Making Women Count. The unequal economics of women's work

The global economic recovery has stumbled in the wake of plummeting oil prices and persistently slow growth. As governments seek to find their footing, it is increasingly clear that rising inequality threatens their ability to increase economic activity in a way that benefits the majority. Inequality can and must be addressed before it becomes an entrenched structural barrier to a better world. Against this daunting backdrop, the global inequality crisis has reached new extremes. In 2015, the 62 richest people on the planet had the same wealth as the poorest half of humanity (3.6 billion people). 1 The richest 1% now have more wealth than the rest of the world combined. 2 In Canada, the top 1% of the population owns a quarter of the country’s wealth. 3 As experts and elected officials look for ways to bolster growth, international financial institutions are looking closely at the significant contribution women make to economic growth and economic recovery. 4 But the fact that women are good for economic growth does not necessarily mean that economic growth is always good for women.