Yellen delivers personal message urging better workplace rules for women

May 6 (UPI) -- Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, in an unusually personal speech at her alma mater, argued for greater participation by women in the workforce.

Yellen spoke at Brown University, where she reminisced about women and family members, including her husband's aunt, who attended Brown in the 1920s, and struggled to overcome gender stereotypes in her career as a mathematician. The speech was entitled "So We Can All Succeed."

Yellen cited recent studies that showed the United States is 17th out of 22 developed nations in terms of female workforce participation. Reaching parity with the number of men who work could increase the nation's entire economic output by as much as 5 percent, she said.

She also pointed to statistics showing the massive growth in women who work seen from the 1970s to the 1990s has largely leveled off. She cited the lack of women-friendly employment policies as potential reasons why more women do not seek employment. She called for policies guaranteeing paid maternity leave and flexible work hours so women with children can more easily arrange childcare.

"The evidence shows that the rise in women's participation has contributed to widespread improvements in the safety and productivity of our workplaces, to the health of families and to the macroeconomic success that our country has enjoyed," she said.