LEGAL & REGULATORY

BARRIERS TO

WOMEN’S FULL

FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Tazeen Hasan

GBA Annual Summit

November 13, 2018

MEASURING GENDER EQUALITY IN THE LAW

FOR 10 YEARS

2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

In its fifth edition, Women, Business and the Law 2018 expands

its analysis to 189 economies

WHY DO LAWS MATTER?

3

Equality of

opportunity allows

women to make

the choices that

are best for them,

their families and

their communities

GENDER EQUALITY IS SMART ECONOMICS

4

▪ Legal gender differences

significantly decrease

female labor force

participation and

undermine GDP growth

▪ If women’s labor force

participation were the

same as men’s, as much

as $28 trillion could be

added to global GDP by

2025

▪ Legal gender equality is

associated with lower

gender gaps in labor

force participation

without any significant

effect on male

participation rates

27%

19%

15%

10%9%

Middle East &North Africa

South Asia Latin America& Caribbean

Europe Sub-SaharanAfrica

Estimated income losses due to gender gaps in women's employment and entrepreneurship

IDENTIFICATION MATTERS FOR FINANCIAL

INCLUSION

5

Women cannot legally apply for

a national ID card in the same

way as men in 11 economies

globally, including 4 in the

Middle East and North Africa

LAWS RESTRICTING WOMEN’S AGENCY AND

MOBILITY CAN HINDER THEIR FINANCIAL INCLUSION

6

3

4

17

31

37

Open a bank account

Register a business

Travel outside the home

Be head of household

Apply for a passport

Afghanistan; Algeria; Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Botswana; Cameroon; Congo, Rep.; Cyprus;

Dominica; Egypt, Arab Rep.; Fiji; Gabon; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Jordan; Malawi; Mali;

Myanmar; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Philippines; Samoa; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Solomon Islands; St.

Vincent and the Grenadines; Sudan; Trinidad and Tobago; Uganda; United Arab Emirates; Yemen, Rep.;

Zambia

Bahrain; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; Comoros; Congo,

Dem. Rep.; Congo, Rep.; Djibouti; Gabon; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Indonesia; Iran,

Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Libya; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Oman;

San Marino; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sudan; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen, Rep.

Afghanistan; Bahrain; Brunei Darussalam; Egypt,

Arab Rep.; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan;

Kuwait; Malaysia; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia;

Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab

Emirates; West Bank and Gaza; Yemen, Rep.

Bhutan;

Guinea-

Bissau;

Pakistan;

Suriname

Chad;

Guinea-

Bissau;

Niger

Actions that women cannot legally perform in the same way as men

GENDER GAPS IN ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP ARE

LARGER WHERE WOMEN’S MOBILITY IS

CONSTRAINED

56%

60%

17%

25%

Female Male Female Male

YES NO

Can a married woman choose where to live in the same way as a married

man?

Account at a financial institution (% age 15+)

12%15%

4%7%

Female Male Female Male

YES NO

Can a married woman choose where to live in the same way as a married man?

Borrowed from a financial institution (% age 15+)

7

BARRIERS AND ENABLERS TO FEMALE

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: ACCESS TO PROPERTY

8

• In some economies, e.g. Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia, the value of

a wife’s non-monetary contributions, such as taking care of the children and

household, is recognized when dividing property between spouses upon divorce

• In Jordan a law was introduced in 2010 requiring registration of inheritance and a 3-

month waiting period during which a woman cannot waive her inheritance rights

THE LEGAL RECOGNITION OF NONMONETARY

CONTRIBUTIONS CAN PROMOTE WOMEN’S USE OF

DEBIT CARDS

9

54%56%

10%

17%

Female Male Female Male

YES NO

Does the law recognize nonmonetary contributions in separate property

regimes?

Debit card in own name (% age 15+)

42% 43%

5%

10%

Female Male Female Male

YES NO

Does the law recognize nonmonetary contributions in separate property

regimes?

