Women, Business and the Law 2021, Measuring women’s economic opportunities

As half the world’s population, women have an equal role in driving economic growth. Yet, despite recent progress, women around the globe continue to face laws and regulations that restrict their economic opportunities. On average, women have just three-quarters of the legal economic rights afforded to men.

Women, Business and the Law 2021 is the seventh in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunities across 190 economies. Amidst a global pandemic that threatens progress toward gender equality, the report identifies barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages reform of discriminatory laws.



The session will showcase the report’s latest findings, including regional highlights, progress made towards legal gender equality during the past 51 years, and new data on measures implemented by governments in light of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.