世界銀行-通過改革法律框架加速兩性平等（英）

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WORLDBANKGROUPGENDERTHEMATICPOLICYNOTESSERIES:EVIDENCEANDPRACTICENOTE

ACCELERATINGGENDEREQUALITYTHROUGHREFORMINGLEGALFRAMEWORKS

MarinaElefante,TazeenHasan,MarieHyland,

NataliaMazoniSilvaMartinsandTeaTrumbic

OVERVIEW

Thisthematicnoteemphasizestheroleoflawsandregulationsinsafeguardingwomen’seconomicopportunities,forthepurposeofinformingtheupdateoftheWorldBankGroup’sGenderStrategy.ThenotedemonstratestheimportanceoflegalgenderequalityanddrawsondataandanalysisfromtheWorldBank’sWomen,BusinessandtheLawinitiativeandotherevidencetoexplorelegalbarriersthathinderwomen’seconomicparticipationandshowcasesuccessfulreforms.ItalsooffersexamplesofhowWorldBankprojectshaveaddressedlegalframeworkstowardgenderequalityandconcludeswithproposalsforfutureareasofoperationalfocusandresearch.

Keymessages:

.Evidencehighlightsthatreformsofdiscriminatorylawsareessentialforeconomicdevelopment.Women,BusinessandtheLawdatadocumentprogresstowardlegalequalitybetweenmenandwomen,butthisprogresshasbeenunevenacrossregionsandovertime.

.Globally,womenarefoundtohavejustoverthree-quartersofthelegalrightsaffordedtomen.Significantgapsandlegalbarriersremaininareasrelatedtohumancapitalaccumulation,accesstojobs,ownershipofassets,andwomen’svoiceandagency.

.Women,BusinessandtheLawdataandanalysishaveprovidedaframeworktoidentifyentrypointsforreformsforstrengtheninggenderequality.Specifically,WorldBankprojectshaveusedWomen,BusinessandtheLawdataandanalysistodeveloptheanalyticalunderpinningsforprojectdesign,identifykeygendergapsinlawsandregulations,supportprioractionsindevelopmentpolicyoperations,setresultstargets,andinformreformrecommendations.

.Forcontinuedprogressinclosinglegalgendergapsglobally,theWorldBankneedstofocusonkeysectoralprioritiesandcriticalareasofinterventionbasedonsoundanalysisofWomen,BusinessandtheLawdataandotherevidence.

.Lookingforward,someoftheprioritiesincludetheimplementationoflaws;availability,affordability,andqualityofcareservices;women’shealthandsafety;genderinequalitiesinfragileandconflictsituations;womenwithdisabilities;women’sleadership;genderedtaxpolicyandgender-sensitiveclimatepolicies.

JUNE2023

ThisthematicpolicynoteispartofaseriesthatprovidesananalyticalfoundationfortheupdatetotheWorldBankGroupGenderStrategy(FY24–30).Thisseriesseekstogiveabroadoverviewofthelatestresearchandfindingsongenderequalityoutcomesandsummarizeskeythematicissues,evidenceonpromisingsolutions,operationalgoodpractices,andkeyareasforfutureengagementonpromotinggenderequalityandempowerment.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthisworkareentirelythoseoftheauthor(s).TheydonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheWorldBankGrouporitsBoardofDirectors.

ThisnotewaswrittenbyMarinaElefante,TazeenHasan,MarieHyland,NataliaMazoniSilvaMartins,andTeaTrumbic,whoareaffiliatedwithWorldBankunitsforDevelopmentEconomics,Women,BusinessandtheLaw,andGender.TheauthorsaregratefulforthevaluablesupportandpeerreviewprovidedbyWorldBankGroupcolleaguesHelleBuchhave,FrancescaDaverio,KlausDecker,EmelyneCalimoutou,SabineHertveldt,andLauraRawlings.TheauthorswouldalsoliketothankArianaMariaDelGrossiforhercommentsandSundasLiaqatforhersupportinthefinalrevisions.LeslieAshbyprovidedexcellenteditorialassistance.

