Women, Business and the Law Nayda Almodovar-Reteguis March 20, 2018

WHAT DOES WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW DO? Women, Business and the Law examines laws that treat men and women differently in ways that affect women’s economic opportunities It looks at legal disadvantages women face relative to men, as well as gender- neutral laws that may have a disproportionately negative affect on women It publishes a global report every 2 years and maintains a online database with country-level data and links to primary legal sources Currently expanding to 189 economies. Research by the World Bank, the IMF and others has shown that legal gender differences significantly decrease female labor force participation and undermine GDP growth Legal gender equality is associated with lower gender gaps in labor force participation without any significant effect on male participation rates Gender gaps in women’s entrepreneurship and labor force participation account for estimated income losses of 27% in the Middle East and North Africa, 19% in South Asia, 14% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 10% in Europe Research estimates that eliminating barriers discriminating against women working in certain sectors or occupations could increase labor productivity by as much as 25% in some economies, simply by increasing women’s labor force participation

What does Women, Business and the Law Cover? Accessing Institutions Getting a Job Using Property Going to Court Protecting Women from Violence Building Credit Providing Incentives to Work 173 economies across 7 indicators, examining: Constitutional Law Family Law Labor Law Property Law Criminal Law Domestic Violence Law Tax Law Social Security Law Land Law Education Law Personal Status Law Violence Against Women Legislation Quotas …and more

90% OF ECONOMIES STILL HAVE AT LEAST ONE GENDER DIFFERENTIATED LAW ON THE BOOKS No restrictions ≥ 10 restrictions 0 < restrictions < 3 ≤ 5 restrictions < 10 Lower Legal gender equality is associated with fewer girls attending secondary school, fewer women working or running businesses, and a wider gender wage gap 3 ≤ restrictions < 5 In total, there are 943 legal gender differences across 173 economies Out of 30 economies that have 10 and more restrictions, 26 are in the Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

Protecting a wife’s interests Women’s Access to PROPERTY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM the using property indicator Ownership/control rights over property Differences in ownership rights over property, including the right to control the property, can also impact women’s access to property, such as land Marital regimes impact women’s access to property Inheritance rights can also impact women’s access to property Marital property regimes and inheritance laws Recognition of non-monetary contributions (unpaid work such as childcare) Laws governing transactions concerning the marital home that establish certain protections Protecting a wife’s interests “Formal land and property laws, policies, and regulations may overtly discriminate against women. Even where they do not, implementation and enforcement is often problematic. The formal laws may not clearly define the rights for women. “ “Even where the laws are clear, regulations that guide implementation might insufficiently reflect the rights promised by law. For example, even where law mandates joint ownership by spouses, forms for registering land might fail to include a second line to record both spouses. Furthermore, land laws may be undermined by other laws such as those governing inheritance or marriage.” “Rights to land and natural resources increase a woman’s bargaining power within the household, which results in increased allocation of household resources to children and women as well as increased household welfare. ” Tonga example: http://www.crownlaw.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1903/1903-0020/LandAct_1.pdf INHERITANCE (d) the male issue shall be preferred to female issue of the same degree; Examples On the death of a holder leaving a son and a daughter, the son is entitled to succeed. On the death of a holder leaving a grand-daughter and grandson, children of the same parents, the grand-son will succeed. Right to allotment. Every male Tongan subject by birth upon making application in the prescribed form to the Minister of Lands shall be entitled to receive subject to the provisions of this Act a grant of land not exceeding 3.3387 hectares as a tax allotment and where any such grant is less than 3.3387 hectares the Minister may from time to time as land becomes available and as he deems expedient make further grants to such holder until the area granted to him as a tax allotment has a total area of 3.3387 hectares. He shall also be entitled to receive on making application as aforesaid and subject to the provisions of this Act a grant of an area not exceeding 1618.7 square metres in a town as a town allotment. (Substituted by Act 8 of 1955 and Amended by Acts 11 of 1980 and 21 of 1984.) 74 Allotment holder’s duty to plant, etc. (1) Every male Tongan subject who has been granted a tax allotment by the Minister shall within one year from the date of the grant have growing on such allotment 200 coconut trees planted in rows and so arranged that the trees are 9 metres apart or 4.5 metres apart in rows 18 metres distant from each other. (Amended by Acts 13 of 1936 and 11 of 1980.) (2) Every holder of a tax allotment shall carefully attend to the coconut trees growing thereon and keep them reasonably clean and free from weeds. (3) Any holder who shall neglect or omit to comply with any of the requirements of this section shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50. (Amended by Act 4 of 1980.)

