Symposium by GQUAL on CEDAW’s GR40: Empowering Equality – How the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law Index Supports the Monitoring and Implementation of CEDAW GR40 on Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-making Systems

[Natália Mazoni is a Private Sector Specialist with the World Bank’s Women, Business, and the Law project, where she leads research on labor and employment. She holds an LL.M. from American University in Washington, DC and a law degree from Milton Campos Law School in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.    

Aylén Rodríguez Ferrari is an analyst with the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law project, specializing in labor and employment laws. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from George Washington University in Washington, DC and a law degree from the University of Almería in Spain.]

Despite decades of progress in women’s rights, gender equality remains an elusive goal. The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2024 report finds that, globally, women have only two-thirds of the legal rights available to men. Even more striking, countries have established only two-fifths (less than 40%) of the mechanisms needed for implementing gender-equal laws. The data is clear: now, more than ever, we must intensify efforts to dismantle legal barriers and strengthen the frameworks required to achieve true gender equality and foster inclusive economic growth.  

Women’s underrepresentation in leadership and decision-making positions creates a vicious cycle, perpetuating inequalities and stifling economic development. A critical step in addressing this issue is ensuring that women have equal and inclusive representation in decision-making roles, enabling them to contribute their diverse perspectives to challenge entrenched norms and drive systemic change. 

Recognizing this urgency, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted General Recommendation No. 40 (GR40) in October 2024 to urge governments, organizations, and institutions to eliminate structural barriers that hinder women’s equal economic and representation opportunities in both public and private sectors. The GR40 represents a paradigm shift from “leaving no one behind” to “bringing everyone along,” serving as a roadmap for achieving gender parity in decision-making systems. Time is of the essence for legal reforms, policy interventions, and monitoring mechanisms in areas such as gender discrimination in the labor market, flexible work, childcare services, gender quotas, and gender-based violence. So, where do we go from here?  

While the GR40 has an ambitious mandate, leveraging evidence-based datasets, such as those produced by WBL, can help translate recommendations into actionable outcomes and tangible opportunities. With the right tools and reliable data at their disposal, stakeholders can identify legal gaps, inform reforms, and track progress toward gender equality.  

By measuring legal and policy environments across 190 economies, the Women, Business, and the Law Index provides data-driven insights into women’s economic participation and demonstrates the progress made while emphasizing the work still to be done. The Index features three pillars: legal frameworks, supportive frameworks (instruments to support the implementation of the law), and expert opinions. It analyzes ten areas that are critical for women’s livelihoods and tracks how laws and policies impact their careers at different stages: Safety, Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. Seven of these areas—namely Safety, Workplace, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship and Assets —touch on several GR40 recommendations for State parties (Figure 1).  

Tracking Progress and Identifying Gaps in Gender Equality Through Key WBL Indicators 

Women Business and the Law data reveal that while regions around the world differ significantly, all must intensify efforts to dismantle the legal barriers preventing women from accessing decision-making systems. Not a single country out of the 190 measured by WBL has achieved gender equality in the law. However, a closer look at key indicators can provide helpful insights on how governments and stakeholders can prioritize these issues on their reform and economic agendas to drive progress. 

Creating equal and inclusive environments that promote women’s increased representation is unattainable without ensuring women’s safety from violence. The WBL Safety indicator provides data that help identify gaps in critical areas for women’s ability to hold decision-making roles by evaluating laws and policies protecting women from gender-based violence. Specifically, findings from the Safety indicator can be used to monitor the progress on GR40 obligations regarding “Freedom from Gender-Based Violence and Harassment” and “Parity in Economic Decision-Making,” particularly on those prohibiting all forms of gender-based violence—including economic violence—and establishing mechanisms to provide redress for victims and sanctions for perpetrators. For example, while 151 countries have laws against sexual harassment in the workplace, only 39 address it in public spaces, and 86 countries still lack comprehensive domestic violence laws. While the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region have the highest score in the Safety indicator – 50 out of 100 – this score indicates that there is still a lot of work to be done to fully protect women from violence. However, the region does offer some practical examples worth highlighting. Peru’s Law 30364 of 2015 defines and criminalizes all forms of domestic violence—physical, psychological, sexual and economic— and provides protection for victims through health services, legal assistance, and temporary shelters at no cost. The Penal Code also imposes criminal penalties of two to twelve years for perpetrators of domestic violence. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) high-income countries lead in the supportive frameworks index with an average score of 58.1 points. For example, New Zealand has specific procedures for handling sexual harassment at work, in educational settings, and online. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission provides free and confidential dispute resolution services for sexual harassment in employment and educational establishments.  

