The World Bank Group has said that around 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunity and 178 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent their full economic participation.

This was highlighted in the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2022 report where its stated that in 86 countries, women face some form of job restriction and 95 countries do not guarantee equal pay for equal work.

According to the report, “Globally, women still have only three quarters of the legal rights afforded to men an aggregate score of 76.5 out of a possible 100, which denotes complete legal parity. However, despite the disproportionate effect on women’s lives and livelihood from the global pandemic, 23 countries reformed their laws in 2021 to take much-needed steps towards advancing women’s economic inclusion.”

The report measures laws and regulations across 190 countries in eight areas impacting women’s economic participation mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pensions.

It offered objective and measurable benchmarks for global progress toward gender equality.

However, the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, Carmen Reinhart added: “Women cannot achieve equality in the workplace if they are on an unequal footing at home. That means leveling the playing field and ensuring that having children doesn’t mean women are excluded from full participation in the economy and realizing their hopes and ambitions.”