About 2.4 billion women of working age do not have equal economic opportunity and 178 countries continue to have legal barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the economy. In 86 countries, women face some type of employment restriction and 95 nations do not guarantee equal pay for work of equal value, according to the World Bank report entitled Women, Business and the Law 2022.
In the case of our country, the figures show that of the 39 economies with scores above 90 in terms of legal parity, only two are in Latin America and the Caribbean: Peru (95.0) and Paraguay (94.4). Thus, we also achieved the highest score (100) in six of the eight areas of regulations that affect women’s economic opportunities: mobility, work, remuneration, entrepreneurship, assets and retirement.
However, Peru maintains the score of 80, the same as registered in the previous edition of the report, in the areas of marriage and parenthood.
“Women cannot achieve equality in the workplace if they are in an unequal position within the household,” said Carmen Reinhart, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at the World Bank Group. “That means leveling the playing field and making sure that having children doesn’t prevent women from fully participating in the economy and realizing their hopes and aspirations,” she continued.
Regional Highlights
In Latin America and the Caribbean, women have access to less than three quarters of the legal rights granted to men. Of the 32 economies in the region, two enacted reforms last year. Argentina explicitly counted periods of absence for childcare in retirement benefits. Colombia became the first country in Latin America to introduce paid parental leave, with the aim of reducing discrimination against women in the workplace. Only half of the economies in the region guarantee some type of paid leave for parents.
globally
Women still have access to only three quarters of the rights recognized to men, which translates into a total score of 76.5 out of 100 points, which would indicate the existence of complete legal parity. Yet despite the disproportionate effect the global pandemic has had on women’s lives and livelihoods, 23 countries reformed their laws in 2021 and took much-needed steps to promote women’s economic inclusion, according to the report.
“Although progress has been made, globally the gap between the expected income of both men and women throughout their lives is USD 172 billion, almost twice the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the world”, said Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships at the World Bank. “As we move towards green, resilient and inclusive development, governments must accelerate the pace of legal reforms, so that women can realize their full potential and benefit fully and equitably,” she continued.
The largest number of reforms corresponded to the indicators of parenthood, remuneration and work. Many amendments focused on protection against sexual harassment at work, a ban on gender discrimination, extension of paid leave for new mothers and fathers, and removal of employment restrictions for women.
The remuneration and parenting indicators show the lowest average scores in the index, but during the last year they rose by 0.9 and 0.7 points, respectively, reaching averages of 68.7 and 55.6. Advances in the parenting indicator have largely referred to paternity leave and shared parental leave, but its low score highlights the need to accelerate reforms in this area.
Source: Larepublica
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