In “Women underpaid, undercounted in the S.A. economy” authors Belinda Román, lead investigator on the Women in the Economy project of the SABÉR Research Institute at St. Mary’s University, San Antonio and Steve Nivin, Director of the SABÉR Research Institute and chair of the St. Mary’s Department of Economics, San Antonio, discuss the role and impact that women have in the local economy. While the San Antonio economy is showing signs of strength, the authors estimate that the “San Antonio metropolitan area’s GDP could be as much as 40 percent higher than the $109 billion reported for 2016 if we paid women the same wage as men and valued the unpaid work that women typically perform on a daily basis using a common wage. This equates to an immediate growth in the value of our GDP to more than $150 billion. This would add to our economy through more spending, jobs and opportunities for both genders.” The authors’ findings confirm that women perform a number of tasks in the household economy that are often overlooked by official statistics. The authors state that understanding the role of women in the San Antonio economy, “highlights areas where public policy can help create a more robust local setting in which women can participate more fully. These policies might include early childhood education, child and home care initiatives, and more support for job training and entrepreneurs.
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