Globally, women have just two-thirds of legal rights given to men, finds World Bank

• Legal rights for women worldwide are significantly lower than initially perceived, according to a new report by the World Bank Group.

Key Highlights

• The World Bank's Women, Business and Law Index measures how laws and regulations in 190 countries affect women's economic opportunities.
• It uses a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing equal legal rights for men and women.
• The latest 2024 report highlights that no country has achieved perfect gender equality in its legal framework.
• When considering legal distinctions related to violence and childcare, women are found to have less than two-thirds or 64 per cent of the rights enjoyed by men, it has found.
  • Earlier estimates projected women had 77 per cent of the rights.
• This means women everywhere still face legal barriers compared to men in areas like mobility, work, pay, marriage, parenthood, business ownership, and property rights.
• India's ranking improved to 113th globally, but Indian women still have only 60% of the legal rights granted to men, which is lower than the global average of 64.2%.

Prelims takeaway

• World Bank
• Women, Business and Law Index