The West Wants Women to Work

Is a woman’s contribution to society only financial?

I read financial newspapers and research articles from global economic organizations for my day job. Slowly but surely, I am waking up to a disturbing trend from these sources that I have often overlooked: the undying insistence that women dive headlong into the workforce — for their liberation, of course.

The liberal West really wants women everywhere to be anywhere but at home. But not to worry, their motivation is only benevolent: they wish for equality for women. Apparently, equality for women can only be achieved if women do the things men do.

But surely, their motives are pure. Women’s liberation only has to be economic in nature, because staying at home makes a woman an unpaid slave, while also removing her from the social conversation. These freedom fighters couldn’t care less about the female workforce’s potential contribution to the gross domestic product. Right?

Well…maybe not. According to the World Bank, closing the gender gap in the workforce would lift global GDP by more than 20%. The report’s lead author lamented that only about half of women participated in the global workforce: “It’s wasteful. Countries simply cannot afford to sideline half of their population.” The chief economist at the bank concurred, stating “Women have the power to turbocharge the sputtering global economy.” [emphasis mine]

This turbocharging could result in an additional $28 trillion to the global economy, according to some estimates. For countries that are part of the OECD, including the US, a lack of female parity with males in the workforce results in, on average, a missing $7 trillion per year. And that’s a lot of money. How do our globalist friends deign to remedy this tragedy that is no doubt hitting their pocketbooks?

Some of their proposed reforms are legitimate. Giving women access to financial credit and enacting laws banning sexual harassment in the workplace are things many of us can support. But there’s one liberation proposal, put forth by all of them, that is not as helpful as it appears.

That scheme is increasing the availability of childcare. To a man, the media and non-governmental bodies lament that women spend an average of 2.4 more hours a day on unpaid care work than their male counterparts. They further decry that the work usually involves caring for children and that few countries have widely available, quality childcare services.

One research report rightly states that traditional women’s work, such as taking care of children, the elderly, and the sick, effectively subsidizes the global economy. This is laudable – someone must take care of these vulnerable populations if not the state, which usually does not do the best job anyway.

However, these researchers, instead of praising women who work diligently to take care of others, consider this status quo to be an affront to “equality,” which apparently can only be achieved if women participate in the paid labor force. They then lash out at men, who are purportedly not pulling their weight at home.

They never, for one second, think that maybe at least some of these women want to stay home to take care of their families. They never once question their belief that men and women are interchangeable at home and at work.

According to McKinsey & Company, between 1970 and 2009, women went from holding 37% of all US jobs to nearly 48%. Without them, the American economy in 2009 would have been 25% smaller — an amount equal to the combined GDP of Illinois, California, and New York. Do you really think the West and its elite organizations are going to give that kind of money up? 

No chance.

The global elites will continue to push to drag women into the workforce, not realizing that they are sowing the seeds of their own destruction. They will not understand that their insatiable need for labor is partly fueled by working women deciding to forgo having children due to the demands of a career. Fewer children, fewer future workers. All the maternity leave in the world will not reverse this trend — unless Western businesses are willing to let mothers dip out of the office for five years, for example. Even these measures may not be enough.

Thankfully, some women are waking up. They know what they’re about. They understand that their contribution to society can look a lot different than a desk job, but be no less valuable. They know that their young children need them, not a day care employee, to raise them. They realize that even though their years spent cooking and cleaning do not result in concrete dollars and cents, the peace they bring to their homes is priceless.

A Happy (Late) International Working Women’s Day to all those who celebrate — whether you’re at home or at the office.