WORLD BANK GROUP RELEASES WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW 2024 REPORT

08-03-2024

In March 2024, the "Women, Business and the Law 2024" report was released by the World Bank Group.

About the Report:

This annual report analyzes laws and regulations affecting women's economic opportunity in 190 economies.
It provides in-depth analysis of the challenges obstructing women's entry into the global workforce, hindering their ability to contribute to prosperity for themselves, their families, and their communities.
The 10th in a series, it presents two sets of data: Women, Business and the Law 1.0 and an expanded version, Women, Business and the Law 2.0.
- Women, Business and the Law 1.0 updates data for the original eight indicators with reforms undertaken by economies over the last year.
- Women, Business and the Law 2.0 introduces a new framework for measuring the enabling environment for women’s economic opportunities
For the first time, it goes beyond the measurement of laws (de jure) and examines the existence of frameworks supporting implementation of the law and gauging experts’ opinions on the outcome of the law for women (de facto).

Women, Business and the Law 2024:

Women, Business and the Law 2024 is the tenth in a series of annual studies measuring the enabling environment for women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies.
This edition of the report updates the Women, Business and the Law index of eight indicators, structured around women’s interactions with the law as they begin, progress through, and end their careers:

1. Mobility
2. Workplace
3. Pay
4. Marriage
5. Parenthood
6. Entrepreneurship
7. Assets
8. Pension

Women, Business and the Law 2.0 sets a new frontier for measuring the environment for women’s economic inclusion across three pillars:
1. Legal frameworks, measuring laws
2. Supportive frameworks, measuring policy mechanisms to implement laws
3. Expert opinions, shedding light on experts’ perception of women’s outcomes.
Women, Business and the Law 2.0 also introduces two new indicators:
1. Safety, measuring frameworks addressing violence against women
2. Childcare, measuring frameworks for the availability, affordability, and quality of childcare.
Data in Women, Business and the Law 2024 are current as of October 1, 2023.

Key findings of the report:

Women have about two-thirds of the rights of men globally, with no country achieving legal gender parity in all measured indicators.
The global average Women, Business and the Law 2024 legal frameworks score is 64.2 out of 100, indicating a significant gap in gender equality under the law.
Notably, none of the 190 economies examined has achieved legal gender parity in the areas measured.

Methodology used:

Women, Business and the Law surveys more than 2,400 experts to construct the indexes, ensuring data accuracy.
Indicator-level scores are obtained by calculating averages of binary questions within each indicator and scaled to 100.
The methodology aims for comparability across economies but may not capture restrictions outside the main business city or for informal workers.

Regional Disparities:

The Women, Business and the Law 2.0 legal frameworks index reveals regional disparities, with OECD high-income economies scoring higher on average than others.
Notably, more than 37 economies provide women with less than half of the legal rights enjoyed by men, particularly affecting approximately half a billion women.

Conclusion: The report underscores the ongoing challenges women face in achieving economic equality worldwide, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to address legal barriers and promote gender parity.