Refugee women could generate up to $1.4 trillion to annual global GDP if employment and earnings gender gaps were closed.
Refugee men and women could contribute up to $2.5 trillion to annual global GDP if gender pay gaps and barriers to work were removed.
Closing gender pay gaps and removing barriers to work for refugee men and women in Turkey, Uganda, Lebanon, Jordan, Germany, and the US alone could boost overall annual GDP by up to $53 billion.
The IRC and GIWPS call for a Global Refugee Women and Work Commission to assemble and address closing the gender-pay and decent work gaps among refugees.
In accessing paid, decent work, refugee women face restrictive labor market laws, increased threat of violence, discrimination, as well as regulatory and administrative barriers.
According to a new analysis conducted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), refugee women could generate up to $1.4 trillion to annual global GDP if employment and wage gaps were closed.
Key takeaways from the report:
• Refugee women’s labor market participation is as low as 6%. Highest refugee women employment rates are seen in the US (40%) and Uganda (37%), but down to as low as 6% in Germany, Jordan andLebanon.
• The gender pay gap is highest in Turkey, where there is a pay gap of roughly 94 cents per dollar between refugee women and host men. The gap is lower in the US, where the pay gap is roughly 29 cents per dollarearned.
• Refugee women could generate up to $1.4 trillion to annual global GDP if employment and earnings gender gaps were closed to meet the national levels of hosting countries, per analysis done in top 30-refugee hosting countries, which host 90% of the world's refugees.
• Refugee women in the US alone could contribute $1.6 billion to US GDP.
• Closing wage and employment gaps for refugee men and women, equalizing wages and employment rates between genders in these countries, could boost global GDP up to $2.5 trillion.
• Closing pay gaps and removing barriers for refugee men and women in Turkey, Uganda, Lebanon, Jordan, Germany, and the US alone - six countries which together host almost eight million refugees, or 40% of the world’s refugee population - could boost overall GDP by $53 billion. This is five times the combined annual budget of the UN Refugee Agency and International Organization for Migration.
The report focuses on Turkey, Uganda, Lebanon, Jordan, Germany, and the US, and extrapolates findings to the top 30-refugee hosting countries, which collectively host approximately 18 million refugees.
David Miliband, IRC president and CEO, said, “Our analysis shows the extraordinary scale of economic rewards, for both refugee women and the economies they live in, if they were able to access local jobs at non-discriminatory pay rates. Understanding this economic prize is important, but getting there is the fundamental challenge, particularly in the contexts of state fragility and economic vulnerability where most refugees live. That's why the IRC will continue to focus on employment programs, from Uganda to Lebanon, that remove gender barriers for refugees accessing jobs.
To realize these gains, public commitments must be made by donors and political leaders, and then followed through. For example, candidates to lead the International Monetary Fund, must be asked if they will continue Christine Lagarde's focus on closing the gender pay gaps around the world, and how they plan to address the specific issue of women refugees.”
Ambassador Melanne Verveer, GIWPS Executive Director, said, “This is not a zero sum game. When refugee women are gainfully employed, they and their families benefit—along with their communities and host countries. Our findings underscore the need for regulatory reforms and policy change to unlock refugee women’s potential."
To advance this agenda, the IRC and GIWPS are calling for the establishment of a Global Refugee Women and Work Commission to assess the particular barriers to economic opportunities facing displaced women and develop recommendations to close the gender-pay and decent work gaps among refugees.
SOURCE: International Rescue Committee
