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IN BRIEF/1Paid work can be a foundation for substantive equality forwomen, but only when it is compatible with women’s andmen’s shared responsibility for unpaid care and domesticwork; when it gives women enough time for leisure andlearning; and when it provides earnings that are sufficient tomaintain an adequate standard of living./2Over the past two decades, women’s labour forceparticipation stagnated around the world, albeit withsignificant regional variation. Globally, only half of women arein the labour force, compared to more than three quarters ofmen, and nowhere has this gap been eliminated./3In developing regions, in urban and rural areas alike,the majority of women remain concentrated in insecure,unprotected and poorly paid employment. Occupationalsegregation and gender pay gaps remain stubbornlypersistent everywhere./4Unequal outcomes for women in the labour market arethe biggest contributor to their overall socio-economicdisadvantage. Over a lifetime, gender differences inemployment rates and pay combine to create largecumulative income differences between women and men.