A CLOSER LOOK: MARITAL PROPERTY REGIMES Separation of property Partial community of property Full community of property Deferred full or partial community of property 64 economies 73 economies The default marital property regime is the set of rules that apply to the ownership and management of property within marriage and when the marriage ends, when there is no prenuptial agreement. Default marital property regimes are classified as follows: Separation of property: All assets and income acquired by the spouses both before they marry and during the marriage remain the separate property of the acquiring spouse. At the time of divorce or the death of one of the spouses, each spouse retains ownership of all assets and income brought to the marriage or acquired during marriage by that person and any value that has accrued to that property.  Partial community of property: Assets acquired before marriage are regarded as the separate property of the acquiring spouse, and assets and income acquired after marriage, with a few exceptions specified by law, are regarded as joint property of the couple. This regime also applies to cases where assets acquired before marriage and assets acquired during marriage are regarded as the separate property of the acquiring spouse but the accrued value of the property acquired by any of the spouses is considered joint property. At the time of dissolution of the marriage by divorce or death, the joint property or its accrued value is divided equally between the spouses.  Full community of property: All assets and income whether brought into the marriage and acquired during the marriage, with a few exceptions specified by law, become the joint property of the couple. If the marriage is dissolved, all joint property is divided equally between the spouses.  Burundi Namibia Netherlands Philippines Rwanda South Africa Deferred full or partial community of property: The rules of full or partial community of property apply at the time the marriage is dissolved; until then, separation of property applies.  Austria Switzerland Colombia Costa Rica Germany Denmark Finland Honduras Iceland Israel Norway Panama El Salvador Sweden Taiwan, China Other: This occurs in economies where the default property regime does not fit any of the four descriptions above.  There is no default marital property regime: This alternative applies in economies where the law requires the spouse to opt into the marital property regime of their choice - with legal alternatives provided - before or at the time of marriage. In economies where there is no default marital property regime, the most common regime is used instead. 6 economies 15 economies

Where husbands control marital property, women are less likely to have an account at a financial institution. In 7 economies husbands have the sole right to administer joint property. PROGRAMS TO CREATE AWARENESS ON IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN REGISTERING LAND WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING POSITIONS WITHIN THE REGISTRIES LEGAL PROVISIONSTO PROMOTE REGISTRATION OF LAND BY WOMEN (EX. WAIVER OF REGISTRATION FEES) GENDER OF OWNER INCLUDED IN STANDARD DOCUMENT USED TO PROVE OWNERSHIP LEGAL MANDATE FOR JOINT TITLING OF MARITAL PROPERTY LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO VERIFY IDENTITY OF OWNER , MARITAL STATUS, IDENTITY OF THE SPOUSE AND MARITAL PROPERTY REGIME, TO REGISTER A PERSON’S OWNERSHIP RIGHT CONNECTION BETWEEN PROPERTY AND CIVIL REGISTRIES, TO FACILITATE VERIFICATION OF INFORMATION

PROTECTING A WIFE’S INTERESTS IN PROPERTY If the husband administers property, is spousal consent required for major transactions? Are there special provisions governing the marital home? Does the law provide for valuation of nonmonetary contributions? YES In 4 of the 7 economies where the husband administers property YES In 38 economies Example: requirement that both spouses agree to any major transaction involving the home, including selling or pledging it as collateral, or that the court will intervene when the spouses disagree. Such provisions are particularly relevant where separation or deferred full or partial community are the default regimes.  If the husband administers property, is spousal consent required for major transactions? Chile Côte d'Ivoire Congo, Rep. Congo, Dem. Rep. YES In 119 economies

INHERITANCE IS A PRIMARY PATHWAY TO PROPERTY OWNERSHIP FOR wOmen India’s reform of the Hindu Succession Act gave daughters equal rights to inherit property. It altered control over assets within families, increased parental investment in daughters and delayed age of marriage. The second-generation effects were even larger. Mothers who benefited from the reform spent twice as much on their daughters’ education, women were more likely to have bank accounts, and their households were more likely to have sanitary latrines. “Inheritance norms is usually the most frequent source of transfer of ownership of land. As a result of customs, women are much less likely to inherit. In addition, there is usually male privilege in marriage, and state programs of land redistribution have tended to be biased towards men.” 39 economies – daughters do not have equal inheritance 37 economies – widows do not have equal inheritance

WHERE DO LAWS SUPPORT WOMEN’S ACCESS TO PROPERTY SUCH AS LAND? Strength of laws supporting women’s access to property ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS TO PROPERTY UNDER DEFAULT MARITAL PROPERTY REGIME EQUAL OWNERSHIP RIGHTS TO PROPERTY EQUAL INHERITANCE RIGHTS VALUATION OF NONMONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS SPOUSAL CONSENT FOR MAJOR TRANSACTIONS WOMEN’S ABILITY TO SIGN CONTRACT Map Components: Land and Assets Do husbands legally administer marital property? Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Does the law provide for the valuation of nonmonetary contributions? If the husband administers property, is spousal consent required for major transactions? Do sons and daughters have equal rights to inherit assets from their parents? Do female and male surviving spouses have equal rights to inherit assets? Can a married woman sign a contract in the same way as a married man? Top 10 Worst countries: Swaziland Afghanistan Mauritania Tonga United Arab Emirates Bangladesh Bahrain Brunei Darussalam Cameroon Djibouti Weak Strong Source: World Bank Group's Women, Business and the Law database

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