Introduction to the ESR Special Issue on “Gender, Economics and Society”

Abstract

Gender inequality is a pervasive issue affecting all areas of life. While some progress towards equality has been made in recent decades, significant gender gaps persist. Across the globe, on average, women are less likely to engage in paid work outside the home (ILOSTAT, 2024), work fewer hours (OECD, 2022) and are paid less than men (World Economic Forum, 2024). Despite the introduction of many laws to protect the rights of women, no country in the world provides equal opportunities to women; on average women are afforded two-thirds the rights of men (World Bank Group, 2024). Alarmingly, at the current rate of progress, it will take 134 years to reach gender parity across the economic, political, health, and educational dimensions (World Economic Forum, 2024). In Ireland, gender equality made significant improvements between 2010 and 2020, with particular gains in the domains of decision-making positions across spheres, and education and training. However over the past few years gender inequality has increased, primarily due to setbacks in time allocation which has accompanied increasing female labour force participation.