Women, Business and the Law 2016 Getting to Equal AUGUSTO LOPEZ CLAROS AUGUSTO LOPEZ CLAROS WASHINGTON, DC PRIVATE SECTOR LIAISON OFFICERS (PSLO) NETWORK WEBINAR SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 MARCH 30, 2016
ENHANCING ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE Boosted Per Capita Growth Increased talent pool More opportunities available to the next generation Demographic dividend Promoting female education 1
INCREASED BARGAINING POWER FOR WOMEN IN THE HOME IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE BOARDROOM Higher investment in health Higher investment in education Higher savings More productive investments Better use and repayment of credit Less nepotism Less corruption 2
WHAT IS WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW? Research on the business environment has helped us to better understand the obstacles that entrepreneurs and employees face in general when it comes to starting businesses and getting jobs. But what about obstacles that are specific to women? The World Bank Group s Women, Business and the Law project examines laws and regulations differentiating between men and women in ways that affect women s opportunities and incentives to work. Since 2009, it has pioneered the measurement of the gender gap in policy variables using quantitative and objective data. 3
IMPACTS OF GENDER SPECIFIC INEQUALITIES When husbands control household assets, it may limit women s ability to access the financial system; When the law imposes restrictions on women s mobility and decision making it further dampens opportunities as an entrepreneur Restrictions on working hours and occupations can lead to a sizable wage gap. 4
WHAT IS MEASURED? Can a woman get a job or pursue a trade or profession in the same way as a man? Can a woman register a business in the same way as a man? Can a woman travel outside her home in the same way as a man? Can a woman apply for an ID card in the same way as a man? Do men and women have equal ownership rights to property? Can men and women do the same jobs? Are there specific tax deductions or credits that are applicable only to men/women? Are there criminal sanctions for domestic violence? If there is a non-discrimination clause in the constitution, does it explicitly mention gender? 5
WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW INDICATORS Accessing institutions Using property Getting a job Providing incentives to work Building credit Going to court Protecting women from violence Explores women s legal ability to interact with public authorities and the private sector in the same ways as men. This indicator provides disaggregated information on 11 categories of legal ability. It also assesses constitutional protections from discrimination and the use of gender quotas in government and the private sector. Analyzes women s ability to own, manage, control and inherit property. It also examines women s ownership rights in the marital home and whether legislation accounts for nonmonetary contributions, such as unpaid care for children or the elderly. Assesses restrictions on women s work, such as prohibitions on working at night or in certain industries. This indicator also covers laws on work-related maternity, paternity and parental benefits and retirement ages. Examines personal income tax liabilities, taking into account tax credits and deductions that may differ for women and men. This indicator covers both taxation and such public services as childcare and education. Identifies the minimum value of loans tracked by private credit bureaus and public credit registries and assesses bureaus and registries that collect information from microfinance institutions, retailers and utility companies. Examines access to small claims courts, whether women s testimony in court is given the same evidentiary weight as that of men, and the number of women justices including chief justices in constitutional courts. Examines laws on domestic violence against women and the existence and scope of laws on sexual harassment. This edition expands coverage to whether women are protected from marital rape, what the legal age of marriage is for boys and girls and whether protection orders can be authorized Source: Women, Business and the Law database 6
NUMBERS OF GENDER LEGAL DIFFERENCES VARY BY ECONOMY 90% of economies covered have at least one law impeding women s economic opportunities 943 legal gender differences are counted across 173 economies Source: Women, Business and the Law database 7
NUMBER OF GENDER LEGAL DIFFERENCES, BY ECONOMY Source: Women, Business and the Law database 8
LOWER LEGAL GENDER EQUALITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH FEWER GIRLS ATTENDING SECONDARY SCHOOL RELATIVE TO BOYS, FEWER WOMEN WORKING OR RUNNING BUSINESSES, AND A WIDER GENDER WAGE GAP Source: Women, Business and the Law, World Development Indicators, World Economic Forum and Enterprise Surveys databases World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2014. 9
WOMEN ARE HALF AS LIKELY TO BORROW FROM A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION WHERE PROCESSES FOR GETTING NATIONAL ID CARDS DIFFER Source: Women, Business and the Law, Global FINDEX and World Development indicators databases. 10
IN 100 ECONOMIES, WOMEN ARE RESTRICTED FROM DOING THE SAME JOBS AS MEN Source: Women, Business and the Law database 11
THE WAGE GAP IS LIKELY TO BE SMALLER WHERE THERE ARE NO JOB RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN S WORK Restrictions on women s work decrease women s earning potential relative to men s Source: Women, Business and the Law and World Bank World Development Indicators databases; World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2014 12
EXAMPLES OF WBL COVERAGE ON LEGISLATION CONCERNING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Domestic Violence Sexual Harassment Is there legislation that specifically addresses domestic violence? Are there criminal sanctions for sexual harassment? Is there a specialized court/procedure for cases of domestic violence? Is there a government office tasked with addressing sexual harassment? Does domestic violence legislation also protect unmarried women? Is there legislation on sexual harassment in education, employment, public places, service provision? Does domestic violence legislation include emotional, financial, physical, sexual abuse? Are there criminal sanctions for sexual harassment in employment? 13
WOMEN S LIFE EXPECTANCY IS LIKELY TO BE HIGHER WHERE THEY ARE LEGALLY PROTECTED FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Source: Women, Business and the Law and World Bank World Development Indicators databases; World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2014 14
