In its 10th annual Women, Business and the Law report, the World Bank reveals a stark truth about discriminatory laws and practices hindering women. The report suggests that dismantling these barriers could act as a catalyst, propelling the global gross domestic product by an astounding 20 percent. This, in turn, has the potential to double the rate of global growth over the next decade, marking a pivotal moment for equality and progress.
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The revelation is both eye-opening and disconcerting. Contrary to previous estimations, women, on average, possess only 64 percent of the legal protections afforded to men. The troubling reality is that no country, irrespective of its wealth, can claim to provide truly equal opportunities. The World Bank’s report has laid bare the deficiencies, accentuated by the inclusion of crucial indicators like safety and childcare, alongside pay, marriage, parenthood, workplace, mobility, assets, entrepreneurship, and pensions.
Women Have the Power to Turbocharge the Global Economy
A paradigm shift is urgently needed, as the report exposes a “shocking” chasm between policy and practice, highlighting the urgent need for dismantling discriminatory barriers. “Women have the power to turbocharge the sputtering global economy,” declares World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill, emphasizing that reforms preventing discrimination have stagnated.
Obstacles hindering women from entering the global workforce are multifaceted, encompassing barriers to entrepreneurship, persistent pay gaps, and prohibitions on working in deemed ‘dangerous’ jobs or at night. Disturbingly, the report discloses that women possess only a third of the necessary legal protections against domestic violence, sexual harassment, child marriage, and femicide in the 190 countries under scrutiny.
The workplace emerges as a battleground, with sexual harassment banned in 151 countries but only 40 extending the prohibition to public spaces. Gill questions, “How can we expect women to prosper at work when it is dangerous for them just to travel to work?” The disparities extend to the burdens of unpaid care work, where women spend an average of 2.4 more hours daily than men, predominantly caring for children. Shockingly, only 78 countries have enacted quality standards governing childcare services.
Despite ostensibly having two-thirds of the rights of men on paper, the report unveils the glaring absence of systems required for full implementation and enforcement. For instance, 98 economies have equal pay laws, yet only 35 have pay-transparency measures or enforcement mechanisms, perpetuating a pay gap where women earn a mere 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Glaring Absence of Systems
- Paper Rights vs. Reality: Two-Thirds of Rights on Paper, But Implementation Lags.
- Pay Gap Perpetuation: 98 Economies Have Equal Pay Laws, but Only 35 with Transparency Measures.
- 77 Cents for a Dollar: Women Earn Only 77 Cents for Every Dollar Earned by Men.
Only Half of Women Globally Engaged
In the pursuit of economic resurgence, the report articulates precise directives for governments, urging them to refine laws concerning safety, childcare, and business opportunities. It advocates for the dismantling of restrictions hindering women’s work, the augmentation of maternity and paternity leave provisions, and the establishment of binding quotas for women on corporate boards within publicly traded companies. Yet, a paradox looms as the retirement ages for women, despite their longer life expectancy, curtail their income, creating a vicious cycle of lower pay, interruptions for child-rearing, and premature retirement, ultimately resulting in diminished pension benefits and heightened financial insecurity in their golden years.
Tea Trumbic, the report’s lead author, starkly reveals that a mere half of women partake in the global workforce, a stark contrast to three out of four men engaged in economic activities. Beyond the realm of unfairness, Trumbic underscores the sheer wastefulness of sidelining half of the population, a socioeconomic squandering that no nation can afford.
Another report published last year by the IMF further illuminates the crucial role of narrowing the gender employment gap, positioning it as a paramount reform essential for reigniting economies grappling with their weakest medium-term growth outlook in over three decades. Against a backdrop of global growth stagnating at a mere 3 percent over the next five years and traditional engines stuttering, the untapped potential of women remains a missed opportunity. Only 47 percent actively participate in today’s labor markets, compared to 72 percent of men.
The annual reduction of the global gap by a mere 1 percentage point over the past three decades is deemed unacceptable. This stunted progress is attributed to inequitable laws, unequal access to services, discriminatory attitudes, and various barriers stifling women’s economic prowess.
Inequality Drains $12 Trillion
According to the IMF’s report, emerging and developing economies could amplify their gross domestic product by a remarkable 8 percent over the next few years. This, the report asserts, can be achieved by elevating the rate of female labor force participation by 5.9 percentage points—an achievable feat, as evidenced by the top 5 percent of countries that successfully narrowed the participation gap during the 2014-2019 period.
According to a recent analysis done by the World Economic Forum, Gender inequality exacts a staggering toll on the global stage, siphoning away a colossal $12 trillion from the coffers of the global gross domestic product (GDP). This economic hemorrhage, with some nations enduring a crippling 35% loss, paints a dire picture, necessitating urgent action. The estimated 169 years to bridge the economic gender gap, a metric tracked by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report since 2006, is deemed an unacceptable timeline, especially when the reverberations of COVID-19 have further entrenched disparities in leadership roles and earnings.
Inequality Drains $12 Trillion
- 8% GDP growth achievable by elevating female labor force participation by 5.9 percentage points.
- Gender inequality drains $12 trillion from the global GDP.
- Some nations endure a crippling 35% loss.
- Estimated 169 years to bridge the economic gender gap.
- Only 47% of women actively participate compared to 72% of men.
In response to this pressing challenge, the World Economic Forum has orchestrated the Gender Parity Accelerators, forging a path towards swifter progress. These accelerators, currently hosted by countries like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and others, are a testament to the collective commitment to dismantling barriers hindering women’s access to economic opportunities. In collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, these nations are spearheading change, galvanizing efforts to address workforce, pay, and leadership gender gaps through innovative laws and workplace policies.
Gender Parity Accelerators Transforming Societal Norms
The accelerators transcend geographic boundaries, engaging with 1,265 private sector partners globally to catalyze change within their workforce and operations. A shining example is Chile, where over 180 companies, including Accenture, IBM, Microsoft, and Unilever, have championed the three-year accelerator program. This collaboration has resulted in a commendable 41% representation of women in the workforce, significantly outstripping the national average.
In Japan, the accelerator aligns with the Male Leaders Coalition for Women’s Empowerment, involving more than 300 companies to address pay gaps in line with the government’s new transparency requirements. Meanwhile, in Jordan, the private sector collaboration focuses on implementing sexual harassment policies and complaints procedures, aligning with the nation’s progressive anti-sexual harassment legislation.
The impact of the Gender Parity Accelerators extends beyond corporate boardrooms, influencing national policies and legislation. Through a unique public-private collaboration model, these accelerators provide a platform for consultation on new legislation, actively involving the private sector in their rollout and implementation. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this model has been instrumental in advancing policies and programs that enhance women’s economic opportunities over the past seven years.
The Ecuador Gender Parity Accelerator stands as a shining example, aligning with the recently passed Violet Economy Law. This groundbreaking initiative expands private sector duties and incentives, aiming to eradicate gender gaps in pay, leadership, parental leave, and childcare.
In Panama, legislative triumphs, including rules on minimum representation of women on boards and equal pay, have led to the formalization of the accelerator’s cross-sector leadership group as the National Council for Gender Parity. This official mechanism, mandated by executive decree, underscores a sustained commitment to driving gender parity measures beyond the accelerator’s lifecycle.
