• ‘Women, Business and the Law 2024 report’ was released recently by the World Bank Group.
• The report assesses the gap between legal reforms and actual outcomes for women in 190 economies.

 MAJOR FINDINGS

• No country, including the most affluent economies, ensures equal opportunities for women.
• 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.
  • Earlier estimates projected women had 77 per cent of the rights.
• Although laws on the books imply that women enjoy roughly two-thirds the rights of men, countries on average have established less than 40% of the systems needed for full implementation.
• Women earn just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.
• Eliminating discriminatory laws and practices hindering women from working or initiating businesses could result in a more than 20 per cent increase in global gross domestic product.
• About India
  • India’s rank has marginally improved to 113, with a score of 74.4 per cent.
  • While the country’s score has remained constant since 2021, its ranking witnessed a decline from 122 in 2021 to 125 in 2022 and further to 126 in the 2023 index.
  • Indian women have just 60 per cent of the legal rights compared to men, slightly below the global average of 64.2 per cent.