Indias national income would increase by 27 per cent if the participation of women in the workforce matches the level of men, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has said. Delivering a speech on Womens Empowerment: An Economic Game Changer in Los Angeles, 60-year-old Lagarde said equal pay and better economic opportunities for women boost economic growth and create a bigger pie for everyone to share.

“These countries, including the US, have pledged to reduce the gap in women’s labour force participation by 25 per cent by the year 2025 which would create an estimated 100 million more jobs by 2025. This would be a huge impetus to growth and would reduce poverty and inequality,” Lagarde said.