World Bank Index on Working Women

Context:

India scored 74.4 out of a possible 100 in a World Bank Index on the life cycle of a working woman.

About World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2023:

A score of 100 on the Index means that women are on an equal standing with men on all the eight indicators being measured.
- The indicators are Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension.
Women, Business and the Law 2023 is the ninth in a series of annual reports that analyse laws and regulations affecting women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies.
Eight indicators—structured around women’s interactions with the law as they begin, progress through, and end their careers—align with the economic decisions women make at various stages of their lives.

Findings of the Report:

Global Performance:
- Of the 190 economies covered in the Index, only 14 scored a perfect 100:
  - Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

India’s Performance:
- India scored higher than the 63.7 average for the South Asian region, though lower than Nepal which had the region’s highest score of 80.6.
- For India, the Index used data on laws applicable in Mumbai, viewed as the country’s main business city.

Inequality in Women’s Pay: The laws affecting the Indian working woman’s pay and pension do not provide for equality with Indian men.
Constraints on freedom of Movement: When it comes to constraints on freedom of movement, laws affecting women’s decisions to work, and constraints related to marriage, India gets a perfect score.
Gender differences in property and inheritance: India lags behind when it comes to laws affecting women’s pay, pension and work after having children, constraints on women starting and running a business, gender differences in property and inheritance.

News Source: The Hindu