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EXCERPTS
It seems like a contradiction: Countries that are rapidly ageing, have low birthrates and slow growth-- such as Japan and Italy -- also tend to have low rates of female employment. Conversely, in countries where more women work -- such as Scandinavia -- birth rates are high.
But the inference is clear. Female employment brings in income; income breeds security and security breeds babies.
Goldman Sachs says getting more women into the global workforce could play a key role in addressing the twin problems of ageing populations and pension sustainability.
"Closing the gap between male and female employment would have huge economic implications for the global economy," Goldman said in paper released yesterday. The Wall Street investment bank predicts closing the gap could boost Japanese gross domestic product by 16%, Italy by 21%, Spain by 19%, and the United States by 9%.
"The experience in Scandinavia suggests that such an outcome is achievable, given right government policies and a wide cultural acceptance of equal female employment," Goldman said.
While a rise in female employment has already been a driver of European growth over the past 10 years, huge gaps still remain: Female employment in the Eurozone is 10 percentage points below the U.S.
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Goldman says lack of suitable child care may also be a key reason women do not go back to work after giving birth. The proportion of Japanese children at daycare centres stood at 13% for children under three years of age and 34% between age three and mandatory enrolment in school, far lower than ratios in the United States and the Eurozone.
- reprinted from the National Post