To Grow the Economy, Get More Women In the Workforce

Hindsight is 20/20, so they say. At S&P Global, we recently asked our employees this: knowing what you know now, what career advice would you give your younger self? Reflecting on my own career, there’s no doubt that strong women and men alike are critical to any successful team. Now, there’s data to back that up.

The experts at S&P compiled the latest data and produced new research on women’s participation in and impact on the economy—because it’s vital that we learn where we’ve made progress and where there's still a long way to go. The results were clear: adding more women to the U.S. workforce could add $5.87 trillion to the global market cap. If women were in the workforce at equal participation rates, the GDP could increase by 26 percent.

Studies have also shown that if we closed the gender gap, the average U.S. woman could earn $400,000 more in her lifetime. According to The World Bank Group, if we achieved gender equality, women’s human capital would increase by nearly $170 trillion. And McKinsey has reported that gender-diverse companies around the world are 15 percent likelier to earn more than their competitors.

Looking at these numbers, it’s clear that for businesses to succeed, they must invest in women.

So how do we get there? If we want to grow the economy, we need to close the gender gap. Not only will it drive better returns on the economy, but we will empower future generations of women to pursue careers in a myriad of industries. A recent study showed that 86 percent of women report that when they see a woman in leadership, they can envision themselves in a similar position. These differences not only impact individuals but also the culture of a given workplace or industry.

With S&P Global’s #ChangePays campaign, we understand that an investment in women is an investment in us all, and we are putting that into action. We are challenging the notion that companies, markets, governments and institutions already invested enough in women or that equality doesn’t pay. 

For example, we’ve launched the Women Initiative for Networking Success, which is a women-focused and employee-led group that builds leadership skills and identifies professional and personal opportunities at S&P. Further, our Women In Technology group connects and empowers both current and next-generation female leaders to transform technology for the future.

We also understand that having a diverse mix of leaders is critical to success. Over one-third of our board members, senior leadership team and global employees are women, respectively. We are working to grow that number and in recent years have been recognized for our efforts to create an inclusive workplace. Recently, we were recognized as one of Working Mother Media's “100 Best Companies” and Fatherly's “50 Best Places to Work for New Dads.” We are proud of the steps we’ve already taken, but understand that there’s more work to be done.

Starting in our nation’s capital, S&P Global will hold a #ChangePays women’s event on March 6, ahead of International Women’s Day, with women in finance, business and politics to discuss how the company is investing in women and how this investment is paying dividends. The women in the room will be at various points in their careers – some in their first job, some veterans in the industry – sharing what we’ve learned so far and what is needed to create lasting, structural change that empowers women. 

None of us will ever have the ability to go back in time and coach our younger selves, but we can encourage businesses to act now to invest in women today so that we grow the economy of tomorrow. Because the companies who invest now will be the ones who have sustainable futures.