The Rocky Road To Gender Equality: Are Women Better Off Now Than In 1970?
Fifty years ago, women had, on average, less than half the legal rights of men. In many countries, they weren't allowed to work in industrial jobs and there was no law protecting them against gender-based discrimination at work. Paid leave for mothers was offered in just a few countries and legislation addressing domestic violence was practically nonexistent.
Over the past few decades, many countries have made reforms toward greater gender equality, but despite this progress, women still face regulations that restrict their economic opportunities. Let's have a look at what has changed from 1970 till today.
Gender Equality 50 Years Ago And Now
The Women, Business, And The Law index issued by the World Bank ranks countries based on their legislation and regulations that affect women's economic opportunities. The index consists of eight indicators (such as mobility, pay, and pensions), which are structured around the life cycle of a working woman. The higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation is.
In 1970, the global index was 46.3 points out of 100 -- meaning that, on average, women had less than half the legal rights of men. The biggest inequalities were observed in the areas of parenthood, the workplace, and pay.
Over subsequent decades, the index gradually increased and eventually reached 76.1 points in 2020. According to the latest report, parenthood and pay were still the areas where the biggest inequalities were found, and the World Bank considers only 10 countries in the world to be fully gender-equal.
Russia -- Falling Below The World Average
In 1970, Russia was one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. Local women had slightly more than half the legal rights of men (its index score was 55.6 points), which was above the global average at that time.
Between 1960 and 1971, as the Soviet Union strived to expand its economy, more than 18 million women were brought into the workforce. As motherhood and family values were also promoted, new regulations had to be adopted.
For example, gender-based employment discrimination was officially prohibited and the dismissal of workers for being pregnant was banned. Paid maternity leave was also available. Back then, leave of at least 14 weeks was common in fewer than 30 countries around the world.
On the other hand, women were banned from jobs that were deemed dangerous to their reproductive health. They faced restrictions on working at night and in certain industrial jobs, such as those that required lifting or moving heavy items. At one point, there were more than 400 such jobs on the list of occupations deemed unsuitable for women. Equal pay for equal work was also not required by law.
Women, Business, and the Law index
(1970-2020 data)
After 1991, Russia improved its index by allowing women to work at night and legally requiring equal pay for work of equal value. However, no major reforms have been adopted since 2002 and the index has stagnated ever since. In 2016, it even fell below the world average.
Russian women still can't work in many industries, although the list of banned occupations was reduced to 100 jobs in 2021. Russia is also one of about 30 countries in the world that doesn't have a law addressing domestic violence and there is no legislation protecting workers against sexual harassment at work.
Scores By Indicator
(the higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation in this area is)
Hungary -- One Step Away From Gender Equality?
With an index of almost 67 points, Hungary was among 10 countries in the world with the highest score in 1970. Women could work in industrial jobs, there was paid leave for mothers, and it was prohibited to dismiss a worker for being pregnant. Nonetheless, women were not allowed to work in jobs that were deemed dangerous. The law also didn't prohibit gender-based discrimination in employment, and equal pay for equal work was not guaranteed.
Until 2004, Hungary's score on the Women, Business, And The Law index remained virtually unchanged. After that the government adopted legislation to protect women from sexual harassment and domestic violence. It also prohibited gender-based discrimination in the workplace.
Women, Business, And The Law Index
(1970-2020 data)
In the latest report, Hungary got a score of 96.5 points and was among 25 countries with the most gender-equal rights. Women can now work in all industries, the law prohibits gender-based discrimination in access to credit, and there is paid leave available to fathers. To get the highest score and join other countries that are recognized as fully gender-equal by the World Bank, Hungary would need to adopt a law demanding equal pay for work of equal value.
Scores By Indicator
(the higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation in this area is)
Iran -- A Paragon Of
Gender Inequality?
In 1970, women in Iran had less than one-third of the legal rights of men. Over the next 50 years, the country's index score has remained almost the same and Iran is currently among 10 countries with the least gender-equal rights in the world. Women face far more restrictions than men when it comes to leaving the home, traveling abroad, or remarrying. And these are just a few of the obstacles they must contend with.
Women, Business, And The Law Index
(1970-2020 data)
For 50 years now, Iran has been getting a zero score in three areas measured -- mobility, the workplace, and marriage. To this day, women can't choose where to live in the same way as men can. Sons and daughters don't have equal rights when it comes to inheriting assets from their parents, there is no legislation addressing sexual harassment and domestic violence, and it is not prohibited to dismiss a worker for being pregnant.
One of the very few changes adopted by Iran is paid leave, which is to some extent available for mothers and fathers.
Scores By Indicator
(the higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation in this area is)
Interactive Guide
To Gender Inequality
In this section, you can discover for yourself how gender-equality laws have changed in more than 20 countries around the world. We chose countries from our broadcast region and added a few others for reference purposes.
Note: The results are based on a report titled Women, Business, And The Law. This was published by the World Bank in February 2021 and looks at data that had been gathered by October 1, 2020. The report focuses mainly on the economic and legal impediments facing women in various countries, so there might be other further studies available that describe other aspects of gender inequality.
Afghanistan
In 1970, women in Afghanistan had about a quarter of the legal rights of men, and hardly any laws aimed at gender-equality were adopted for more than four decades. In 2016, the situation improved slightly after Kabul allowed women to apply for a passport in the same way as men and also introduced legislation on sexual harassment at work.
Afghanistan's latest Women, Business, And The Law index score of 38.1 points puts it among 10 countries with the least gender-equal laws.
Afghanistan is currently below the global average in all indicators measured. For example, there is still no law that would ban gender-based discrimination at work and no legislation addressing domestic violence. Afghanistan is also one of 15 countries in the world that don't allow women to travel outside their homes in the same way as men.
Interesting Data Points
The World Bank included 190 countries in its latest report. Eighty-eight of these still impose restrictions on women doing certain jobs or working at night. Mining was the most common sector that was off-limits for female workers, but jobs in manufacturing, construction, and the energy sector were also banned in some parts of the world.
In 1970, laws addressing sexual harassment at work and domestic violence were practically nonexistent. Currently, there are just 32 countries that don't have domestic-violence legislation and 49 that don't have sexual-harassment laws. Certain countries, including Russia and Uzbekistan, don't have laws addressing either.
Pay is one area where we can see the greatest inequality between men and women in the past 50 years. In 1970, there were only two countries in the world that required equal pay for work of equal value. While this requirement has spread over the years, more than one-third of all countries currently don't have any such legislation.