Our annual report on challenges to achieving gender parity takes stock on scarring that will outlast the pandemic. Female labor force participation declined at historic rates during the 2020 “She-cession”, as women bore disproportionate responsibility for childcare at all income levels, and while it is inching back in the US, it remains 1.2% below February 2020 levels. Women in EM lag DM by an even wider margin across all metrics. In the meantime, gender-sensitive emergency measures are being rolled back, and if no action is taken to institutionalize policies, the impact to global GDP growth in 2030 could be at least $1trn. Tight labor market conditions have contributed to a decline in the unadjusted gender pay gap in the US (16.9% in 2021), EU (14.1%) and UK (12.4%). However, companies with women at the top were better poised to weather the crisis. Female board representation for the Russell 3000 has reached 25%, but meaningful gains at the C-Suite were harder to achieve.

 

Speakers

Trang Nguyen, Head of EM Sovereign Strategy

Joyce Chang, Chair of Global Research

Fiona Greig, Co-Head of the J.P. Morgan Chase Institute

Amy Ho, Strategic Research

Stella Y. Xu, Executive Director, Strategic Research

 

This podcast was recorded on March 25, 2022.

This communication is provided for information purposes only. Institutional clients can view the related report at https://www.jpmm.com/research/content/GPS-4019923-0 for more information; please visit www.jpmm.com/research/disclosures for important disclosures. © 2022 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved.