stares, Nuria Molina, Lizzie Gerrard andRachel Moussie.
ActionAid UK would like to thank Professor Susan
Himmelweit, Professor Stephanie Luce, Alex Cobham andthe Economists Without Borders team for their input andcomments on the statistical analysis, as well as Jo Morrisfor peer reviewing the briefing.
Infographic design by Yan Cowles.

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