The stronger the profit-led nature of the economy-for instance, the more open to the global economy or the more neoliberal its macro policy-the more pronounced these contradictions. The result is that policies promoting gender equality may be anathema to growth or make it unstable. Somewhat counter-intuitively, if the promotion of gender equality via higher female labour participation actually lowers female wages because of higher labour supply, growth and human capacities production may increase. In this scenario, higher wages for women lower growth because they cut into profits and capitalist investment by more than they raise human capacities investment.