Why Better Gender Balance is Important for Sustainable Economic Growth

Dr. Seema Sharma

Executive Director, Center for Women Policy Research (CWPR). She is a Sustainability expert, TEDx speaker, BBC World News panelist and a mother with varied experience across the sectors be it Academia, Industry, Policy and even Community outreach.

Women and men both have important skill areas in which they naturally excel (diagram 1). it’s important to understand that different skill areas bring different ideas, perspective and decision making. Therefore, it’s in interest of human society and our planet earth that all these skill areas get equally utilised. However, unfortunately this is not the case.

In spite of decades of effort, our decision making from house hold to national and from local to global still primarily rely on the strength of just one gender as leaders. The fact that sustainability needs long term decision and women are better into long term decision making is either ignored or underutilised. This imbalance will certainly not lead us to the sustainable economic growth and prosperity.  

“Human evolution has created two different types of brains designed for equally intelligent behaviour,” — Richard Haier, professor of psychology at the University of California

Gender balance is not only about gender justice, its about better decision making to make this world a better place to live and sustain on this planet earth. Nothing is forever, nor the Homo Sapiens! We should not forget the fact that why 35,000 years ago Neanderthals got extinct and Homo Sapiens survived!

Better balance is need of this hour. It can result in greater productivity, improved engagement, higher profits, and a sustainable competitive advantage at local, national and organizational level. Which ultimately will lead us to the economic growth and prosperity.

References

https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9848.pdf

https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/Women2000%20-%20Women%20and%20decision-making.pdf

https://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20050121/intelligence-may-be-gray-white-matter#1

https://www.medicaldaily.com/brain-facts-know-and-share-men-have-lower-percentage-gray-matter-women-292530

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/womens-role-helped-ihomo-sapiensi-survive-5705

http://www.richardhaier.com/about

https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=3333