First step in curbing income inequality isn’t taxing the rich, IMF’s Lagarde says http://ift.tt/2i8Ycr3

Reuters

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde

The first step to curb income inequality is not to tax the rich but to empower women, said Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, on Thursday.

“I disagree…that taxing the rich is the most effective way to address inequality,” the IMF chief said at a press conference.

It would be better for all economies to increase participation of women in the workforce, because focusing on women would significantly reduce inequalities, she said.

She called on economic leaders to work to focus on equal pay for men and women.

Her comments slightly step outside an IMF report released Wednesday that said higher income taxes on the rich would reduce inequality without dampening economic growth.

Read: Most of the world is living where income inequality is growing, IMF director says

Other findings show what a large task may still lie ahead to accomplish equality. In the U.S, women may never make up half of the U.S. workforce, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. Government statistics show that the female share of the labor force will peak at 47.1% in 2025 and then taper off.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said that women-owned entities represent just over 30% of formal, registered businesses worldwide. There is also a global gender gap in access to financial services. In 2014, 65% of men had a bank account and only 58% of women had one.