Formoreinformation,pleasecontactttrumbic@,thasan@,melefante@,mhyland@,ornmazoni@.

TABLEOFCONTENTS

WHYGENDEREQUALITYINTHELAWMATTERS

1

LEGALBARRIERSTOWOMEN’SECONOMICPARTICIPATION

5

WHERELAWSARECHANGING9

HOWWORLDBANKOPERATIONSADDRESSLEGALFRAMEWORKS14

TOWARDGENDEREQUALITY

KEYRECOMMENDATIONSTOADVANCEWOMEN’SLEGALRIGHTS

17

Annex

20

References22

2

WHYGENDEREQUALITYINTHELAWMATTERS

Alegalenvironmentthatsupportswomen’seconomicparticipationisthefoundationofmoreequalsocietiesandmoreprosperouseconomies.TheWorldBankestimatesthat,globally,thedifferencebetweenmen’sandwomen’stotalexpectedlifetimeearningsis$172.3trillion,equivalenttotwicetheworldgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)(Wodonetal.2020).Adoptinglawsthatstrengthenwomen’srightsandopportunitiesisanessentialfirststeptowardamoreresilientandinclusiveworld.

Since2009,theWorldBank’s

Women,Businessandthe

Law

initiativehasmeasuredglobalprogresstowardgenderequalityin190economiesbyidentifyingthelawsandregulationsthatrestrictandincentivizewomen’seconomicparticipation.Governmentscanusethisdataandanalysistoidentifybarrierstowomen’ssuccess,removethem,andboosteconomicinclusion.Lookingacrossthefourpillarsofthe2016-23

WorldBankGroup’sGenderStrategy

—focusingonhumancapital,jobs,assets,andempowerment—revealstherangeofpositiveoutcomesassociatedwithimprovementsinlegalequalitybetweenwomenandmen.1

Thereisasignificantandgrowingbodyofevidencesuggestingthattherearepositiveassociationsbetweenlegalequalityandtheaccumulationofhumancapital.Forexample,researchshowsalinkbetweenequalityandwomen’seducationalattainment(Branisaetal.2013;Deiningeretal.2013and2019;Harari2019;Roy2015).Thereisalsoevidenceofapositivecorrelationbetweenreforminggenderdiscriminatorylawsandwomen’shealthoutcomes(Anderson2018;Harari2019),andothermeasuresofhumancapital(Ali,Deininger,andGoldstein2014).Recentresearchfindsthatdomesticviolencelegislationisassociatedwithreducedmortalityforwomen(Amin,Islam,andLopez-Claros2021),andthatequalityunderthelawcanacceleratethepathtotheconvergenceofincomelevels(Sever2022).UNWomen(2019)alsohighlightstheneedtoadvanceprogresstowardlegalequalitybetweenmenandwomen,andtheassociatedbenefitsforwomen’shealth,education,andgeneralwell-being.TheWorldBank’sAfricaHumanCapitalPlan2alsounderscorestheimportantlinkbetweenlegalframeworksandgenderforimprovinghumanendowments.

1

/en/publication/worldbank-africa-human-capital-plan

[Accessed:September2,2022]

2

/en/publication/worldbank-africa-human-capital-plan

[Accessed:September2,2022]

