Rising female employment and, more recently, the employment of older workers, has boosted living standards. From 1968 to 2008, income from women’s employment provided more than a quarter of all income growth in low to middle income households compared to less than a tenth from men. More recently, the number of older workers in employment has started to rise rapidly, providing a vital source of income growth.
Looking forward, the UK is struggling to make the most of these vital trends. Female employment has stalled earlier than in other countries, largely because of underperformance among women with dependent children. Compared to better performing economies, around one million women are missing from UK workplaces. Meanwhile, despite recent improvements, the UK has fallen down the international ranking for older workers.
Read more about these issues in the Commission’s final report, Gaining from Growth