The equal treatment of women in countries around the world has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years, presenting a potential obstacle to economic growth.
In 2022, a new World Bank report said, the global average score for the Women’s Business and Law Enterprise Index rose only half a point, to 77.1.
This indicates that women enjoy 77 percent of the legal rights enjoyed by men, whereas in many countries, a woman entering the workforce will retire before gaining the same rights as a man.
World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill said that at a time when global economic growth is slowing, countries need to mobilize their capacity to confront the “confluence of crises”.
The Senior Vice President for Development Economics stressed that governments cannot marginalize up to half of their population.
“Depriving women of equal rights in much of the world is not only unfair to women; it represents a barrier to countries’ ability to promote green, resilient and inclusive development,” Gill noted.
Women, Business, and the Law 2023 evaluates the laws and regulations of 190 countries regarding workplace, wages, marriage, parenting, entrepreneurship, assets, pensions, and economic participation,
The report noted that only 14 countries, all of which are high-income economies, have laws that give women the same rights as men.
Also, approximately 2.4 billion women of working age do not have equal rights even though studies estimate global economic gains of $5-6 trillion if women start new businesses partly with men.
The report added that sub-Saharan Africa made significant progress in 2022, accounting for more than half of all reforms worldwide.
The Republic of Benin, the Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda have been recognized for enacting “18 positive legal changes”.
The decline of women’s rights threatens global economic growth – The World Bank
