Abstract

In recent years, international economic organizations realized that the utilization of the most common resource of growth—women’s work—is an important growth engine that may pull countries out of the global economic crisis that began in 2008. Optimal utilization of women’s work depends on the achievement of gender equality at work, and on the creation of a supportive environment in which women may combine work with family responsibilities. How to accomplish this is subject, to a great extent, to differences in culture and tradition between different countries. The formation of a supportive environment for women’s work should take place through both domestic and international regulation. Action at both levels is complementary. This article examines the activity of international economic organizations to enhance gender equality at work, concluding that there is much more to be done, and suggesting further action by these organizations to improve results.