Women’s workforce participation could add $4.5trn to Asia Pacific GDP

The Asia Pacific region could see its collective GDP boosted by US$4.5 trillion through increasing women’s participation in the workforce, Vivian Hunt DBE told an audience of business leaders at Asia House.

Dame Hunt, Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company UK and Ireland, highlighted the huge economic gains the region could make by advancing women’s equality in work during an Asia House conference, ‘Delivering through Diversity’, held in partnership with McKinsey.

Increasing women’s participation in the workforce could potentially add an additional 12 percent (US$4.5trillion) to Asia Pacific GDP, Dame Hunt said. “That’s the same as adding a Germany or an Austria every year.”

Dame Hunt added that labour shortages were a key factor slowing Asian growth – a problem that would be alleviated by getting more women into work.

“The women are there, many of them have the skills or the skill base on which to build to participate,” she said. “Most economies in Asia literally can’t grow without more women participating in the workforce.”

The Delivering through Diversity conference, held at Asia House on 1 November, explored McKinsey’s new research on global workforce diversity.

View Dame Hunt’s presentation in full