Fixing gender inequality could reap big gains for the entire economy In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with economist Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and Bruegel’s Marie-Sophie Lappe to discuss gender inequality and how economics can help to fix it. The data shows that it costs more to be a woman in society, especially a Black woman, in areas ranging from health care , to pension savings and workplace routines. These extra burdens drag the whole economy down – but this also means that progress towards gender equality can pull the whole economy up. Related research: Christie, R. (2023) ‘ Taking up space ’, European Commission Christie, R. and M. De Ridder (2022) ' Closing the gender gap for self-employed women in the European Union ’, Bruegel Blog, 20 July Darvas, Z. (2025) ‘ How has Europe’s gender wealth gap evolved, and why? ’, Bruegel Newsletter, 03 November Darvas, Z. and N. Ruer (2025) ' Gender wealth inequality in the European Union: a distributional perspective ', Working Paper 26/2025, Bruegel Darvas, Z., Kreko, J., A. Laczkovich and N. Ruer (2025) ‘ Unequal wealth: Exploring socioeconomic disparities across the EU ’, Eurofound Goldin, C. (2025) ‘ Babies and the macroeconomy ’, Economica, 93:1-26 Lappe, M.S. and D. Pinkus (2025) ‘ Europe’s savings debate should focus on the bigger picture ’, First Glance, Bruegel, 11 September Opoku-Agyeman, A. G. (2025) The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid , Penguin Random House Ostry, J. D. (2025) ‘ Gender diversity and economic growth ’, Working Paper 02/2025, Bruegel
