“I was stunned to learn that according to hard economic data, women drive the world economy. Why wasn’t anyone seeing this?” 

How is it possible that in the 21^st century our global stereotype for women continues to be limited to women as the world’s primary nurturers, caregivers and victims? In reality, women are also important economic actors who are at least as important as men in creating global economic growth. Where are the articles, books and new economic approaches which explicitly recognize the enormous importance of the financial and economic contribution to global prosperity which is being made by the female half of the world’s population?

While the hard data is available, the facts and figures, impressive as they are, do not seem to be widely recognized and the perception as to the role of women is not shifting to match their true place in the world economy. I became obsessed with bringing the economic information about women forward to leaders and other intelligent and motivated men and women because I believe that this new understanding could change our fundamental beliefs about how our world actually functions. If women’s growing economic roles truly make them critical to global growth and to the eradication of global poverty, then women need to be central to new thinking in economics, international development and poverty, and social and political leadership at all levels. 

Feminomics: Unleashing the Economic Power of Women brings a gender lens to our traditional economic understanding, turns our four hundred year notion of the global economy upside down, and makes a compelling case that if the world is to thrive, women should be an important focus of economic policy, particularly in the developing world. The statistics are out there, yet few people seem to be putting two and two together. This book will not only put two and two together and open eyes, it will change our fundamental concept of what a women’s role in the world actually is.

In today’s world, no nation could survive without the contribution that women make to their economies. In fact, I argue in Feminomics, that:

·      Women are actually the key drivers of the global economy - a role that will only continue to grow throughout this century.

·       Women are also our greatest under developed and underused economic resource and have significant untapped potential to contribute more to economic growth

·      Poor women who control their earnings improve their family’s well being dramatically and are key to global efforts to eradicate poverty 

Women’s economic roles are not only the key to our future economic prosperity; with their focus on family wellbeing they are also our best hopes to eradicate world poverty.  

The Basic Facts of Feminomics

“Give me ten minutes with a politician stressing feminomics as a growth strategy and let’s see how quickly we can get money into women and their families’ pockets while growing the economy at the same time”

1)    Women drive the world economy

“Forget China, India and the INTERNET: economic growth is driven by women” 

The Economist, April 12, 2006 A Guide to Womenomics 

·      40 % of the measurable global economy is the result of women’s work

·      Over 50% of the informal unmeasured economy is in the hands of women

·       Women have been taking 2 out of 3 jobs around the globe since the 70s

·      80% of the world’s food is produced by women who own less than 10% of  the land

·      When unpaid household work is included, women work at least 35% more than men on a weekly basis

2)    Women are our greatest untapped economic resource

·      GNP growth rates are higher in countries that invest in higher education for girls and  accelerated GNP growth can be correlated directly to girls education

·      Economic gains linked to higher education of women are greater than those resulting from educating men

·      Women are the major consumer force in the world,  in the developed world  women accounting for over 80% of consumption

·      Women are a better credit risk in microfinance loans

·      Women are starting more companies than men but these companies are not growing as fast due to structural and attitudinal impediments

3)    When a women controls her earnings the benefits to her family are as high   as twenty times greater than when income is controlled by her husband

·      Children studied in Kenya were 24% taller when their mothers controlled the family income

·      Children’s education participation and family health improves when a mother earns income

·      Mohammad Yunis winner of the Nobel Prize for Micro finance for the poor will not lend to men because men’s income does not benefit their families to the same extent as a women’s will

It is my ardent hope that in bringing a more accurate perception of women to the forefront, it may be possible to bring better balance to this world with women being valued and respected in ways that are brand new and for men to be credited for the many nurturing roles that they carry out. It will take many women and men working together for change if we are to shift the world’s perspective. If we are to continue to grow the global economy yet decrease widespread poverty, women’s true contributions need to be understood and become central not peripheral to the dialog on many global subjects especially the economy.