Womenomics: 25 years and the quiet revolution

Twenty-five years ago, Goldman Sachs Research first published on women’s contributions to the labour force, the opportunity for greater participation and the economic possibilities this provided in research led by the former head of Japan Portfolio Strategy, Kathy Matsui. Her research helped shape the policy agenda.

Sharon Bell and Yuriko Tanaka return to some of her themes. They look globally at the progress made and consider some constraints and opportunities from here.

One of the areas of greatest progress is in the corporate sector; the number of women CEOs in the S&P 500 has doubled in the last five years. And in Europe 40% of board members are women.

There is much to cheer but also much to do. Disappointingly, in technology and finance, women’s share of jobs has fallen in the US and Europe since the GFC. And upward mobility to management levels for women in these industries is lower than for other sectors. With the AI revolution upon us, this is especially worrisome.