Data and findings from the Workplace, Parenthood, and Childcare indicators can support monitoring progress in the area of “Parity in Economic Decision-Making.” On one hand, the Workplace indicator targets discriminatory laws and practices that hinder women’s participation as economic actors and the adoption of flexible working arrangements by countries. For example, in 15 out of 23 countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, the law explicitly prohibits discrimination in recruitment based on marital status, parental status, and age, such is the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the other hand, the Parenthood indicator focuses on protections against the dismissal of pregnant workers, as well as the existence of adequate paid maternity and paternity leave for working parents. For example, only 36 countries around the world still do not legally prohibit the dismissal of pregnant workers. In terms of trends in paid leave, Spain stands out by providing 16 weeks of fully paid leave to each parent.  While laws in the books are important, their effective implementation relies on key supportive mechanisms. For example, while 14 countries in the ECA region offer paid paternity leave, only 8 have implemented incentives to encourage fathers to take it Lastly, the Childcare indicator provides critical insights on how access to reliable and affordable childcare services is essential for enabling women to pursue economic opportunities equally with men. OECD high-income countries display the highest scores in this indicator, both in the legal and supportive frameworks. Belgium, for instance, grants both financial and tax support for parents for childcare services. In terms of supportive frameworks, Austria clearly outlines the procedure to request financial support for childcare providers.  

The Marriage and Assets indicators provide critical data for monitoring progress on “Parity in Decision-Making in the Private Sphere” area. Together, these two indicators address the need to ensure women’s equal rights in marriage and family relations —including divorce—and their equal rights to own, use, and inherit property under the law and in practice. While indicators rank among the highest in the WBL Index, with legal framework scores of 79.2 and 78.8 points respectively, there is a significant implementation gap, reflected by very low scores in the supportive frameworks index —with 53 and 29.3 points respectively. This underscores the reality   that, despite progress, women’s and girls’ agencies in the private sphere often remain constrained, impacting their capacity to take steps toward representation in decision-making systems. While challenges remain, countries have made notable strides over the years. For instance, in 2005, Algeria set an important precedent for the Middle East and North Africa by repealing a Family Code provision that mandated a wife’s obedience to her husband as head of household, and replaced it with a requirement for mutual consultation in managing family affairs—an important step toward parity in the household. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Gabon recently reformed its laws and now grants spouses equal administrative authority over assets and equal rights to immovable property. Nevertheless, only 3 out of 48 countries in Sub-Saharan have awareness measures in place to improve women’s access to information about marital and inheritance rights. 

Lastly, the Entrepreneurship indicator data can be used to track progress on the areas related to “Parity in Economic Decision-Making” and “Representation of Women in all their diversity on Equal Terms with Men,” as it examines the existence of gender quotas on corporate boards to promote parity in decision-making systems. It reflects a global average of 44.2 points for legal frameworks, and 39.6 points for supportive frameworks. These figures highlight a global failure to effectively implement women’s economic rights. For instance, only 2 out of 32 countries in the LAC region have established gender quotas for corporate boards. Ecuador, for example, mandates that for every three members in a board, one must be a woman. This legal framework serves as a robust example of how national laws can promote gender equality in corporate leadership. Regarding the supportive frameworks, having sex-disaggregated data on women’s representation is key. For example, in 2022 Argentina publishes a report titled “Mypimes lideradas por mujeres” (Micro, Small and Medium Businesses Led by Women), which presents data on women-led and women-owned enterprises, including an analysis on businesses where women are majority shareholders or occupy board seats. 

Advancing Gender Equality Through Data-Driven Insights and Collaboration 

Recent research demonstrates a virtuous cycle between increased legal gender equality and women’s equal participation in decision-making, which in turn, positively impacts economic growth. Data and research from Women, Business and the Law equip policymakers with the evidence needed to design and implement gender-responsive reforms. By benchmarking countries against global best practices, it provides a clear picture of where economies stand and what measures are required to foster women’s economic opportunity and helps countries to set measurable targets to track progress over time.  

WBL also fosters collaboration among governments, civil society, and international organizations by serving as a common reference point. Its data-driven approach complements GR40’s normative framework and obligations, fostering collaboration that amplifies the impact of advocacy efforts and reform initiatives. By integrating the evidence from the WBL Index and the normative guidelines of GR40, stakeholders can advance gender equality in decision-making systems more effectively. Together, these tools provide a roadmap for achieving a more inclusive and equitable future, where women and men share equal opportunities to lead and shape the world around them.  

Equal and inclusive representation of women is not just a matter of justice – it is also a strategic imperative for sustainable development. Setting measurable targets and tracking progress allows governments to implement effective reforms that empower women to participate fully in economic and decision-making roles. However, achieving this vision requires collective action and strong collaboration among stakeholders, including governments, civil society, and the private sector to drive transformative change and advance gender equality on a global scale.