1

Empiricalevidenceestablishesthelinkbetweenlegalequalityandremovingconstraintsformoreandbetterjobs.Forexample,thepositiveassociationbetweenlegalequalityandwomen’sparticipationintheworkforceiswelldocumented(Gonzalesetal.2015;Hallward-Driemeier,Hasan,andRusu2013;Hyland,DjankovandGoldberg2020;Islametal.2018;Christophersonetal.2022).LegalequalityintheareascoveredbyWomen,BusinessandtheLawisassociatedwithnotjustmorewomenworking,butwithmorewomenemployedintheformalsector(Hyland,DjankovandGoldberg2021)andwomenworkinginbetterjobs(i.e.,thoserequiringhigherskilllevels,offeringhigherwages,orpresentinganopportunitytomanageothers)(Hallward-DriemeierandGajigo2015;Islametal.2019).Heymannetal.(2022)highlighttheimportanceofanti-sexualharassmentlawsinfacilitatingwomen’sparticipationintheeconomyandnotethat,whileprogresshasbeenmade,importantgapsremainintermsofbothlegislationandimplementationoflaws.AsFigure1illustrates,legalequality,ascapturedbytheWomen,BusinessandtheLawindex(WBLindex),ispositivelycorrelatedwiththefemalelaborsupply,andnegativelycorrelatedwiththegenderwagegap.

FIGURE1.CORRELATIONBETWEENTHEWBLINDEX

ANDWOMEN’SOUTCOMESINTHELABORMARKET

Source:

Women,BusinessandtheLaw

2020report,WorldBankGroup2020a.

2

Removingbarrierstowomen’sownershipandcontrolofassetsiscloselytiedtolegalreform.Evidenceshowsthatstrongerpropertyrightsstrengthenwomen’sintra-householdbargainingpoweranddecisionmaking(HaldarandStiglitz,2013,2016;Anderson2018;Harari2019;HeathandTan2020).Alsorelatedtothetopicoflegalequalityandassetownership,divorcelegislationthatdoesnotdiscriminateagainstwomenhasbeenshowntoboosttheirownershipofassets(Voena2015).Furthermore,betterlegalframeworksthatensurelegalequalityforwomenareassociatedwithmorewomenentrepreneurs(PaoloniandLombardi,2020;Strawser,HechavarríaandPasserini,2021).ThecorrelationbetweentheWBLindexandtheshareofwomenentrepreneursinaneconomyispresentedin

Figure2.

Goodlegalframeworksarealsocrucialtoenhancingwomen’svoiceandagencyandengagingmenandboys.Forexample,datashowapositivecorrelationbetweenlegalequalityandwomen’spoliticalrepresentation(Hyland,DjankovandGoldberg2021).However,the

causalitymayplausiblyrunineitherdirectionasresearchbasedon159developingeconomiesdemonstratesthatcountrieswithgreaterfemalerepresentationinparliamentaremorelikelytopasslawsonsexualharassment,rape,divorce,anddomesticviolence(Asieduetal.2018).OfnoteistheexampleofBotswana,wherewomenMembersofParliament(MPs)wereinstrumentalinpassingthe2008DomesticViolenceBill,the2009Children’sBill,andthe2004AbolitionofMaritalPowerAct(Asieduetal.2018).

Empiricalevidencehighlightsthatlegalreformofdiscriminatorylawisessentialforeconomicdevelopment.Furthermore,grantingwomenrightstoservices,suchasreproductivehealth,boostswomen’shumancapitalandeconomicempowerment(FinlayandLee2018).Themacroeconomicanddevelopmentalimplicationsofreformaresignificant(EuropeanInstituteforGenderEquality2017;Ostryetal.2018;Christophersonetal.2022;Fernandezetal.2022),yetgovernmentsaroundtheworldhavenotbeenabletoreapthefullbenefitsbecausereformishappeningtooslowlyandisatriskofdeceleration.

