UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Closing gender gap at work can open doors to benefits for society and the economy, according to a new report released Wednesday by a UN agency.
"Reducing gender disparities at workplaces by 25 percent by 2025 could inject nearly 5.8 trillion U.S. dollars into the global economy and boost tax revenues," said the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) in the report.
Women already have significantly lower participation in the labor market, but finding work for them remains more difficult than their male counterparts, the report said.
"Helping women access the labor market is nevertheless an important first step," said the ILO in a news release introducing the report.
According to the UN body, the global labor force participation rate for women in 2017 is projected to be around 49 percent, nearly 27 percentage points lower than that of men.
This figure is expected to remain unchanged in 2018.
The report also emphasized the need to promote equal pay for work of equal value, tackle root causes of occupational segregation, and eliminate violence and harassment at work.
