This article from The Economist, talks about the major
gender gap present in the field of science and scientific research. The article
talked about how less women are present in the science industry especially in
the physical science compared to healthcare industry where men dominate by 74%.
I think that closing the gender gap in the economy in the field of science can
have a positive impact on economic growth and development.
In another article I read earlier,
an economist from the Women’s Policy Research predicts that there will be an
economic stimulus effect from closing the gender gap in general could help the
economy grow by at least 3 to 4 percentage points. Interestingly enough the
labor force participation rate for the Unites States for women is significantly
lower than in other countries such as Sweden. This gender gap is present due to
lack of encouragement for women to join the labor force.
In another article I read earlier
in the semester it talked about the pay differences that men and women receive
in the US economy and how women are paid significantly lower than men for the
same job which in turn leads to discouragement to joining the labor force.
Link http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/03/daily-chart-5
2 comments:
Yes, this is very important from a human rights perspective. However, it's also nice to see that this closing of the gap will result in better economic outcomes for most everyone involved. I wonder at what rate the gap in the sciences has been closing. In addition, the healthcare industry and the increase on women and decrease of men. Overall, I am curious too if either gender has a tendency to be strong in certain qualities and how each gender can compliment one another for the most efficient market outcomes.
It is really disconcerting to see that there is a gender gap in the science related fields and I agree with Shaaref that having more women in the field of science could have a greater impact on economic growth and development. The lack of participation of women in the labor force is also disconcerting to read and there are many factors that lead women to not participate in the labor force (daycare costs, wage gap, family desires ex.). I am curious on what would happen to the participation rate of women if the United States enacted more policies similar to that of Sweden to get more women involved in the labor force.
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