Million-Dollar Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund Launched at Davos
Indian banker Chetna Sinha has announced the launch of an alternative investment fund for India’s female entrepreneurs at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. The 100-million-rupee ($1.6 million) fund will support rural women starting their own businesses.
Sinha is known for launching Mann Deshi Bank, India’s first financial institution reserved for rural women. She was one of the seven female co-chairs of the annual meeting of global business and political leaders in Davos, the Swiss mountain resort. “Our women say that, ‘my courage is my capital,’” she said.
Fellow co-chair Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, pointed out ahead of the summit that India could add 27 percent to its GDP by 2025 by raising women’s engagement with the workforce.
Motherhood Penalty Drives Danish Pay Gap
A new study has found that becoming a mother is the biggest driver of the gender pay gap in Denmark. A woman having children was found to create an earnings gap of 20 percent between the genders.
While the “motherhood penalty” used to be just one of many factors contributing to wage inequality, the part that childbearing plays in the pay gap has increased from 40 percent to 80 percent since the 1980s, the researchers say.
In most countries, women suffer a wage penalty for having children, and the gap between male and female earnings increases with every child a woman has. There is no corresponding fatherhood penalty – in fact, men often enjoy a salary premium when they have children.
The study also found that the motherhood penalty could pass down through generations, stifling the career ambitions of daughters, but not sons.
Gender Breakthrough at Banco de Mexico
Irene Espinosa has broken Mexico’s financial glass ceiling, becoming the first woman appointed to the country’s central bank.
Nominated by President Enrique Pena Nieto, the economist will serve as deputy governor of Banco de Mexico at a time when inflation is high and the economy is slowing. Espinosa previously worked in Mexico’s finance ministry, at the Inter-American Development Bank and ITAM university.
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