FIGURE2.CORRELATIONBETWEENTHEWBLINDEX

ANDTHESHAREOFWOMENENTREPRENEURS

Source:Women,BusinessandtheLaw2022report,WorldBankGroup2022.Availableat:

/en/reports

3

In2022,Women,BusinessandtheLawrecorded34positive

reformsacross18economies—thelowestnumberof

reformssince2001.Thereisariskthatexistinginequalities

areexacerbatedduetothemultiplecrisesfacedby

modernsocieties,notably,theCOVID-19pandemic(DePaz

Nieves,GaddisandMuller2021;Torresetal.2021).Fabrizio

etal.2021showthatepidemicsaremoredeleterioustothe

educationalattainmentofgirlsthanboys.TheCOVID-19

crisishasalsounderscoredtheimportanceofchildcare

forclosinggendergaps(Goldin2021).Sidik(2022)points

outthattheCOVID-19crisishasexacerbatedpre-existing

inequalitiesintermsofincomeandhealth,andithas

increasedtheprevalenceofviolenceagainstwomen.This

servesasacalltoactionforgovernmentstoreformlaws

thatdiscriminateagainstwomen.Itisalsoanimportant

reminderthatstronglegalframeworksandjusticesystems

needtobeaccessibletoandprotectthevulnerablein

timesofcrisis.

Eveniflawsarereformed,inadequateimplementation

andweakenforcementoflawscanblockwomenfrom

thefullrealizationoftheirrights.Analyzingthesupportive

frameworksthatenabletheimplementationofsuchlaws

iskeytofullyunderstandingwomen’srealitiesaroundthe

world.Evidenceofconstitutionalprotectionsforcoresocial

andeconomicrightsfromaroundtheworldsuggeststhat

suchprotections,whencoupledwithguaranteesofgender

equality,canhelpwomentorealizeequalityinpractice

(Sprague,Heymann,andRaub2022).

Discriminatorysocialnormscanalsopresentachallenge

totheeffectivenessoflegalreform.Evidencesuggests

thatlegalreformsmaybeineffectiveinsituationsinwhich

womenfacesubstantialculturalpressurenottoseeklegal

recourse(Gedzi2012).Theinterplayofpervasivesocial

normsandlegalpluralismmayalsoposeachallengeto

legalgenderequality(HoldenandChaudhary2013).Laws

thatarestronglyinconflictwithsocialnormsmaybe

difficulttoenforce,andagradualreformoflawsmaybe

moreeffectivethansudden,large-scalereform(Acemoglu

andJackson2016).Otherevidencesuggests,however,

thatlegalreformcanexertapositiveinfluenceonsocial

norms(Aldashevetal.),andthatlawsandnormsmay

bemutuallyreinforcing(WilliamsonandKerekes2011).

Moreover,evidencefromagroupoflowandmiddle-

incomeeconomiesshowedthatmaternityleavepolicy

isassociatedwithincreaseddecision-makingpowerfor

womenwithintheirhouseholdsandimprovedattitudes

towomen’swork(Chaietal.2022).Takentogether,this

evidencehighlightsthatthedesignoflegalreformshould

makecarefulconsiderationofhowculturalnormscan

influenceorbeinfluencedbynewlegislation.

4

LEGALBARRIERSTOWOMEN’S

ECONOMICPARTICIPATION

Amiddevelopmentchallengesthatdisproportionatelyaffectwomen,alegalenvironmentthatsupportswomen’seconomicparticipationiscrucial.Yet,nearly2.4billionwomenstilldonothavethesamelegalrightsasmen.Women,BusinessandtheLawdataprovideaframeworktoidentifygapsandentrypointsforreform.Ituseseightindicatorsstructuredaroundwomen’sinteractionswiththelawastheyprogressthroughtheirlivesand

careers:Mobility,Workplace,Pay,Marriage,Parenthood,

Entrepreneurship,Assets,andPension.Theseindicatorsfitintothreebroadareasofresearch:laborandemployment,family,andcriminallaw.

IndicatorsforParenthoodandPensionpointtogapsinhumancapitalaccumulation.Socialprotectionplaysacriticalroleinaddressingvulnerabilityandfosteringeconomicinclusion(WorldBank2015),whichiskeytoimprovehumanendowments.Women,BusinessandtheLawcollectsdataonimportantsocialprotectionmeasures,suchaslawsandregulationsaffectingwomen’sworkafterhavingchildren,includinglawsmandatingpaidleavepoliciesforworkingparentsmeasuredbytheParenthoodindicator.AmongtheeightWomen,BusinessandtheLawindicators,Parenthoodstillhasthelowestscoredespiteimprovementsinthepastfiveyears(seeFigure3).

