A U.N. agency is mounting a worldwide campaign for equal pay for women, who get 24 percent less than men on global average and around 30 percent less for those in Asia. Recent estimates by the International Labor Organization shows gender inequality in employment across Asia alone is costing $45 billion a year, with 45 percent of working-age women outside the labor force compared to 19 percent for men, the leader of the U.N. Women agency, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, told a forum at the Asian Development Bank headquarters. She said if female employment were to match male employment, per capita GDP would rise 19 percent in Southeast Asia and 27 percent in the Middle East and North Africa.

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