By External Source
Mar 6 2024 (IPS-Partners)

On March 8th, we celebrate International Women’s Day.

A day to honour the resilience, achievements, and potential of women worldwide.

The world faces crises—geopolitical conflicts, poverty, and climate change.

These exacerbate the global plight of women everywhere.

Furthermore, the global economic and financial systems perpetuate gender inequality.

Less than 50% of working-age women are in the global labour force.

Women spend about three times as many hours on unpaid domestic work as men.

Globally, women in the paid workforce earn 20% less than men on average.

In some countries, this gap jumps to 35%.

More than half of women in the workforce are in the informal economy, often vulnerable in precarious situations.

Unpaid care work by women accounts for over 40% of GDP if valued.

If current trends continue, more than 342 million women and girls could be living in extreme poverty by 2030.

Ironically, there’s a powerful solution: investing in women.

Recognizing women’s rights as an investment issue is critical for creating transformative solutions.

Investing in women enables them to escape a systemic cycle of poverty and truly thrive.

An additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality.

But closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by 20 per cent.

Closing gaps in care and expanding services with decent jobs could spark almost 300 million jobs by 2035.

This International Women’s Day let’s champion gender equality. “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”

IPS UN Bureau

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