janet l yellen : remarks on women ’ s history month remarks by ms janet l yellen, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the women ’ s history month reception, us capitol, washington dc, 25 march 2014. * * * it ’ s an honor and a pleasure for me to be here with you to mark women ’ s history month, which itself has some history behind it. march 8, 1911 was the first international women ’ s day, and it was 1980 when president carter established national women ’ s history week. in 1987, congress acted to make that week a full month. women, of course, are also a part of history for the other 11 months of the year. and i would add that women were influencing the course of history long before 1980, or 1911. but i am glad that there is, each year, a time when we pause to think about the role of women, because history is more than simply what happened, and more than what women and men did to make it happen. history is what we remember about those deeds. it is the lessons we have taken from the past and the knowledge we draw on to live today and to shape the future. for me, one lesson from history is that it is no coincidence that america ’ s great success in the past century came as women steadily increased their participation in every aspect of society. starting with gaining the vote, just a few years before international women ’ s day, “ the american century, ” as it ’ s sometimes known, was also a century of progress for women. fundamental to our country ’ s values, to those ideals that have been and continue to be so influential around the world, is the principle of equality for all, including for women. one reason america ’ s example is influential elsewhere is because progress toward these ideals has been accompanied by great success in broadly raising living standards. and i think our economic success has been due in substantial part to the fuller participation and contribution of women to the economy. their increasing participation in the workforce, particularly after 1970, was a major factor in sustaining growing family incomes. making fuller use of the talents and efforts of women in the workplace has made us more productive and prosperous. if i were to apply this lesson, i would hope that our nation continues to reap the benefits of greater participation by women in the economy and that we do everything that we can to foster that participation. women have made great progress in many occupations and professions

much of it owed domestically with the balance held by multinational or national financial institutions, not commercial banks ; a rising level of net international reserves from rs85. 8 bn in 2007 to rs109. 6 bn in 2011 ; a fiscal deficit of 3. 2 per cent in 2011 ; gross fdi inflows of rs10 bn in 2011, not far below the record level of 2010 ; a record profitability posted by the largest bank in the country, a domestic one that has been in business since 1838 ; and a free floating currency that has adjusted flexibly without the benefit of any controls to appreciate during the crisis with the exchange rate index, meri 1, standing at 91. 6 in december 2011 from its base of 100 in calendar year 2007. such a tableau, invraisemblable as it seems, is not the fruit of the imagination of our hypothetical script - writer. the country depicted does exist. and the experience highlighted is the result of the patient and combined efforts of policy - makers, real sector operators and its people generally, as they strived to adapt and re - adapt to the continuously - changing external environment confronting them. the picture that is painted is that of mauritius : vibrant, resilient, and resolutely moving forward. and the bank of mauritius, that i have had the privilege of leading, has contributed to the rich palette that comprises the policy landscape, especially the financial and monetary aspects, adding our own touches and flourishes as we proceeded. in keeping with past practice, i next highlight the main developments of the past year before concluding with my perspective on the current year. links are provided at the end of the relevant paragraphs for those readers who may be interested in delving in greater detail into some of the issues discussed. economy the mauritian economy continued to display a creditable degree of resilience despite difficult external conditions. growth momentum was maintained in 2011 at 4. 1 per cent, not far below trend, and projected to be slightly below 4 per cent in 2012. the unemployment rate was fairly stable at 7. 9 per cent, a far cry from the rising joblessness in our main export markets. the fallout from the euro crisis will continue to affect our euro - centric economy. the call that we launched two years ago to diversify production and find alternative markets, which then fell on deaf ears, is increasingly finding a favourable echo among real - sector operators and decision - makers. ( more on this issue