Women, Business and the Law data is available for the period from 1970 to 2020 (reporting years 1971 to 2021). By developing a time series and further researching the interaction between inequality of opportunity for women and labor market dynamics, Women, Business and the Law strengthens insights into how women’s employment and entrepreneurship are affected by legal gender discrimination, and in turn how this affects economic outcomes.
Explore our data and economy snapshots below.
Explore trends over time with annual data for 190 economies during the period from 1970 to 2020 (reporting years 1971 to 2021).
Women, Business and the Law added research questions related to policy measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to its data collection questionnaires. Explore a data set covering three main areas: childcare measures, access to court systems, and safeguarding women's health and safety.
Explore a data set of 14 non-scored questions (years 2017, 2019, and 2020), including data on child marriage, customary law, citizenship, sexual harassment, and access to ID cards.
Explore a data set of 4 non-scored questions as part of the pilot research on the legal rights of women with disabilities in 176 economies. The research was developed with the support of the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework Implementation Support Unit (ESF ISU).
Women have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. And gender equality is critical to recovery from the pandemic. Yet women in many countries still face barriers throughout their working lives. But what barriers? Where? And how big is the economic cost?
The CATO Institute looked at 19 of Women, Business and the Law questions that they felt best measured gender equality. The data show that gender inequality worldwide has fallen significantly since 1970.
Fifty years ago, women had, on average, less than half the legal rights of men. In many countries, they weren't allowed to work in industrial jobs and there was no law protecting them against gender-based discrimination at work. Paid leave for mothers was offered in just a few countries and legislation addressing domestic violence was practically nonexistent. Over the past few decades, many countries have made reforms toward greater gender equality, but despite this progress, women still face regulations that restrict their economic opportunities.
The SME Finance identified and categorized Women Business and the Law 2021 questions and indicators of relevance for SME finance as a first step to systematically aggregate gender data to understand the factors, monitor trends and progress.
Girls’ and women’s rights are human rights, and advancing gender equality is fundamental to ensuring the health, freedom, dignity, and liberty of all people.