Does the Future of the World Economy Lie in Women?

This article argues that women's increased participation in the global workforce may be the largest engine driving global economic growth. An increasing number of women, more so than men, are attending universities and graduating with majors that allow for a smooth transition into a highly-skilled career. The composition of the global workforce has shifted drastically over the last several decades. Since 1950, men's employment rate has dropped twelve percent, while women's employment rate has skyrocketed near forty percent. Now the participation of each rests between 75-77%, indicating that women have finally caught up. Many would cite that women only account for 40% of global GDP output as an argument in favor of men. However, this article claims that if you were to add in the social output of women, in terms of housekeeping and raising future job-seekers, the output would lie well over half of global GDP. Additionally, in recent years, the increase in global GDP can be attributed to women by more than a two-to-one ratio. If you look at this contribution in a different light, this would mean that over the past decade, the increased participation of women in the workforce has contributed to global economic growth more so than the country of China all together. That's a substantial impact.

http://www.economist.com/node/6802551