The report reveals a far wider disparity in global workplace rights for women with no country providing equal opportunities for women, including the wealthiest economies.
“All parents hope that the joys and successes of their children will dwarf the challenges and frustrations they will face in life. However, parents are likely to feel indignation—even anger—when they learn that in not a single nation in the world would their daughters have the same workplace rights and advantages as their sons.”
This is the stark reality that World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics Indermit S. Gill begins the forward of its latest report “Women, Business and the Law”.
The report reveals a far wider disparity in global workplace rights for women with no country providing equal opportunities for women, including the wealthiest economies. With this report, the World Bank offers a comprehensive picture of the “obstacles that women face in entering the global workforce and contributing to greater prosperity—for themselves, their families, and their communities”.
The report exposes a critical gap between legal rights on paper and reality for women in 190 economies. Despite laws granting women roughly two-thirds of men's rights, most countries lack the enforcement mechanisms needed. While 98 countries have equal pay laws, only 35 have implemented measures to actually close the pay gap. This "implementation gap" reveals a significant disconnect between legal reforms and real-world outcomes for women. The report states that closing the gap could raise the global GDP by more than 20% “essentially doubling the global growth rate over the next decade”.
For the first time, the Bank has investigated the impact of childcare and safety policies on women’s participation in the workforce. On women’s safety, the global average score is just 36, which means that women have a third of the legal protection they need from domestic violence, sexual harassment, child marriage, and femicide. Of the 190 economies, 151 have laws that prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace, but only 39 have laws prohibiting it in public spaces such as mass transit.
With respect to laws on regulating childcare, most economies score poorly. Women spend 2.4 hours more a day on unpaid care work than men, much of it involving childcare. Expanding access to childcare tends to increase women’s participation in the labour force by about 1 percentage point initially, with the effect doubling within five years. All this means that only half of women participate in the global workforce, compared with nearly three-quarters of all men.
The report analyses the economies across three frameworks:
- Legal Frameworks: Analyse domestic laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunities
- Supportive Frameworks: Analyse instruments designed to support the implementation of laws. The instruments considered include national policies, plans, programs, services, budgets, procedures, inspections, and sanctions for noncompliance with quality standards.
- Expert Opinion: Captures expert’s responses to scale questions focusing on the outcomes in the topic areas assessed. Each question asks for the respondent’s opinion on the extent to which these outcomes are being realised in practice in a particular economy
Here are the scores for India across the mentioned frameworks:
Legal Frameworks Score (60/100)
While India's overall legal framework for women's economic participation scores above the South Asia average (60.0 compared to 45.9), it still falls short of the global benchmark (64.2). This indicates a positive starting point compared to neighbouring countries, but also highlights areas where legal reforms are necessary.
Specifically, India excels in areas like freedom of movement and marriage-related restrictions, scoring perfectly in these categories. This translates to strong legal protections for women in these aspects. However, the legal framework concerning women's pay presents a significant challenge. Here, India's score is lower, suggesting a need for legislative changes to ensure equal pay for equal work and eliminate any gender-based limitations on job opportunities.
Supportive Frameworks Score (54.2/100)
India's score of 54.2 out of 100.0 exceeds both global (39.5) and regional (31.1) averages, showcasing relatively strong supportive frameworks for women in the workforce. While India earns a perfect score in supportive frameworks related to marriage, shortcomings are apparent in childcare support. There is a lack of structured support systems, including the absence of a registry for childcare providers and clear procedures for accessing government financial assistance. Additionally, the absence of regular quality assessment reports highlights the need for enhanced monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
Expert Opinions Score (35.6/100)
India's score of 35.6 out of 100.0 falls significantly below global (65.7) and regional (43.5) averages, indicating a substantial gap in expert perceptions regarding women's economic participation. Across all ten indicators, there is ample room for improvement, with low scores particularly evident in expert opinions on women's work after having children. This suggests a lack of consensus or awareness regarding the challenges women face in balancing career and family responsibilities.
Opportunities for Improvement
Addressing disparities between legal and supportive framework scores is imperative to ensure comprehensive support for women in the workforce. This requires aligning legal provisions with practical support mechanisms. Prioritising reforms in areas such as equal pay legislation and childcare support can enhance women's participation and advancement in the labour market. Establishing structured support systems and promoting transparency in childcare services are crucial steps forward. Fostering dialogue and implementing policies that support women's career progression, particularly post-childbirth, are essential for bridging the gap in expert opinions. This involves creating a conducive environment for women to balance work and family responsibilities while advancing in their careers.
“Women, Business and the Law 2024 makes it clear that the playing field is not level, and it points to ways to correct that unevenness. It is my hope—and the hope of those working so hard to produce this seminal research—that my daughter’s generation will be the last to face unfair barriers to its professional achievements. These barriers have consequences for both women and men because they cripple economies, preventing them from reaching their full development potential,” said Gill.
