GENDER - WOMEN AS DRIVERS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH Catherine Candea, OECD Deputy Director for Public Affairs and CommunicationsYumiko Murakami, Head of OECD Tokyo Centre

OECD Global Parliamentary Network Meeting in Tokyo (12 April 2016)

Gender equality as a driver of progress

Gender equality, a cross-cutting issue

Taxation

Entrepreneur-ship

Publicgovernanc

e

Employment

Health Education

Women and men’s access to education has converged

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

1896

-190

0

1901

-05

1906

-10

1911

-15

1916

-20

1921

-25

1926

-30

1931

-35

1936

-40

1941

-45

1946

-50

1951

-55

1956

-60

1961

-65

1966

-70

1971

-75

1976

-80

Men Women

Aver

age

year

s of s

choo

ling

Source: Barro and Lee, 2013

Years of schooling over the 20th century - OECD average

Gender differences persist among low achievers

Year: 2012Source: OECD, PISA 2012

More boys than girls are all-round low-achievers

Performance disparities in school subjectsSc

ore-

poin

t diff

eren

ce (b

oys-

girls

at 1

5 yr

of a

ge)

Boys perform better

Girls perform better

Year: 2012Source: OECD, 2015

Gender gap across fields of study

Source: OECD (2012b), Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Education Health and welfare Engineering, manufacturing and construction All fields Computing

Percentage of qualifications awarded to women in tertiary-type A and advanced research programmes, by field of education, 2010 or latest available year

Girls are generally less confident in their ability in mathematics than boys…. (OECD average)

Year: 2012Source: OECD, 2015

Parents are more likely to expect their sons to enter a STEM career – even when boys and girls perform equally well in school

Gender gap among

boys and girls with similar

results in mathematics, reading and

science performance

Percentage of students whose parents expect that they will work in STEM occupations, 2012

Source: OECD, 2012

Boys

Gender equality, a cross-cutting issue…

Taxation

Entrepreneur-ship

Publicgovernanc

e

EmploymentEducation

Gender differences in employment rates

Source: OECD Employment Database, 2016

Gender gaps in employment rates and full-time equivalent employment rates, 2014

Gender differences in earnings

Source: OECD (2016), Gender wage gap (indicator).

Gender differences in access to finance

Source: OECD , 2016

Tax systems can affect men & women differently:

•Explicitly, where the tax code is legally linked to gender

•Implicitly, where tax interacts with differences in underlying patterns of economic behaviour

• Due to different patterns of behaviour, an otherwise neutral tax system may have different impacts upon men and women

Gender biases in taxation dynamics

Implicit gender differences in taxation

Under-taxation ofextra hours worked

Capital and wealth ownership

Consumption

Savings patterns

Company car taxation

Tax evasion

Company cars are predominantly used by men (70% in Belgium, 80-90% in the Netherlands)

Men typically spend a higher proportion of the income they control on fuel, alcohol & tobacco

Who benefits the most from lower taxes on capital income at household level?

Men likely benefit more from tax privileges for private pension savings

Women tend to be more compliant than men

High taxes on second earners discourage labour participation, especially women

Lower taxes on extra hours worked typically induces men to work more

Gender equality, a cross-cutting issue

Taxation

Entrepreneur-ship

Publicgovernanc

e

Employment

Health Education

… and a inter-generational issue

Which policies should we adopt to promote gender equality?

Some policy recommendations…

• Facilitate women’s access to scientific fields and encourage men’s presence in social professions

• Encourage men to use entitlements to

improve family/work-life balance (parental leave, flexible work arrangements)

• Diminish gender-biases in the labour market and strengthen women’s access to finance and presence in high ranking jobs

• Ensure that tax design does not exacerbate existing gender disparities

• Mainstream gender equality in the design, implementation and evaluation of relevant public policies and budgets

Gender equality in policy making

Women in key decision-making positions and income inequality

Women ministers and confidence in national governments

OECD work on gender equality

https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/

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