Globally and on average, women enjoy less than two thirds the legal rights of men. This means that legal barriers hold women back from reaching their full potential. Women, Business and the Law data also reveals a shocking legal implementation gap. Only about two-fifths (40%) of the policy instruments needed to promote the implementation of gender-equal laws have been established. For example, even though 50% of economies (98 out of 190) legally mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value, fewer than 20% of them (35) have pay transparency measures or enforcement mechanisms in place to address the gender pay gap. Fortunately, what can be measured, can be changed.
During the 2024 IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Natália Mazoni, Nayantara Vohra and Alexis Cheney demonstrated how policymakers, civil society representatives and researchers may use Women, Business and the Law data to close global gender gaps and drive economic development.
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