ECB’s Lagarde: More Gender Diversity Could Increase GDP per Capita

24 October 2023

By Isabel Teles – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Tuesday said that gender diversity was beneficial to the economy.

In a recorded statement during a conference at the European Parliament, Lagarde said that ‘[i]mproving gender equality in the European Union could lead, by 2050, to an increase in GDP per capita of up to 9.6% (€3.1 trillion).’

The ECB was advancing on the gender equality agenda, she said, and ‘on track to fill at least half of all new and open positions at all levels in the organization with talented women by 2026.’

Despite progress, it was necessary to stablish quotas and targets to guarantee that the gender gap was closed, she said, citing the EU Women on Boards Directive as an example.

‘By June '26 at the latest, the boards of around 35 significant European banks will only be considered balanced when each gender makes up at least 40% of their composition’, she said. ‘It matters for supervision; it matters for risk management.’