Christine lagarde and ivanka trump have in common . They have gathering to close the gender gap. Yep, some of the worlds most powerful women take action on equality. But they have got a big task, because according to some, closing the gap between sexes could take 170 years. And how to get from a to b in a whirlwind, and avoid those horrible traffic jams. We are taking a look at the big business of choppers. Welcome to World Business report. Im aaron heslehurst. Some of the worlds most powerful people from business and politics are meeting in berlin today. They also happen to all be women. It is part of an initiative called w20, set up by 20 of the worlds leading nations. So who is going, and what is it all about . Attending the summit will be Christine Lagarde, the head of the imf, angela merkel, the chancellor of germany, and ivanka trump, daughter and special assistant to the president of the united states. The group wants to highlight the issue of womens economic participation and empowerment, while reducing the Gender Employment Gap by 25 by 2025, and the World Economic forum says that economic inequalities between the sexes could take 170 years to close. The gap in Economic Opportunity between men and women, according to wef, is now larger than at any point since 2008. Ann francke is the ceo of chartered management institute. Great to have you in the studio, especially at this horrible time cani especially at this horrible time can i pick up on this last point . Why is the gap higher than at any point since 2008 . Did the financial crisis have any impact . Well, yes, that did have an impact, but also women have been stuck. They are not progressing to senior roles and obviously senior salaries are getting bigger. And as there are fewer women into senior roles, that gap is getting bigger. At the top that gap can be up to 35 . Gap is getting bigger. At the top that gap can be up to 3596. In pay, in terms of the difference . In pay, yes. I have been with the bbc for 15 yea rs yes. I have been with the bbc for 15 years and we have been relentlessly talking about story, a lack of women on boards, as ceos, they have talked about quota systems, for example in europe. Itjust about quota systems, for example in europe. It just doesnt about quota systems, for example in europe. Itjust doesnt seem to improve. It is a really stubborn problem, and there are a lot of causes. So i think one of the things that the w 20 is trying to do is break down the causes and get governments to act. When people set targets, when governments and industry Work Together and set targets, and relentlessly monitor them, you can get progress. In britain we had a doubling of the number of women on boards from 12 to 2596. Number of women on boards from 12 to 25 . But if you dont constantly shine the light and track and treated as a Business Issue as well, then you get stuck. That is what has happened in most of the country. wonder if women in power are doing enough . By imposing that is a question. Angela merkel has been around for a long time, Christine Lagarde has been around for a long time, and now it is interesting, they have ivanka trump. I am wondering if those names i havejust mentioned, who have been around for awhile have not done enough for the cause, if somebody like ivanka trump could reignite, or invigorate perhaps is the better word . Well, she is in a difficult position, isnt she . Although she is very genuine in her advocacy for women, and women in business, herfather, the president , is at the same time doing policies which take women back, such as the funding planned parenthood, and if you look at his cabinet, it is the most white and mail ina cabinet, it is the most white and mail in a generation. She is i am sure very sincere mail in a generation. She is i am sure very sincere in her efforts. There is a lack of consistency perhaps in us policy, and in the us women have gone backwards as well. So have people done enough in Leadership Positions . Clearly not. Mail or female. But theres 170 yea rs, mail or female. But theres 170 years, according to the World Economic forum, is a staggering number. The fact that we are sitting and talking about it in 2017 is appalling. It is. Very briefly, our quota is the way forward . appalling. It is. Very briefly, our quota is the way forward . I think you have to have very proactive targets, and the Gender Pay Gap Legislation in the uk is a good step. Companies are going to have to publish all of these statistics and track their progress, and that public pressure should help. We really appreciate your time. Short and sweet, we have got to move on. I am getting told off in my ear Global Stock Markets soared monday, after the result of the first round of the French Election. So are the gains continuing into the new trading day . Rico hizon is in our Asia Business hub in singapore. Great to see you. Hello, my friend i was asking this yesterday, i am wondering if the markets are getting a bit ahead of themselves, counting their chickens before they have hatched . Because you know you cannot rule out Marine Le Pen perhaps winning. That is right, there will be that fear when the second round of Elections Come about in about two weeks because time, but for now there is still a lot of enthusiasm over the French Election results two weeks time. Attention is moving to the us, where President Trump is due to unveil his much vaunted cuts to tax your mac personal and Corporate Tax rates. And investors are looking at how this will benefit asian businesses and investors but apart from those two factors, there are negative forces capping those gains in asia, and that is north korea. They marked a key Military Anniversary Today and the us is launching a new Diplomatic Initiative to tackle pyongyangs nuclear and missile programmes. So there are various issues right now that the markets are dealing with. 0verall asian stocks are mostly higher, with