Women currently face constraints to participating in the private sector and gaining benefits from such participation. This is particularly the case for women who experience greater disadvantage and exclusion, including women with disabilities, indigenous women and women from minority groups. Women can lack the capital and resources to become entrepreneurs or the ability to exercise buying power as consumers. Constraints to women’s full economic participation in, and benefit from, the private sector include: social norms that define which tasks men and women should perform, how much women should be paid, and how genders should interact; definitions of acceptable female behaviour; perceptions of women as being less capable than men; caring responsibilities; and participation being seen as inappropriate or unnecessary. Despite these constraints, women’s participation in the economy has been increasing globally.
The cost of excluding people with disabilities is also significant. The International Labour Organization estimates that national economies lose 3% to 7% of GDP when people with disabilities do not have equal access to employment. The barriers that people with disabilities experience in engaging with the private sector include: attitudes; inaccessible physical environments, information and communication; and systemic and structural barriers such as discriminatory policies and legislation.
Businesses are recognising the evidence of the value of diversity in their organisations in contributing to both social and financial returns, and are developing creative approaches to keeping women engaged, building their skills and promoting them to leadership roles. Having a diverse workforce and ensuring women are in leadership roles enhances business performance including through better risk management, improving employee engagement and productivity, attracting talent and bringing more diverse views to solve complex problems. The benefits of disability inclusion are also significant. When people with disabilities can access livelihoods and participate in the private sector, the individual, their family and broader society benefits, with positive flow-on effects throughout the economy.
Providing increased access to goods and services that meet the needs of diverse populations also presents a significant opportunity for businesses. Similarly, businesses perform at their best when the broad range of skills, expertise, and networks within communities are utilised.
However, progress made to date risks stagnating due to the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s economic participation and opportunities for people with disabilities. Supporting the economic empowerment of women and people from diverse groups will be crucial to harness all skills and talents for economic recovery, ensure that economic recovery efforts do not leave anyone behind, and avoid entrenching existing inequalities.
