The Economic Gains of Closing The Employment Gender Gap: Evidence from Morocco

This article sheds new light on the growth implications of gender inequalities in the Moroccan labor market. The study confronts two different approaches based on simulating the effects of reducing the gender employment gap. The first one is based on a simple macroeconomic model in which the gender complementarity in production is a key parameter, which is estimated on firm data. In the second, the study relies on a reduced-form approach based on country panel variation to relate growth and the relative labor market participation of women. Both approaches lead to similar conclusions regarding the potential economic gains from increased female labor market participation in Morocco. This article is one of the rare attempts to elicit the growth potential of a reduction in the gender employment gap in a lower middle-income country. HIGHLIGHTS Closing Morocco's gender employment gap could substantially boost GDP per capita. Greater participation of women shows strong productivity gains from complementarity with men. Expanding women's labor market presence benefits overall macroeconomic performance. Traditional GDP measures overlook women's unpaid labor and contributions. Policies promoting women's employment could drive inclusive growth and reduce gender gaps.