Debit card used in the past year (% age 15+)

ESTABLISHING GOOD CREDIT HISTORIES CAN

HELP WOMEN BUILD REPUTATION COLLATERAL

FOR LOANS

Utility bill in woman’s

name

Utility company

records her successful repayment

Credit agency collects

repayment information

Women can leverage

payment of utility bills to build

their reputation collateral

10

BARRIERS AND ENABLERS TO FEMALE

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: ACCESS TO CREDIT

11

• 66 economies, including Malta

and Morocco, prohibit

discrimination in access to

credit based on gender

• 32 economies, including

Morocco and Tunisia, prohibit

discrimination in access to

credit based on marital status

LAWS ON NON-DISCRIMINATION IN ACCESS TO

CREDIT CAN PROMOTE FINANCIAL INCLUSION

65%

39%

Yes No

Does the law prohibit discrimination based on gender in access to credit?

Account at a financial institution, female (% age 15+)

50%

22%

Yes No

Does the law prohibit discrimination based on gender in access to credit?

Debit card in own name, female (% age 15+)

12

THE TACKING CHILDCARE PROJECT

A WBL AND IFC STUDY OF 50 COUNTRIES HIGHLIGHTING THE

BUSINESS CASE FOR CHILDCARE (2017)

14

IN 15 ECONOMIES IN MENA THE GOVERNMENT PROVIDES

CHILDCARE SERVICES

THE CHILDCARE BUSINESS AND

DEVELOPMENT CASE

15

✓ GOOD FOR CHILDRENo Benefits of early childhood development range from healthy development and greater

capacity to learn while in school to increased productivity in adulthood (World Bank,

2015)

✓ GOOD FOR WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENTo Investments in care economy would create twice as many jobs than investments in

construction industry and decrease the gender gap in employment (ITUC, 2016)

o Value of unpaid care estimated at $10 trillion or 13% of global GDP (McKinsey, 2016)

✓ GOOD FOR ECONOMIESo Investing 2% of GDP in care economy of 7 developed countries would create more

than 21 million jobs and help countries overcome challenges of aging populations and

economic stagnation (ITUC, 2016)

o Investing in early childcare could generate 719,000 jobs in Turkey alone and expand

the skilled talent pool by encouraging women’s labor force participation (ILO et al, 2015)

MORE WOMEN RECEIVE WAGES WHERE

GOVERNMENTS SUPPORT CHILDCARE

16

ENROLLMENT IN PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL IS HIGHER

WHERE CHILDCARE FEES ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

17

FROM INFORM TO REFORM

WOMEN’S FINANCIAL INCLUSION

ECONOMY REFORMS

Islamic

Republic of

Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran improved access to credit information by

reporting data on credit payments from an automobile retailer

Iraq The 2015 Labor Law mandates employers to provide childcare services

TunisiaTunisia strengthened credit reporting by distributing payment information

from a telecommunications company

West Bank

and Gaza

West Bank and Gaza passed the Palestinian Law in 2017 on Education and

Higher Education, which for the first time mandates the government to

provide one year of free and compulsory public preschool

18

USING WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW IN

YOUR WORK

IDENTIFY GOOD PRACTICES

INCORPORATE AN ECONOMIC

ANALYSIS

INFLUENCE REFORMReform laws, unleashing women’s full potential

Examine the legislation that works for women

employees and entrepreneurs

Demonstrate how gender gaps undermine growth

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Enact laws that promote women’s access and control over assets e.g. recognition of women’s non-monetary contribution and mandatory joint titling of land

Reform laws that constrain women’s mobility and access to national IDs and enact laws that provide an enabling childcare framework

Ensure credit agencies collect repayment history from microfinance institutions, retailers and utility companies

Introduce laws on non-discrimination in access to credit based on gender and marital status

20

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WBL.WORLDBANK.ORG

21

#WomenBizLaw

#Get2Equal

@womenbusinesslaw

22