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On Wednesday, the Biden administration introduced its first-ever approach to global women’s economic security, a measure to boost women’s participation in the workforce across the globe.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration’s effort aims to break down barriers standing in the way of women’s full economic participation.

It comes at a time when women from Afghanistan are coming under the most repressive restrictions by the Taliban, which has banned women from work and school based on their traditional, Islamic-fundamentalist opinions.

Blinken said we’re determined to stand up for women wherever their rights are risked, including in Afghanistan, as unfortunately, we continue to witness deepen and get worse.

The secretary said the strategy was devised between 12 U.S. government departments and agencies.

Blinken said that four priority work areas include efforts to “dismantle” societal, regulatory, and legal hindrances that restrict or limit women’s participation in the workforce.

The secretary said the approach that we set in place aims to support women and girls in all of their diversity, including the women who confront the greatest and highest barriers, such as those from unprivileged backgrounds, minorities, disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Blinken mentioned data from the World Bank that only 12 nations have legal protections that give women equal economic standing with men, including through equal salary and legal protection in the workplace.

He said there is a tremendous amount of work to be done there.

The initiative includes supporting access to and funding for child & elder care, promoting training programmes and mentorship for women to encourage entrepreneurship and working to boost women’s representation in industry leadership roles, including CEOs and board members.

The assistant to the president & director of the White House Gender Policy Council, Jennifer Klein, said that disassembling obstacles for women to enter the workforce could profit 2.4 billion working-age women.

Jennifer informed that studies show that ending gender gaps in the workforce would add between $12 and $28 trillion in global GDP over a decade.

“And advancing women’s access to markets and finance facilitates entrepreneurship and innovation, with estimations suggesting that gender equality and entrepreneurship could add between $5 to $6 trillion in net value to the global economy, she said.

Klein was designated to her role when President Biden founded the Gender Policy Council by executive order in March 2021.

She said the approach announced on Wednesday constructs on $300 million commitments the administration made to the Gender Equity & Equality Action Fund, announced at the UN Generation Equality Forum in Paris in July 2021.

News Source: The Hill