TheWomen,BusinessandtheLaw2023reportfindsthattheglobalaverageWomen,BusinessandtheLawscoreis77.1outof100,indicatingthatatypicalwomanhasjustoverthree-quartersoftherightsofmenintheareasmeasured.DataindicatethefollowingopportunitiesforchangealongthefourpillarsoftheWorldBankGroupGenderStrategy.

Maternityprotectioniscentraltodecentwork,women’sproductivity,andgenderequalityatwork(ILO2014).Whilethenumberofpaidleavedaysgrantedtomothersincreasedsubstantiallybetween1970and2022inallregions—andtoday,118economiesguaranteetheInternationalLaborOrganization(ILO)standardof14weeksofpaidmaternity

FIGURE3.IMPROVEMENTSINWOMEN,BUSINESSANDTHELAWSCORESOVERTHELASTFIVEYEARS,BYINDICATOR

a.WBLaverageindicatorscores,2018and2023b.ChangesinWBLaverageindicatorscores

overlastfiveyears

Source:Women,BusinessandtheLawdatabase.

5

leave—thegrantingofpaternityleavedayshasstagnated.Studiesshowthatasmallergapbetweenmothers’andfathers’leaveisassociatedwithahigherfemalelaborforceparticipationrate,suggestingthatwomen’sparticipationintheworkforcecouldbeincreasedbyshrinkingtheleavegapbetweenparents(HylandandShen2022).Globally,117economiesprovidefatherswithpaidleaveforthebirthofachild.Althoughasimilarnumberofeconomiesprovidebothmaternityleave(118)andpaternityleave(117),thelengthofleavediffersdrastically,withanaverageof192.8daysformothersandjust22.5daysforfathers.Womenaredisproportionatelyresponsibleforunpaidcareworkandpaidpaternityandparentalleaveschemescanhelprecognizeandredistributeunpaidhouseholdcareresponsibilities.

Forexample,inColombiatheaverageunemploymentratewas18.1percentforwomenand10.6percentformenfromJune-August2021(WorldBank,2022b).Amajorcontributingfactortowomen’shighlevelsofunemploymentisthedisproportionateresponsibilitytheyhaveforhouseholdtasksandcarework,particularlyinruralareas.Forexample,in2017,28.6percentofwomenand1.1percentofmensaidthatfamilyreasonspreventedthemfromlookingforajob.Morerecently,datacollectedthroughtheWorldBankhigh-frequencyphonesurveysin2021showsthat13percentofwomenreportedexperiencingunfairtreatmentatworkduetohavingchildren(WorldBank,2022).ItisestimatedthatthepotentialeconomiclossesoverthelongtermduetogendergapsinColombia’slabormarketamountto

17.6percentingrossincomepercapita(CuberesandTeignier,2016).

Differencesinwomen’sworkinglivesrelativetothoseofmencanalsoresultinunequaleconomicoutcomesinretirement.Earlyretirement,forexample,canwidenthepotentialgendergapinpensionlevelsandincreasewomen’sriskofpovertyinoldage.ThePensionindicatorassesseslawsaffectingthesizeofawoman’spension.Withanaveragescoreof73.9,belowtheglobalaverage,thePensionindicatoridentifiessignificantgapsaffectingwomen’seconomicsecurityafterretirement.In118economies,thereisroomtoimprovelawstoachievegenderequalityconcerningwomen’spensions.

