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Women, Business and the Law Index

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What you should know about this indicator

  • The Women, Business and the Law Index measures legal gender equality in the areas that shape women’s economic participation.
  • It scores economies on eight categories: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.
  • Each category score is based on legal provisions that affect women’s rights and opportunities in that domain.
  • The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 indicates equal legal rights for men and women.
  • The overall score is calculated as the simple average of the eight category scores.
  • The index captures laws and regulations as written (de jure), not how effectively they are implemented (de facto).
  • This indicator uses standardized assumptions, like the woman having one child and residing in the largest business city, to ensure comparability, though this approach may not capture variations in laws affecting women in different states, rural areas, or minority groups.

How is this data described by its producer?

Definition: The index measures how laws and regulations affect women's economic opportunity. Overall scores are calculated by taking the average score of each index (Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets and Pension), with 100 representing the highest possible score.

Limitations and exceptions: The Women, Business and the Law methodology has limitations that should be considered when interpreting the data. All eight indicators are based on standardized assumptions to ensure comparability across economies. Comparability is one of the strengths of the data, but the assumptions can also be limitations as they may not capture all restrictions or represent all particularities in a country. It is assumed that the woman resides in the economy's main business city. In federal economies, laws affecting women can vary by state or province. Even in nonfederal economies, women in rural areas and small towns could face more restrictive local legislation. Such restrictions are not captured by Women, Business and the Law unless they are also found in the main business city. The woman has reached the legal age of majority and is capable of making decisions as an adult, is in good health and has no criminal record. She is a lawful citizen of the economy being examined, and she works as a cashier in the food retail sector in a supermarket or grocery store that has 60 employees. She is a cisgender, heterosexual woman in a monogamous first marriage registered with the appropriate authorities (de facto marriages and customary unions are not measured), she is of the same religion as her husband, and is in a marriage under the rules of the default marital property regime, or the most common regime for that jurisdiction, which will not change during the course of the marriage. She is not a member of a union, unless membership is mandatory. Membership is considered mandatory when collective bargaining agreements cover more than 50 percent of the workforce in the food retail sector and when they apply to individuals who were not party to the original collective bargaining agreement. Where personal law prescribes different rights and obligations for different groups of women, the data focus on the most populous group, which may mean that restrictions that apply only to minority populations are missed. Women, Business and the Law focuses solely on the ways in which the formal legal and regulatory environment determines whether women can work or open their own businesses. The data set is constructed using laws and regulations that are codified (de jure) and currently in force, therefore implementation of laws (de facto) is not measured. The data looks only at laws that apply to the private sector. These assumptions can limit the representativeness of the data for the entire population in each country. Finally, Women, Business and the Law recognizes that the laws it measures do not apply to all women in the same way. Women face intersectional forms of discrimination based on gender, sex, sexuality, race, gender identity, religion, family status, ethnicity, nationality, disability, and a myriad of other grounds. Women, Business and the Law therefore encourages readers to interpret the data in conjunction with other available research.

General comments: 1. For the reference period, WDI and Gender Databases take the data coverage years instead of reporting years used in WBL (https://wbl.worldbank.org/). For example, the data for YR2020 in WBL (report year) corresponds to data for YR2019 in WDI and Gender Databases. 2. The 2024 Women, Business and the Law (WBL) report has introduced two distinct datasets, labeled as 1.0 and 2.0. The WBL data in the Gender database is based on the dataset 1.0.  This dataset maintains consistency with the indicators used in previous WBL reports from 2020 to 2023. In contrast, the WBL 2.0 dataset includes new areas of childcare and safety. For those interested in exploring the WBL 2.0 dataset, it is available on the WBL website at https://wbl.worldbank.org.

Women, Business and the Law Index
The index measures how laws and regulations affect women’s economic opportunity on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 means equal legal rights for men and women. It is the average score of eight categories: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.
Source
Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 8, 2025
Next expected update
September 2026
Date range
1970–2023
Unit
index (0–100)

What you should know about this indicator

  • The Women, Business and the Law Index measures legal gender equality in the areas that shape women’s economic participation.
  • It scores economies on eight categories: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.
  • Each category score is based on legal provisions that affect women’s rights and opportunities in that domain.
  • The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 indicates equal legal rights for men and women.
  • The overall score is calculated as the simple average of the eight category scores.
  • The index captures laws and regulations as written (de jure), not how effectively they are implemented (de facto).
  • This indicator uses standardized assumptions, like the woman having one child and residing in the largest business city, to ensure comparability, though this approach may not capture variations in laws affecting women in different states, rural areas, or minority groups.

How is this data described by its producer?

Definition: The index measures how laws and regulations affect women's economic opportunity. Overall scores are calculated by taking the average score of each index (Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets and Pension), with 100 representing the highest possible score.

