A consulting firm says taking steps to fix gender inequality in the workplace could give Canada's economy a $150-billion shot in the arm.
In a report published Wednesday morning, the McKinsey Global Institute found that gender inequality in Canadian workplaces isn't just holding women back, it hampers the economy as a whole.
McKinsey's report says even incremental progress in getting more women into managerial positions, high-skill STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, entrepreneurship, or even just into the workforce in the first place, could be worth as much as $150 billion more to Canada's economy by 2026... or an extra 6% worth of growth over what would happen if no new steps are taken.
In the report, McKinsey looked at 69 large Canadian corporations who collectively employ more than a half a million people.
Despite outnumbering men in higher education, women still significantly lag behind their male counterparts as they enter their working years, and are drastically underrepresented in terms of being promoted into higher-paying positions.
Those who doubt the gender gap like to suggest that much of the wage gap can be explained by individual life choices as opposed to being caused by nefarious conspiracies. But McKinsey's report finds troubling evidence that there are systemic problems at play.
Despite outnumbering men at university and colleges, women make up just under half of all entry-level employees but only 25% of vice-presidents and 15% of CEOs.
