# Only 4% of women globally reside in countries that offer almost complete legal equality

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/middle-east/289685-only-4-of-women-globally-reside-in-countries-that-offer-almost-complete-legal-equality
- Published: 2026-02-27T03:48:00+07:00
- Author: Jessica Lee

**Overview** The World Bank Group’s latest report reveals a significant global gap
between the enactment and actual enforcement of laws promoting women’s economic 
equality, with only 4% of women living in economies that provide near-full legal
rights.

While many nations have made progress in passing equal-opportunity legislation, 
the lack of supporting policies and enforcement mechanisms means women still enjoy
only about two-thirds of the legal rights afforded to men. Addressing these disparities
in safety, childcare, and credit access is presented as an economic necessity to
unlock global growth and support the 1.2 billion young people entering the workforce
over the next decade.

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## Key Points

 * Global laws designed to ensure economic opportunity for women are, on average,
   only half-enforced, and the systems needed to implement those rights score even
   lower at 47 out of 100.
 * Even if current laws were fully enforced, women would still lack one-third of
   the legal rights granted to men.
 * Safety from violence is a major deficiency; the world has only one-third of the
   necessary safety laws, and enforcement of existing protections fails 80% of the
   time.
 * Access to affordable childcare is a critical predictor of women’s workforce participation,
   yet less than half of the 190 economies surveyed provide financial or tax support
   for families.
 * While women can legally start businesses in most economies, only half of these
   countries promote equal access to credit, effectively locking women entrepreneurs
   out of necessary financing.

Despite enforcement challenges, 68 economies enacted 113 positive legal reforms 
over the last two years, with the most significant progress occurring in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Egypt was identified as the world’s top reformer during the period, implementing
changes such as expanded parental leave, mandated equal pay, and flexible work arrangements.
Closing the gender gap is vital for the global economy, as half of the 1.2 billion
people reaching working age in the next decade are girls who face significant barriers
to entry in many regions.

Despite these challenges, progress is being made through legislative reforms. In
the past two years, 68 economies have enacted 113 positive legal changes, particularly
in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Highlighting the economic urgency, the
report notes that 1.2 billion young people will enter the workforce over the next
decade, making gender equality a vital economic necessity rather than just a social
goal.

**Thailand demonstrates a mixed performance in women’s economic participation, generally
outperforming regional and global averages **in legal frameworks and enforcement
perceptions, yet falling short in supportive implementation. While the country possesses
strong legal protections in areas such as childcare, flexible work, and pay, a significant
gap remains between established laws and the practical frameworks necessary to support
them.

## Key Findings for Thailand

 * Thailand’s legal frameworks score (69) exceeds both the global average (66.97)
   and the East Asia and Pacific regional average (59.77), with particular strengths
   in work, pay, parenthood, and childcare.
 * The country is one of only seven economies in its region that legally allows 
   employees to request flexible work arrangements.
 * Despite strong legal scores, the supportive frameworks score (33) is significantly
   lower than both the global and regional averages, indicating a deficit in the
   practical infrastructure needed to implement laws.
 * Enforcement perceptions (53) are generally higher than regional averages, though
   they lag in specific categories such as safety, marriage, and entrepreneurship.
 * In the two-year period from October 2023 to October 2025, Thailand did not enact
   any new reforms related to the Women, Business and the Law (WBL) metrics.
 * Regional advantages are most prominent in the pillars of mobility, safety, and
   marriage within the supportive frameworks category, despite the overall low score
   in that pillar.

The absence of affordable childcare and adequate safety measures hinders GDP growth
by limiting women’s ability to participate fully and consistently in the workforce.
The report highlights that achieving gender equality is an essential economic imperative
to unlock the full potential for growth and job creation.

The specific impacts are detailed below:

### Impact of Inadequate Safety Protections

The document identifies safety from violence as a critical factor in a nation’s 
economic health:

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 * **Work Consistency:** Safety from violence is a “key shortcoming” that leaves
   women less able to work consistently. Without a secure environment at home, at
   work, or in public, women cannot thrive or contribute effectively to the economy.
 * **Enforcement Gap:** Globally, countries have only one-third of the necessary
   safety laws. Furthermore, even when these laws exist, enforcement fails 80% of
   the time, maintaining steep barriers to prosperity.
 * **Growth Barriers:** These safety hurdles are described as barriers that keep
   women from contributing fully to “growth and prosperity,” which is particularly
   detrimental to the growth potential of developing economies.

### Impact of Lacking Affordable Childcare

The report highlights childcare as a primary predictor of economic mobility:

 * **Labor Force Participation:** Affordable and reliable childcare is one of the
   strongest indicators of whether parents—and mothers specifically—can enter the
   workforce.
 * **Barriers to High-Productivity Jobs:** Without childcare support, women are 
   often unable to move into higher-productivity jobs, which limits the overall 
   economic output of the nation.
 * **Severity in Low-Income Economies:** While less than half of the world’s economies
   provide financial or tax support for childcare, the situation is most dire in
   low-income economies, where only 1% of the necessary childcare support mechanisms
   are in place. This lack of infrastructure prevents these nations from reaching
   their full potential to create jobs.

### GDP Growth Potential and Future Workforce

The document connects these barriers to the long-term economic outlook of developing
nations:

 * **Missed GDP Boost:** Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people will enter
   the workforce, half of whom are girls. Many of these individuals reside in regions
   where women face the largest barriers. The report notes that these are the same
   regions where the “GDP boost” resulting from women’s participation is “most needed.”
 * **Underutilized Human Capital:** Currently, only 4% of women live in economies
   providing nearly full legal equality. The document states that the resulting “
   opportunity gaps” keep economies from reaching their full potential to grow.
 * **Economic Necessity:** Closing these gaps is framed as a necessity to reverse
   the decline in the growth potential of developing economies. Providing equal 
   opportunity is described as a strategy that benefits “societies as a whole, not
   just women.”

Despite these challenges, significant progress is being achieved through legislative
reforms. Over the past two years, 68 economies have implemented 113 positive legal
changes, with notable advancements in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Emphasizing
the economic urgency, the report highlights that 1.2 billion young people are projected
to enter the workforce within the next decade, positioning gender equality as a 
critical economic necessity rather than merely a social objective.

The lack of affordable childcare and sufficient safety measures continues to hinder
GDP growth by restricting women’s ability to fully and consistently participate 
in the workforce. The report underscores that achieving gender equality is not just
a moral imperative but an essential economic driver to unlock the full potential
for growth and job creation.

Source : [https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/02/24/women-s-economic-opportunity-laws-only-half-enforced-globally](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/02/24/women-s-economic-opportunity-laws-only-half-enforced-globally)