Lagarde: Women A Huge Boon To 21st Century Global Economy

Tokyo, Sept 13, IRNA – Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, in Tokyo on Friday supported the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abeˈs proposals on women and economy and said womenˈs involvement in economic activities can be a tremendous boon to the 21st century global economy. “I support these efforts completely. Prime Minister Abe and his team have set ambitious targets for empowering women—and I am convinced that they can be met,” said Lagarde in a speech at the inaugural session of the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo. Lagarde said that however, it requires changes in public policy complemented by changes in business culture. “Business must become more welcoming to women. One obvious step is to make the work environment more flexible. This includes moving away from the ingrained culture of lifetime employment and long working hours, and toward a system based more on output and performance. Businesses could also encourage both men and women to take parental leave. They could take more risks in promoting more women to higher positions, which in turn creates more mentors and role models. Again, I know that some efforts are underway here, but I believe that there is scope to go further.” Given these challenges, we will need all the economic growth, dynamism and ingenuity we can get in the years ahead. Thankfully, a key part of the solution is staring us right in the face—unleashing the economic power of women. Bringing the world’s largest excluded group into the fold, she added. While announcing that it is priority shared by both IMF and Japan, she referred to three points to that effect, first, a bird’s eye view of female economic exclusion today—in Japan and elsewhere, second, how to empower women in the economy across three areas—economic policies, laws and institutions, and societal and business culture, and third, what Japan can do to further boost women’s economic empowerment. She said the benefits of greater inclusion are clear—not just for women, but for all of us. “For a start, women are the ultimate agents of aggregate demand, accounting for 70 percent of global consumer spending. So if we want growth, let us put women in the driver’s seat.” Lagarde said excluding women simply makes no economic sense—and including women can be a tremendous boon to the 21st century global economy. "Of course, changing policy cannot fix everything. Changing laws and institutions cannot fix everything. We also need to change attitudes away from a male-dominated culture, to make it more open and receptive to the great contributions offered by women—in society in general, and in business in particular. This means knocking down the outdated obstacles that hold women back," she added. Concluding her speech, Lagarde said, “The history of Japan shows clearly that great things can happen when women are given the chance to shine. …. Let us unlock their doors to success and unblock their avenues of opportunity."/end