Krawcheck said the retirement crisis is a women’s issue, especially since women are usually paid about one-third less than men. But if women reached pay parity with men, it would close one-third of the Social Security gap. If women were in the workforce longer they could also contribute more to 401(k) plans, too.
Keeping women in the workforce longer means creating opportunities for them to move into higher positions in companies, she said, adding that companies with a gender-diverse workforce “have higher returns on capital, higher sales, lower risk, greater long-term focus and greater innovation. The power of diversity is so great that diverse teams outperform more capable, smarter teams.”
One way to keep women in the workforce longer is to expand parental leave. Only the U.S. and Papua New Guinea do not have mandated parental leave, Krawcheck said.
“The longer [parental] leave a woman has, the more likely she is to return to work. It’s not so much ‘ugh, those selfish, pesky woman with selfish, pesky babies.' It’s an investment in closing the retirement gap,” Krawcheck said.