Limitations and exceptions: The Women, Business and the Law methodology has limitations that should be considered when interpreting the data. All eight indicators are based on standardized assumptions to ensure comparability across economies. Comparability is one of the strengths of the data, but the assumptions can also be limitations as they may not capture all restrictions or represent all particularities in a country. It is assumed that the woman resides in the economy's main business city. In federal economies, laws affecting women can vary by state or province. Even in nonfederal economies, women in rural areas and small towns could face more restrictive local legislation. Such restrictions are not captured by Women, Business and the Law unless they are also found in the main business city. The woman has reached the legal age of majority and is capable of making decisions as an adult, is in good health and has no criminal record. She is a lawful citizen of the economy being examined, and she works as a cashier in the food retail sector in a supermarket or grocery store that has 60 employees. She is a cisgender, heterosexual woman in a monogamous first marriage registered with the appropriate authorities (de facto marriages and customary unions are not measured), she is of the same religion as her husband, and is in a marriage under the rules of the default marital property regime, or the most common regime for that jurisdiction, which will not change during the course of the marriage. She is not a member of a union, unless membership is mandatory. Membership is considered mandatory when collective bargaining agreements cover more than 50 percent of the workforce in the food retail sector and when they apply to individuals who were not party to the original collective bargaining agreement. Where personal law prescribes different rights and obligations for different groups of women, the data focus on the most populous group, which may mean that restrictions that apply only to minority populations are missed. Women, Business and the Law focuses solely on the ways in which the formal legal and regulatory environment determines whether women can work or open their own businesses. The data set is constructed using laws and regulations that are codified (de jure) and currently in force, therefore implementation of laws (de facto) is not measured. The data looks only at laws that apply to the private sector. These assumptions can limit the representativeness of the data for the entire population in each country. Finally, Women, Business and the Law recognizes that the laws it measures do not apply to all women in the same way. Women face intersectional forms of discrimination based on gender, sex, sexuality, race, gender identity, religion, family status, ethnicity, nationality, disability, and a myriad of other grounds. Women, Business and the Law therefore encourages readers to interpret the data in conjunction with other available research.

General comments: 1. For the reference period, WDI and Gender Databases take the data coverage years instead of reporting years used in WBL (https://wbl.worldbank.org/). For example, the data for YR2020 in WBL (report year) corresponds to data for YR2019 in WDI and Gender Databases. 2. The 2024 Women, Business and the Law (WBL) report has introduced two distinct datasets, labeled as 1.0 and 2.0. The WBL data in the Gender database is based on the dataset 1.0.  This dataset maintains consistency with the indicators used in previous WBL reports from 2020 to 2023. In contrast, the WBL 2.0 dataset includes new areas of childcare and safety. For those interested in exploring the WBL 2.0 dataset, it is available on the WBL website at https://wbl.worldbank.org.

Women, Business and the Law Index
The index measures how laws and regulations affect women’s economic opportunity on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 means equal legal rights for men and women. It is the average score of eight categories: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.
Source
Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 8, 2025
Next expected update
September 2026
Date range
1970–2023
Unit
index (0–100)

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

World Bank Gender Statistics

The World Bank Gender Statistics dataset provides a comprehensive range of gender-related indicators grouped by various topics. These indicators are categorized under different themes such as education, employment and time use, entrepreneurship, environment, health, leadership, norms and decision-making, technology, violence, and contextual information. Each category contains numerous specific indicators, covering a wide range of issues such as literacy rates, employment by sector, legal rights, health statistics, and more. This dataset offers detailed information and insights into various aspects of gender disparity and equality across different regions and countries.

Retrieved on
September 8, 2025
Retrieved from
https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/home
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Bank Gender Statistics, World Bank, 2025. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

The World Bank Gender Statistics dataset provides a comprehensive range of gender-related indicators grouped by various topics. These indicators are categorized under different themes such as education, employment and time use, entrepreneurship, environment, health, leadership, norms and decision-making, technology, violence, and contextual information. Each category contains numerous specific indicators, covering a wide range of issues such as literacy rates, employment by sector, legal rights, health statistics, and more. This dataset offers detailed information and insights into various aspects of gender disparity and equality across different regions and countries.

Retrieved on
September 8, 2025
Retrieved from
https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/home
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Bank Gender Statistics, World Bank, 2025. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

How we process data at Our World in Data

All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.

Read about our data pipeline

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Women, Business and the Law Index”, part of the following publication: Bastian Herre, Veronika Samborska, Pablo Arriagada, and Hannah Ritchie (2023) - “Women’s Rights”. Data adapted from World Bank Gender Statistics. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250916-204433/grapher/women-business-and-the-law-index.html [online resource] (archived on September 16, 2025).
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data. “Women, Business and the Law Index” [dataset]. World Bank Gender Statistics, “World Bank Gender Statistics” [original data]. Retrieved September 18, 2025 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250916-204433/grapher/women-business-and-the-law-index.html (archived on September 16, 2025).