https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / International News RSS ← Back
Business
Business
business
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Women have only three-quarters of men’s legal rights, affecting work prospects

Close

Embed Video

Women have only three-quarters of men’s legal rights, affecting work prospects

Women have only three-quarters of men’s legal rights, affecting work prospects
Photo by Bloomberg

27th February 2019

By: Sane Dhlamini
Creamer Media Senior Contributing Editor and Researcher

ARTICLE ENQUIRY      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

If women had equal opportunities to reach their full potential, the world would not only be fairer, it would be prosperous, said World Bank Group interim president Kristalina Georgieva.

In its newly released index titled Women, Business and the Law 2019: A Decade of Reform, the World Bank revealed that women have only three-quarters of the legal rights that men have, restricting their ability to start businesses or get jobs.

Advertisement

The glaring disparity also limits women from making economic decisions that are in the best interest of their families or themselves.

“Change is happening, but not fast enough, and 2.7-billion women are still legally barred from having the same choice of jobs as men. It is paramount that we remove the barriers that hold women back, and with this report we aim to demonstrate that reforms are possible, and to accelerate change,” said Georgieva.

Advertisement

The index also takes a look at the legal protections relating to a woman’s working life, from starting a job through to getting a pension.  

The data was compiled over ten years and 187 countries were scored according to eight indicators.

The World Bank noted that achieving gender equality was not a short-term process.

While strong political will and a concerted effort by governments, civil society and international organisations were needed, legal and regulatory reforms could play a foundational role as an important first step.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE ARTICLE ENQUIRY

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now