TheindicatorsforPay,Workplace,andEntrepreneurshiprevealstubbornbarrierstomoreandbetterjobsforwomen.RemovingtheseconstraintsiscentraltotheWorldBankGroup’stwingoalsofeliminatingextremepovertyandboostingsharedprosperity(WorldBank2015).Women,BusinessandtheLawdatahighlightgapsdirectlyaffectingwomen’sprospectsasemployeesandentrepreneurs.ThePayindicator,forexample,identifieslegalbarriersaffectingoccupationalsegregationandthegenderwagegap.Women,BusinessandtheLawfindsthatlawsin119economiescouldbeimprovedinoneoftheseaspectstoreducethegenderpaygap.Oneofthemostcommonbarriersisthelackofequalremunerationformenandwomenwhoperformworkofequalvalue,whichismandatedinonly97outof190economies.

Additionally,restrictionsareoftenimposedonwomen’semployment.Forexample,womencannotworkthesamenighthoursasmenin22economies.Theycannotworkinindustrialjobsinthesamewayasmenin65economies,

6

orinjobsdeemeddangerousin49economies.Nineeconomiesimposeallthreerestrictions,shuttingwomenoutofmanyhigh-payingjobs.Suchrestrictionscanhaveadetrimentaleffectonwomen’slivelihoods.Womenfarmersarepredominantinmostcountriesaroundtheworld.However,in18economieswomenareprohibitedfromworkinginagriculture,withthemajorityoftheeconomiesconcentratedintheregionsthatfacethemostfoodinsecurity,suchasSub-SaharanAfrica3andtheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica.

InAzerbaijan,legalrestrictionspreventwomenfromworkinginthesameindustriesasmen,includinginmining,construction,factories,agriculture,energy,waterandtransportation.Additionally,womencannotcarryheavyitemsandpregnantworkersorwomenhavingchildrenunderthreeyearsofagecannotworkduringthenight,overtime,onnon-businessdaysorgoonjob-relatedtravel(WorldBank,2020b).AccordingtotheILO,blanketbansondangerousworkaswellasnightworkandovertimeforallwomenarecontrarytotheprincipleofequalityofopportunityandtreatmentinemploymentandoccupationandcontributetogender-baseddiscriminationatwork

(ILO,2014).

OtherindicatorsthatexamineconstraintstomoreandbetterjobsareWorkplace,analyzinglawsaffectingwomen’sdecisionstoenterandremaininthelaborforce,andEntrepreneurship,examiningconstraintstowomen’sabilitytostartandrunabusiness.Theyhaveanaverageglobalscoreabove80,meaningthatmosteconomieshaveremovedrestrictionsorintroducedtherelevantlegalrightsandprotectionsmeasuredbytheseindicators.Nonetheless,theWorkplaceindicatorfindsroomforimprovementin69economies.UndertheEntrepreneurshipindicator,101economiesstilllackalegalprovisionthatexpresslyprohibitsgender-baseddiscriminationinaccesstocredit.Fiveeconomieslegallyrestrictwomenfromregisteringabusinessinthesamewayasmen,sixeconomiesdonotallowwomentoopenabankaccountinthesamewayasmen,andtwoeconomiesdonotallowwomentosignacontractinthesamewayasmen.InEquatorialGuineaandEswatiniwomenentrepreneursfacealloftheselegalrestrictions.

TheAssetsindicatorshowsunevenprogressonremovingbarrierstowomen’sownershipandcontrolofassets.Thisisvitalforgeneratingincome,facilitatingaccesstofinancialservices,andstrengtheningwomen’sabilitytorespondtoshocks(WorldBank2015).Women,BusinessandtheLawexaminesgenderdifferencesinpropertyandinheritancelaw,whichaffectwomen’sabilitytocontrolassets,throughtheAssetsindicator.Thisindicatorscoresabovetheglobalaverage,at81.3.However,ofthe190economiesstudied,76(40percent)limitwomen’spropertyrights.In19economies,womendonothaveequalownershiprightstoimmovableproperty.Worldwide,43economiesstilldonotgrantequalinheritancerightstosurvivinghusbandsandwives,and41economiespreventdaughtersfrominheritinginthesame

wayassons.

