Business reaps rewards with family-friendly policies and more women at work.
The good news is that the growing proportion of women in the labour force since 2019 has added around $1.5 trillion to global income, according to Moody’s published research.
The disappointing news is that despite progress in recent decades, the participation rate for women remains well below the 83% rate for men. In the European Union and the US there is a difference of around 10 percentage points between the proportion of men and women who are either working or looking for a job.
The report highlights that the advent of increasingly family-friendly policies, strategies to combat workplace discrimination, and increased educational opportunities, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, have helped to fuel this progress, but we’re far from equal participation.
Moody's provides insights on risks of all kinds, with data, expert analysis, and groundbreaking technologies, to help customers to advance their business, and act decisively. We use those same methods to drive what we do, and the business case for family-friendly policies and benefits is clear.
With this in mind, we have strengthened our parental leave offering this year, available to more than 15,000 staff worldwide. All our new parents can have a minimum of 16 weeks away at 100% pay, no matter how their family is growing whether through birth, adoption, or surrogacy.
Flexible working, online medical advice, menopause support and emergency family backup care are other parts of our UK package tailored to help support families and those with caring responsibilities. These measures complement our private health and dental insurance, life and disability protection, phased retirement, savings and employee assistance programmes. Moody’s invests in all its people, providing an inclusive, flexible work environment and competitive total rewards, and we ensure everyone has the tools they need to thrive and make an impact.
We are particularly proud of our Re-ignite programme, providing 16 weeks full-time paid opportunities for people to re-enter the workforce after a minimum two-year hiatus. Re-ignite provides hands-on projects, coaching and mentoring, leadership development and networking; potentially leading to a full-time role with Moody’s.
A strong ecosystem of support is integral to what makes Moody’s a great place to work, and helps us create and retain happier, healthier, more productive teams.
Karen Hartmann is vice president, compensation and benefits, at Moody’s
