Manpower Inc., a world leader in the employment services industry and strategic partner of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, released a paper titled, "The Underworked Solution: Women and the Talent Crunch." The paper calls for the increased engagement of women in the global workforce as a key component of long-term economic growth and sustainable development.

"To ensure the best possible chance of success in the post-crisis world, employers and governments must look ahead to the challenges of tomorrow, and explore how to expand their workforces," said Barbara Beck, Manpower Inc. President of EMEA, who is also a member of the Women's Programme of the World Economic Forum. "The most effective companies have organized themselves to maximize the role of women in their top leadership." Beck joins David Arkless, President - Global Corporate and Government Affairs, and Mara Swan, Executive Vice President - Global Strategy and Talent, on the Manpower Davos delegation.

"The role of women in the workforce has been on many corporate agendas for some time, and it has yet to be resolved," said Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO. "One of our goals at Davos is to elevate the dialogue around the impact of positively addressing this under tapped talent pool."

Manpower research has long forecasted a growing talent shortage, with the need for workers likely to grow. Economists say the number of service-sector jobs will grow by at least 500 million between 2004 and 2015, while in many countries the number of young people entering the workforce is shrinking due to aging populations. Many parts of the world are facing an economic time bomb, as there will simply not be enough qualified workers to fill the jobs driving much-needed economic growth in the post-crisis world.

The current financial crisis and rising unemployment don't erase the threat. When the global economy starts to rebound, many organizations will be looking to replace the workers they let go during more troubled times, and to do so quickly to maintain competitive advantage. Long-term trends, such as the growing dominance of the service sector, a shrinking working-age population and the resulting talent shortages in key areas of the economy are likely to worsen as the economy inevitably improves.

At the same time, it is a fact that women are underutilized in the global workforce. According to the OECD, only about 60 percent of women are employed on average in OECD countries. According to the International Labor Organization, in 2007 the employment-to-population ratio at a global level was just 49.1% for women, compared to 74.3% for men. "The Underworked Solution" demonstrates that greater engagement of women in the labor force and the economy is one solution.

"The Underworked Solution" says that in order to encourage greater participation of women in the global labor force, governments, employers and individuals must be willing to make fundamental changes. Inflexible work structures are the biggest global barriers to women in the workforce, and so employers must be willing to shift their talent management strategies towards a truly flexible workforce to ensure women are able to balance their work and home lives, to feel challenged, motivated and reassured of job opportunities. Accordingly, they must start to value results and knowledge gained rather than time spent in the office. And they must clear paths toward rewarding work done flexibly with career advancement.