However, the failure to cover smaller employers, including many independent contractors, can create a two‐tier system. Full‐time employees in larger companies receive more protections, while more vulnerable workers, who face greater risk of gender (and other types of) discrimination, may find themselves without legal protection or recourse.

- 4.2.2.3 Minimum wage laws

Although not specifically targeted at women, minimum wage laws can improve the relative pay of women, given that a higher percentage of women than men are at the bottom of the wage distribution. However, evidence from various countries shows that minimum wages are generally set at levels too low to have meaningful impacts on female employment.<sup>98</sup>

# **4.2.3 Information and facilitation policy tools to promote gender equality**

Governments can help to overcome information asymmetry on both the supply‐side and the demand‐ side to influence the behavior of firms, investors, and entrepreneurs. Interventions to promote gender equality through information dissemination and facilitation can take different forms, such as:

- Expanding women’s professional networks by connecting them with employers;

- Tackling gender norms that inhibit women from pursuing professional opportunities, to include actions such as sharing examples of the success of women in prominent roles in business; and

- Addressing information gaps that female workers sometimes face. For example, a 2013 study showed that the majority of women working in female‐dominated sectors are not aware that women (and men) in male‐dominated sectors tend to make higher salaries than they do.<sup>99</sup>

Depending on the context, the following types of programs, for example, may be considered:

- **A “clearinghouse” function to connect employers with female jobseekers** . Such a function can allow women to share information about their skills, and for employers to share information about opportunities, and can help women build professional networks. For example, Malaysia built a database of women who wish to return to the labor force to connect them with potential employers (see Country Example 4).<sup>100</sup>

- **Public information or education campaigns to raise awareness and reduce bias** among firms and investors about women’s skills and abilities. Australia has a Workplace Gender Equality Agency that disseminates information to employers and the public laying out the business case for gender equality.<sup>101</sup>

- **Certification or qualification programs** that allow women to take advantage of standardized accreditation to signal to employers their competencies. In India, a network of government‐run vocational training programs has been established to provide skills‐based training and stimulate employment opportunities among women.<sup>102</sup>

> 98 Jaumotte, “Female Labour Force Participation: Past Trends and Main Determinants in OECD Countries.”

> 99 Elborgh‐Woytek et al., “Women, Work, and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains From Gender Equity.” 100 “PM Announces New Measures To Optimise On Malaysian Graduate And Women Talent.”

> 101 _Workplace Gender Equality Agency (Australian Government), September 2016,_

> _https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/wgea‐business‐case‐for‐gender‐equality.pdf._

> 102 “Overview: Directorate General of Training (DGT),” January 12, 2015, http://dget.nic.in/content/institute/overview‐wt.php.

31