Around 2.4 Billion Women Don’t Have The Same Economic Opportunities As Men: World Bank Report
The gender wage gap is one of the most debated topics in gender disparity discussions. According to reports by the World Bank, around 2.4 billion women are not given equal economic opportunities and 178 countries have maintained legal barriers that restrict women’s complete economic participation. In 86 countries, women face some or the other type of restrictions at their job and 95 countries do not even guarantee equal pay for the same work!
All around the world, women only have three-quarters of the legal rights that men have. However, in 2021, 23 countries changed their laws and took steps towards the economic inclusivity of women. However, just 12 countries that are a part of The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD legally have gender parity, according to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2022 report.
If we dissect this data into regions: the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan African regions had improvements in the Women Business and the Law (WBL ) Index in 2021. Throughout the world, the highest number of changes were made in the sectors of Parenthood, Pay, and Workplace indicators. Many alterations also focused on putting a stop to sexual harassment, gender discrimination and job restrictions on women. They also focused on the increase in paid leaves for new parents. The gains in the parenthood indicator have majorly revolved around paternity leaves. However, the low overall score shows how many reforms are needed in this area.
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Around the globe, 118 economies promise 14 weeks of paid maternity leave. However, more than half of the economies gave a mandatory paid leave for fathers which is for an average of only a week. In the past year, Hong Kong SAR and China introduced the recommended 14 weeks of maternity leave after previously providing only 1 week of paid maternity leave. Additionally, Ukraine, Switzerland, and Armenia have also introduced paternity leaves.
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Across the world, 118 economies guarantee 14 weeks of paid leave for mothers. More than half (114) of the economies measured mandate paid leave for fathers, but the median duration is just one week. In the past year, Hong Kong SAR, China—which previously provided 10 weeks of paid maternity leave—introduced the recommended 14-week minimum duration. Armenia, Switzerland, and Ukraine introduced paid paternity leave. Greece, Georgia, Colombia, and Spain have introduced paid parental leave i.e., both parents getting paid leaves to care for the child after birth. According to sources, many economies are investing in childcare services to better children’s skills and to also recognize the unpaid caregiving duties usually taken up by women. There have been attempts to make childcare more affordable by countries providing financial assistance to parents and/or childcare providers/guardians.
However, while these reforms and laws are important steps in the right direction, they are not enough to improve upon the gender wage disparity. Multiple factors such as the effective implementation of these laws alongside reforms in social, religious and cultural norms are also needed.
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