United Nations, Jun 15 (IANS): Closing gender gap at work can be beneficial for both the society and economy, according to a new UN agency report.

"Reducing gender disparities at workplaces by 25 per cent by 2025 could inject nearly $5 trillion into the global economy and boost tax revenues," said the UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the report released on Wednesday.

Women already have significantly lower participation in the labour market, but finding work for them remains more difficult than their male counterparts, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

"Helping women access the labour market is nevertheless an important first step."

According to the UN body, the global labour force participation rate for women in 2017 is projected to be around 49 per cent, nearly 27 percentage points lower than that of men.

This figure is expected to remain unchanged in 2018.

The report also emphasised the need to promote equal pay for work of equal value, tackle root causes of occupational segregation, and eliminate violence and harassment at work.