It is well known that gender inequality is bad for economic growth. Better gender equality is associated with gains in terms of income, economic growth, and national competitiveness. What is less widely recognized is that greater gender equality—in terms of labor force participation, wages, education, health, and assets—can work to close income gaps in society more broadly.

This policy brief does two broad things. First, the author sets up gender inequality as a dimension of generalized inequality and reviews existing evidence about the links between gender inequality and income inequality. Second, the paper outlines policy solutions and institutional fixes to promote both recognition and redistribution, such as eliminating legal discrimination, social-protection programs, education, social spending, quotas for women in parliament, the recognition and protection of informal-sector workers, and parental leave and related schemes.