tokyo, hong kong and Soul Well Entrenched in positive territory. Shanghai has suffered a series of losses in the past two weeks amid concerns about a Government Crackdown on leveraged investing seoul. Currently in positive territory. The euro, which scaled five month highs on monday, remains firm in asian trading. Did you ever fly in a helicopter around singapore . No, i havent. I dont have the money you need money for that. Rubbished i have seen your pay packet. It puts us to shame if you despise waiting in traffic while trying to get to meetings, would you consider commuting via a helicopter . The worlds top chopper firms gathered in singapore recently, and my colleague Sharanjit Leyl went for a browse. If youre in the market for a new helicopter, or a state of the art drone, then this is the place for you. This is asias first show dedicated to rotorcraft. And just about every big firm is here, hawking products. So lets go see what is on offer, and who buys them. Well, this is the airbus hi60 helocopter. Is one of the biggest i have ever seen. Is one of the biggest i have ever seen. And this is a representative from airbus. Lets go inside and have a look. How much does this cost . The cost of a helicopter, in the basic version, it should be around, in 2017, all included, about 10. 4 million euros. That is a lot of money, so who buys these things . Vips, of course. We also have oil and gas operators. For Crude Changes on oil rigs. Crew. Doctors love the interior, and it can be used as a long range ambulance. Finally, it is public services, which might include sea rch and rescue missions, and others who need this size of a helicopter. Thank you, benoit. Lets find out who some of these buyers are. This man hasjust placed an order for three helicopters at the show, amounting to 60 million. He is with a philippine based Aircraft Maintenance and charterfirm. Time is money. We make deals happen. People who come into the country, lets say they arrive in manila, we fly them to their meeting place, to a helipad. They have their meeting in two hours. Make a big deal happen, and give jobs to a lot of people. So Business Aviation really provides the opportunity to create, actually, jobs, deals. The region is still a relatively new market for helicopters. But these companies are betting orders, and demand, continue skyward. Dont forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. Im bbcaaron. There are fresh concerns about the impact of brexit upon the ability of uk firms to employ eu workers. The federation of Small Businesses is warning that significant restrictions on accessing eu labour would be a blow to firms. It has suggested the adoption of a work permits based system to ensure businesses meet their skills needs. From building sites. To hotels and restau ra nts, from building sites. To hotels and restaurants, and farming. Around one in five small firms currently employs in five small firms currently e m ploys staff in five small firms currently employs staff from the eu. But now, a leading Business Group is warning of dire consequences. Firms cant continue to pick the best workers when we leave the European Union. According to the research, more than half of Small Businesses are worried about accessing people with the right skills post brexit. The majority have no experience of using the uks points based system to recruit from outside the eu. And it suggests a work permit based Immigration System, to ensure firms can meet their skills needs. What we need is a very simple system. Whether it is work permits, whether it is some other sort of visa system, there is no doubt that Small Businesses need the option of access to the skills and labour that they need from the eu, and that is what the government needs to look at. We also think that there should be a transitional period of at least three years after brexit, to give businesses plenty of time to get used to the new system. The report found that it brexit makes it harder to recruit eu citizens, some firms would consider moving abroad or even closing down. The government says that brexit will mean leaving the Single Market and ending the Free Movement of people, but it has yet to set out how our future Immigration System will work. This is bbc world news. The latest headlines President Trump has called for new un sanctions on north korea over its nuclear and missile programme. Hosting ambassadors from the security council, he said north korea was a real threat to the world. Anzac day services are being held in turkey and across asia, to commemorate the date that forces from the australian and new Zealand Army Corps landed at gallipoli. Thousands of soldiers died in the world war i campaign. The papers are a really interesting read, ican the papers are a really interesting read, i can tell you. 0n the front page of the i newspaper today, is an outline of the uk labour partys pre election brexit strategy. It says the party will rip Up Reckless Tory plans for britains departure from the European Union and seek a Single Market deal. In other election news, city am reports on mondays soaring european markets, after Emmanuel Macron won 24 of the vote in the first round of the race to become french president. With fears growing that north korea could hold a Nuclear Missile test as early as today, the japan times reports that the japanese government have told local prefectures to help residents prepare for what to do in the event of a missile strike. 0n the front page of the times, a landmark intercontinental whistle blower case. A scottish Marine Engineer who dobbed in his Cruise Company employer carnival corporation, for pumping oil into the sea, has been awarded 1 million for his efforts. And according to the boss of the universities and Colleges Admissions Service here in the uk, students shouldnt rush to getjobs when they graduate university. Laughter the Daily Telegraph reports that parents should instead encourage