The relationship between the status of female rights and economic growth in developing countries and how policymakers can help

Abstract

Globally speaking, the social status of women is relatively low, especially in developing countries. Women face higher barriers than men to attending education, entering the job market, gaining equal wages, and becoming entrepreneurs. As essential economic participants, the status of female rights directly impacts the economy’s growth and should have more attention paid to them. This essay investigates this issue with a particular focus on developing countries, given that the situation is worse for women there, and any changes made to improve the situation will have a more significant impact on economic development. This paper uses economic theories to examine how female rights status affects economic development from three perspectives: education level, entrepreneurship, and the gender pay gap. The education level of females influences the participation rate, employment rate, and earnings, all contributing to economic growth. The female social status affects the difficulty of becoming an entrepreneur, and entrepreneurship creates more job opportunities, increases investment, and stimulates innovations. The gender pay gap would negatively impact the economy because it discourages females from entering the job market and investing in education. Moreover, this paper also looks into various policies in place to address such inequalities and provides a brief evaluation of their implementation. In conclusion, all three points related to female rights are critical, and the government should put more effort into addressing gender inequalities to protect an economy’s future economic development.