Without women there is no economic growth
In an increasingly interconnected world, the concept of collective intelligence has gained relevance, either due to its growing need in complex decision-making or due to its worrying absence in some political, economic and social spheres. According to the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, it refers to the ability of a group to solve problems and generate knowledge more efficiently than its members separately. As with individual intelligence, it can also be measured. Studies on the collective intelligence quotient (CIQ) have identified various variables that influence a group's ability to solve problems efficiently. These variables include the level of collaboration and communication between members, cognitive diversity, social sensitivity and the degree of inclusion and equality in the participation of people within the group. These same studies have shown that the presence of women significantly increases CIQ, since it favors, among others, social sensitivity and cooperation, key factors for more efficient group decision-making.
The realization that gender equality is not only a matter of social justice, but also a driver of economic growth, has dismantled or qualified other pre-existing economic dogmas. Recent studies such as that of Ostry (Gender Diversity and Economic Growth, 2025) contradict traditional models that have assumed that male and female labour are perfectly interchangeable in production. Empirical evidence indicates otherwise and, in fact, closing the gender gap in employment could increase GDP by 8-17% in advanced economies, as well as generating benefits for wages and global competitiveness.
Diversity in the workplace improves decision-making and productive efficiency, contributing to the growth of total factor productivity (TFP), a key indicator in economics that measures how efficiently an economy uses its resources – such as labor and capital – to generate value. When TFP increases, it means that the economy is generating more output without increasing the use of capital and labor, which often indicates technological advances, organizational improvements, or other efficiency gains that could be attributed to such collective intelligence in decision-making. What economic research reveals is that traditional macroeconomic models have underestimated this latter impact and have wrongly attributed growth solely to technological advances.
Today we comfortably accept that technology is an extension of collective intelligence, insofar as it amplifies the capacity for innovation and efficiency of work groups. In the same way, the knowledge generated helps us to understand, and even to discover, that part of the economic improvements attributed to innovation have actually been the result of greater female inclusion in the labour market, a phenomenon that has historically been ignored in growth analyses. An invisibility of the role of women in the economy that, by the way, has taken many forms throughout history: from the ignored female work during the Industrial Revolution to the lack of recognition of the domestic economy and care. From the key role of women in agricultural production and in the war industry to their exclusion in the subsequent periods of economic reconstruction.
The complementarity in the work environment between profiles that are diverse in terms of gender – but also age, socioeconomic, cultural or geographical origin – is reflected in the way in which skills, perspectives and work styles are combined to generate better results. A synergy that has historically been underestimated by conventional economic models, which have contributed to an incomplete and biased view of economic and social development.
The economic future cannot be built on outdated models. To ensure sustainable and fair growth, economic and labour policies must make a decisive commitment to both gender equality and the integration of new technologies in the workplace. And while it is clear that collective intelligence is not born only from gender diversity, it is also based on an economic context, but not only, where people and technology complement each other, rather than compete. Either we integrate these changes, or we will not succeed.
