應鼓勵女性參與經濟

At the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund spring meetings last week in Washington, a central theme was how to accelerate sustainable, inclusive economic growth. But as world leaders seek to reignite the global economy, a large part of the formula for growth and stability is undervalued: the economic empowerment of women.

在最近華盛頓召開的世界銀行集團(World Bank Group)和國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)春季會議上，一箇中心主題是如何加快可持續的包容性經濟增長。然而，就在世界領導人尋求重煥全球經濟的活力之際，增長和穩定“配方”中的一個重要部分被低估：女性經濟賦權。

Only 55 per cent of women participate in the paid labour force globally and they continue to be an untapped source of growth. This is an invaluable asset with proven returns, but we have not invested the resources to unleash women’s full potential. The evidence is overwhelming that supporting women’s economic participation has enormous dividends for families, communities, and whole economies.

在全球範圍內，只有55%的女性從事有償工作，她們繼續是未得到有效開發的增長來源。這是一項寶貴的資產，有着得到證實的回報，但我們沒有投入資源來釋放女性的全部潛能。大量證據證明，支持女性參與經濟會給家庭、社會乃至整個經濟帶來巨大好處。

Research by the World Bank Group, the IMF, the OECD, and private sector studies concludes that we can add billions to the global economy by creating an enabling environment, increasing women’s labour force participation and business ownership, and improving the productivity of their work. These actions also grow national economies and make countries more competitive. Closing gender gaps makes sense at the macroeconomic level and also at the company level. Research shows a correlation between the number of women on boards and higher corporate profits.

世界銀行集團的研究、IMF、經合組織(OECD)以及私營部門的研究都得出結論認爲，通過創造支持的環境，提高女性勞動參與率和企業所有權，並提高她們在工作中的生產率，我們能夠使全球經濟規模擴大數十億美元。這些行動還有助於發展國民經濟，提升國家競爭力。無論是在宏觀經濟還是在公司層面，消除性別差距都是有意義的。研究顯示，董事會的女性數量以及更高的企業利潤之間存在關聯。

Beyond the economic impact, studies show that women tend to allocate more of their income to food, healthcare and education — in short, goods that benefit their children and have multiplier effects for generations.

除了經濟影響，研究還顯示，女性往往會把更多的收入用來購買食品、醫療和教育——簡言之，這些購買有利於她們的子女，對後代具有乘數效應。

Yet despite overwhelming evidence of the benefits of investing in female entrepreneurs and women in the workplace, progress has stalled. The World Economic Forum’s 2016 Global Gender Gap Report estimated that achieving economic parity between genders could take 170 years. That is unacceptable.

然而，儘管大量證據證明投資於女性企業家和女性員工是有好處的，但實際進展陷入停滯。世界經濟論壇(WEF)的《2016年全球性別差距報告》(Global Gender Gap Report)估計，實現性別之間的經濟平等可能要花費170年。這是不可接受的。

World Bank Group research shows that female-owned enterprises make up only 38 per cent of formal small and medium enterprises in emerging markets. Among women who have started businesses, only 10 per cent have access to the capital they need to grow them.

世界銀行集團的研究顯示，在新興市場，由女性所有的正規中小企業僅佔總數的38%。在創辦企業的女性中，只有10%能夠獲得企業擴張所需的資金。

From a global standpoint, female entrepreneurs are further disadvantaged by legislation impeding women’s economic opportunities, restricting them from certain professions, preventing them from travelling, and constraining their ability to inherit or own land. Women-owned enterprises are concentrated in a narrower range of sectors, largely those with lower profit margins and export potential.

從全球視角看，阻礙女性經濟機遇的立法讓女性企業家進一步處於不利局面，這些立法限制女性進入某些職業，阻礙她們旅行，制約她們繼承或擁有土地的能力。由女性所有的企業集中在較少的行業，基本上是那些利潤率和出口潛力都較低的行業。

This week Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, hosts the W20 summit in Berlin, focusing on promoting women’s economic empowerment as an integral part of the G20 agenda.

最近，德國總理安格拉?默克爾(Angela Merkel)主持了在柏林召開的20國集團(G20)婦女峯會（即W20峯會），此次峯會聚焦於推動女性經濟賦權，作爲G20議程不可分割的一部分。

We know what works. We need to increase access to finance, redistribute care work, accelerate progress to financial inclusion, and offer programmes that train female entrepreneurs and help them access higher value markets. We need to develop new legal and regulatory frameworks to boost women’s growth and productivity. The right skills training enhances women’s capacity to manage their businesses. And mentorship opportunities and access to networks bring learning opportunities and connections to capital and markets.

我們知道哪些措施有效。我們需要擴大融資渠道、重新分配護理工作、加快朝向金融包容的進展，以及推出相關計劃，培訓女企業家，並幫助她們打入更高價值的市場。我們需要制定新的法律和監管框架，促進女性的成長並提高生產率。正確的技能培訓會增強女性管理企業的能力。而輔導機會和加入網絡會帶來學習機會，開啓通向資本和市場的大門。

Groups like the W20, the World Economic Forum, World Bank, and the UN Secretary-General’s high-level panel on women’s economic empowerment have been instrumental in reinforcing the case for investing in women, identifying effective solutions. Policy leaders, executives, economists, and other academics all agree that one of the most powerful ways to grow the global economy is to expand the role of women in business.

W20峯會、世界經濟論壇、世界銀行和聯合國(UN)祕書長有關女性經濟賦權的高層委員會等組織，對於強調投資於女性、找出有效解決方案的理由起着重要作用。政策領導者、高管、經濟學家和其他學者都認爲，促進全球經濟增長的最強大途徑之一是擴大女性在商界的角色。

Our challenge now is to work together — in public and private sectors — to move decisively to invest in women worldwide.

我們現在的挑戰是開展合作（無論是在公共部門還是在私營部門），採取果斷行動投資於世界各地的女性。

The writers are the US first daughter and adviser to the president; and the president of the World Bank

本文作者分別是美國總統的長女、總統顧問；以及世界銀行行長