Forexample,inTanzania,sonsanddaughtersandmaleandfemalesurvivingspousesdonothavethesameinheritancerights.Furthermore,eventhoughthelawgrantswomenequalownershiprightsoverimmovableproperty,improperimplementationmakesitdifficultforwomentoenforcetheirrights.AccordingtotheFAOwomenoftenlackthefinancialsupporttoenforcetheirrights.

TheindicatorsforMobility,Marriage,andWorkplaceindicateconstraintstowomen’svoiceandagency,whicharehinderednotonlybypoorlydesignedlegalframeworks,butalsobysocialnormsaffectingtheirfreedomsandexposingthemtotherisksofgender-basedviolence.Theseoftenhaveheavytollsondevelopmentoutcomes,causingimpactsthatreverberateacrossthefourpillarsoftheGenderStrategy(OuedraogoandStenzel2021).TheMobilityindicator,examiningconstraintstowomen’sagencyandfreedomofmovement,showsthatthelawtreatsmenandwomendifferentlyin55economies.Legalconstraintsrelatedtomarriageanddivorcepersistthroughouttheworld.Suchbarriersweakenwomen’sdecision-makingpowerswithinthefamilyandthreatentheirsafetyandlivelihoods.TheMarriageindicatorshowsthatin18economies,amarriedwomanisrequiredbylawtoobeyherhusband,andin28economies,thehusbandislegallydesignatedasheadofhousehold.TheWorkplaceindicatorshowsthatin19economies,ahusbandcanlegallypreventhiswifefromworking.

3AccordingtoFAO(2021),halfofthepopulationinAfricafacemoderateorseverefoodinsecurity.

Source:/state-of-food-security-nutrition/2-1-2/en/

7

TheMarriageandWorkplaceindicatorsalsoexaminethe

existenceofdomesticviolenceandsexualharassment

legislation.Gender-basedviolence,includingintimate

partnerviolenceandsexualharassment,hinderwomen’s

abilitytomakedecisionsabouttheirownlives.Asthe

economicconsequencesofviolenceagainstwomencan

costcountriesasignificantfinancialburden,addressing

itisessentialtoboostwomen’seconomicparticipation,

achievefundamentallabormarketgoals,andclosethe

genderpaygap.TheMarriageindicatorshowsthat28

outof190economiesdonothavelegislationaddressing

domesticviolence.Intheremainingeconomies,manydo

nothaveprovisionsprohibitingeconomicandfinancial

abuse.Sexualharassmentintheworkplaceisstillpervasive.

Globally,43economiesstilldonothavelegislationon

sexualharassmentinemployment.Ofthe147economies

thatdo,eightdonothavecivilremediesorcriminal

penaltiesavailableforsuchcases.Legalframeworksfailto

addressbothdomesticviolenceandsexualharassmentin

employmentinEquatorialGuinea,Haiti,Mali,Mauritania,

Myanmar,Qatar,theRussianFederation,Somalia,the

SyrianArabRepublic,Uzbekistan,WestBankandGazaand

theRepublicofYemen.

Genderinequalityisacross-cuttingissuethatpermeates

women’sexperiencesbeyondtheirhomesandworkplace.

Legalframeworksmusttakeintoaccountwomen’s

challengesinthecontextofclimatechange,migration

anddisplacement,conflictandfragility,andother

intersectionalareassuchassexuality,race,genderidentity,

religion,familystatus,ethnicity,nationality,disability,and

manyothergrounds.Whilesuchtopicsarenotpresently

coveredbyWomen,BusinessandtheLaw,theypresenta

valuableopportunitytodevelopitsresearchagendaand

contributetofurtherknowledgeonwomen’slegalrights

andassociatedoutcomes.

8

WHERELAWSARECHANGING

Despiteexistinggaps,progresshasbeen