Women's Economic-Opportunity Laws Only Half-Enforced Globally
you are currently viewing:Women's Economic-Opportunity Laws Only Half-Enforced GloballyFebruary 24, 2026--Only 4% of women worldwide live in economies that provide nearly full legal equality Even if the laws were fully enforced, women would still enjoy barely two-thirds of the legal rights of men. For the first time, the latest Women, Business and the Law report assesses not only the degree of equality in laws on the books, but also the extent to which those laws are enforced. Legal experts surveyed estimated that laws that encourage full economic participation by women are only half-enforced, indicating that governments have a long way to go. Even as they make progress in establishing new equal-opportunity laws, economies on average have in place fewer than half of the policies and services needed for enforcement. Only 4% of women across the world live in economies that provide nearly full legal equality. That is keeping economies from reaching their full potential to grow and create jobs. Source: worldbank.org |
December 11, 2025--A proliferating set of international standards-covering everything from food labeling to the specifications of 5G cellular networks-s steadily reshaping the global economic order, delivering hefty benefits to the wealthy nations and large multinational companies that set them while leaving many developing countries on the sidelines, according to a new World Bank report.