Legal Reform and Women’s Empowerment in the Public and Private Spheres Women in Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Beyond Friday, October 6, 2017

Preliminary Notes on Law and Women’s Empowerment MEO-CCP029-20090415-BSJDK Preliminary Notes on Law and Women’s Empowerment Law is a starting point and baseline Rule of law: governs and protects Implementation and enforcement Impartial and independent judicial institutions to arbitrate and enforce Law alone do not drive change: need a holistic framework

What does the baseline look like today globally? MEO-CCP029-20090415-BSJDK What does the baseline look like today globally? According to the World Bank’s Women, Business, and Law database: Out of 173 countries, 155 maintain at least one legal gender difference The majority of these countries are in MENA (18), Sub-Saharan Africa (8), East and South Asia (4) In 100 countries, women face gender-based job restrictions Lower legal equality is correlated to lower female education levels and job participation

Gender-based restrictions across countries (OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index 2014)

Figures show a correlation between legal restrictions and female education and workforce participation Source: World Bank’s Women, Business, and Law Report

Scope of gender-related disparities in national legal frameworks Access to public institutions Property rights: legal right to own, control, inherit Employment restrictions: on types of jobs, shifts Incentives to earn wages: disparity in tax credits Access to finance Access to courts: testimony, small claims Protection from violence Seven indicators of legal differences identified by the World Bank

At the same time, we observe that it is important to consider disparities in laws that regulate the private sphere COMMON EXAMPLES OF INEQUALITY IN FAMILY LAWS Constitutional issues: (1) Separate (unequal) laws for different religious groups/sect (2) shielding family laws from constitutional review Restrictions on a married woman’s right to pursue an education, a profession, or travel: requiring a husband’s permission Restrictions on access to identity cards and passports Laws that condone domestic violence (discipline)

The Overall Historic Trends in Gender-Based Legal Restrictions (1960 – 2010) are Positive: Between 2014 and 2016, 65 countries enacted legal reforms to increase women’s economic and job opportunities

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM TRENDS, ESTABLISHING CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS Examples of legal reforms globally in past years.. EXAMPLES OF POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN ECONOMIC LEGAL FRAMEWORKS EXAMPLES OF POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN FAMILY LAWS GLOBALLY Moroccan Family Law (Mudawana) recognizes equality in marriage and shared decision-making UAE law recognizes a wife’s right to work (if she had a job at the time of marriage) Tunisia announced intention to institute equal inheritance rights Chad raised the maximum amount for the small claims court. South Africa now mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value. Uganda introduced national identity cards in 2014. The application process is the same for women. CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM TRENDS, ESTABLISHING CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

It is important to emphasize that a change in the text of the law is only effective in the context of a holistic process of reform to establish and enhance the Rule of Law Effective institutional, judicial, and legal reform go hand in hand

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