The Wire

Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan enjoyed delivering strong economic growth figures to the media today, but new research at the Australian National University suggests he could have his female colleagues to thank for that.

Gender equality has long been a moral issue, but a new study from the Australian National University has made it an economic one. The study, which looked at the performance of 119 democracies over almost forty years found a link between the number of female parliamentarians and economic growth – suggesting those who have broken through the glass ceiling, are better equipped to drag us away from the debt ceiling.