Laws across the world intended to guarantee equal opportunities for women are enforced at only 50% of their intended level, meaning just 4% of women live in economies that guarantee them legal equality. The World Bank Group, citing the latest Women, Business and the Law report, notes that even where legal protections exist, women still have only about two-third the legal rights of men. “On paper, most countries are doing reasonably well,” says World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill. “These numbers reflect huge opportunity gaps, and the findings provide policymakers with the intelligence to reverse the decline in the growth potential of developing economies.”