AND INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COMMITMENTS ARE ENCOURAGING ECONOMIES TO PASS LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE In the past 25 years, the overall number of domestic violence laws has risen from close to zero to 118 Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 15
WBL INDICATORS CORRESPOND WITH CEDAW Source: Women, Business and the Law 2013 16
CEDAW HELPED CATALYZE REFORMS Rates of reform doubled within 5 years of ratifying CEDAW 15 years before CEDAW ratification 5 years before CEDAW ratification 5 years after CEDAW ratification Source: Hallward-Driemeier, Hasan and Rusu, 2013a 17
46 ECONOMIES HAVE NO LAWS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 18
WOMEN ON CORPORATE BOARDS Economies with legislation mandating women on corporate boards: India (at least 1 woman) Israel (at least 1 woman) France (20%) Germany (30%) Belgium (33%) Italy (33%) Iceland (40%) Norway (40%) Spain (40%) Studies find A positive correlation between companies with women on their boards and their financial success. Companies with greater female participation in boards were less likely to be hit by governance scandals. Source: Women, Business and the Law database. More movement is likely in the coming years under the auspices of the European Union. 19
GENDER QUOTAS AS A TOOL FOR POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT Giving women the vote Equality of opportunity Boosting political participation Equality of outcomes 21 countries have reserved seat quotas for women in parliament. 52 countries have candidate list quotas for women in parliamentary elections. 23 countries have reserved seat quotas for women in local government. 42 countries have candidate list quotas for women in local elections. Source: Women, Business and the Law database. Quotas for women in parliament mean: Higher female labor force participation rates Impacted government spending priorities 20
LOCAL REPRESENTATION: CASE STUDIES FROM INDIA Infrastructure priorities A 1993 a study looked at 265 village councils. A one third share quota for women s representation led to considerably more investment in infrastructure relevant to the needs of women and children. Perceptions of leadership In 1998 one third of village council leader positions in West Bengal were randomly reserved for women. Initially: Low public opinion towards female leaders. Female leaders rated less effective despite similar performance. After 10 years: Negative bias held by male villagers towards effectiveness of female leaders reduced. Women more likely to run and win local level political races in villages that instituted quotas. Spending on health A 2004 study was conducted on local councils. The number of drinking water projects in areas with female-led councils was 62 percent higher than those with male-led councils. 21
OVER A THIRD OF ECONOMIES HAVE QUOTAS FOR WOMEN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 22
PERCENTAGE OF ECONOMIES THAT REFORMED IN AT LEAST ONE INDICATOR, BY REGION Note: The analysis is based on the list of questions and the 141 economies examined in the Women, Business and the Law 2012 cycle, which was back calculated to 2010. Questions added to the dataset after the 2012 cycle, for example, on quotas or laws protecting women from violence are not considered here. South Asia is the only region with no reforms recorded during the three periods in the areas covered. Source: Women, Business and the Law database 23
ECONOMIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ARE GETTING TO EQUAL Over the past two years, 65 economies carried out 94 reforms increasing women s economic opportunities. Source: Women, Business and the Law database 24
wbl.worldbank.org 25
APPENDIX 26
GEOGRAPHIC EXPANSION OF COVERAGE Source: Women, Business and the Law database 27
LAWS THAT RESTRICT WOMEN FROM TAKING CERTAIN ACTIONS PREVENT THEM FROM ACCESSING THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS MEN Action Be head of household Economies where married women cannot undertake some actions that married men can Bahrain; Benin; Burundi; Cameroon; Chad; Chile; Congo, Dem. Rep.; Congo, Rep.; Djibouti; Gabon; Guinea, Honduras; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Oman; Philippines; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sudan; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen, Rep. (30) Choose where to live Apply for a passport Confer citizenship on children Get a job without permission Afghanistan; Bahrain; Benin; Brunei Darussalam; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Chad; Congo, Dem. Rep.; Congo, Rep.; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Guinea; Haiti; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Malaysia; Mali; Niger; Oman; Qatar; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab Emirates; West Bank and Gaza; Yemen, Rep. (30) Afghanistan; Algeria; Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Botswana; Cameroon; Congo, Rep.; Dominica; Egypt, Arab Rep.; Fiji; Gabon; Grenada; Haiti; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Malawi; Mali; Myanmar; Oman; Pakistan; Philippines; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Sudan; Trinidad and Tobago; Uganda; United Arab Emirates; Yemen, Rep. (32) Bahamas, The; Bahrain; Barbados; Brunei Darussalam; Guinea; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Madagascar; Malaysia; Mauritania; Nepal; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Swaziland; Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates; West Bank and Gaza (22) Bahrain; Cameroon; Chad; Congo, Dem. Rep.; Gabon; Guinea; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Jordan; Kuwait; Mauritania; Niger; Qatar; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab Emirates; West Bank and Gaza; Yemen, Rep. (17) Obtain a national identity card Afghanistan; Algeria; Benin; Cameroon; Egypt, Arab Rep.; Mauritius; Oman; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; Senegal (10) Travel outside the home Travel outside the country Open a bank account Register a business Afghanistan; Bahrain; Brunei Darussalam; Egypt, Arab Rep.; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Malaysia; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab Emirates; West Bank and Gaza; Yemen, Rep. (17) Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic (6) Congo, Dem. Rep.; Niger (2) Bhutan; Congo, Dem. Rep.; Pakistan; Suriname (4) Sign a contract Congo, Dem. Rep.; Equatorial Guinea (2) Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 28
GLOBALLY, 46 ECONOMIES REQUIRE NONDISCRIMINATION IN ACCESS TO CREDIT ON THE BASIS OF GENDER Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 29