Page - 13 - in options, Volume summer 2020

espite the recent ravages of plague, war, and pestilence, we humans still excel in one unceasing task — breeding. So much so, humanity is on course to squeeze nearly double the present number of people onto planet Sardine-Can by 2100. The COVID-19 crisis alone illustrates the alarming and increasingly interconnected nature of the challenges facing systems of government around the world. Putting systems thinking at the center of policymaking for a sustainable way forward will be essential in tackling such obstacles. Research at IIASA is exploring possible answers. The link between education and demographic change, for example — particularly women’s education — is a promising and tantalizing solution to the question of sustainability. Nor is the institute alone in this thinking. The UN identified that making women more socioeconomically involved in our world and more self-sufficient could help enormously with our economic, social, and environmental sustainability. “Women and girls play a crucial role in the fight against climate change, and it is essential to make sure that this role is not only fully understood, but incorporated into the Sustainable Development Goals,” says one UN report from 2018. Several IIASA studies also link the empowerment and self-efficacy of women to increasing access to affordable, clean energy, as well as quality education, and future economic growth. So many are agreed: it’s time to recalibrate the gender imbalance for all our sakes. IIASA research is supporting policymakers by providing the evidence needed to make the argument that gender issues have impact. THE POWER OF EDUCATION Achieving sustainable outcomes as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is probably a good start. When devising strategies for sustainable development in both developing and developed countries, IIASA has successfully pinpointed how increasing the self-efficacy of women, for instance, through education and workforce participation, will affect future population dynamics. One such analysis links education and demographic change. The authors highlight how lifelong education strategies that take gender issues into account, starting from early childhood, can promote productive working lives and healthy aging. “In general, what matters for the economic wellbeing of societies is the proportion of the total population that earns an income as part of the workforce. Not all people in the usual working ages 20–65 are, however, part of the workforce. At the same time the proportion of people above age 65 is increasing due to population aging,” explains IIASA researcher Wolfgang Lutz who has been studying the intersection of demographics, migration, population, and education. “Since the workforce participation of women is still rather low in southern Europe compared to northern Europe, there is still room for compensating the increasing number of pensioners through higher proportions of women participating in the workforce. The higher the education of the workers, the higher their productivity, and the higher their contribution to economic wellbeing.” he adds. MORE WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE Likewise, another team of IIASA researchers has been researching how migration, workforce participation, and education can balance the cost of aging in Europe. The EU had been shaped by population growth, but now, thanks to longer life expectancy and low fertility, its population is aging. This new demographic frontier suggests that the burden on our social system will be too great to bear. So how do we avoid overburdening our social system with population aging? The study agrees that getting more women into the workforce would be a good start. “The higher the education, the higher their productivity, and the higher their contribution to economic wellbeing.” WOLFGANG LUTZ 13Optionswww.iiasa.ac.at Summer 2020