rights advocates and other like-minded forces, whether in government or in national and global civil society, are key. Another area of the law where customary and religious provisions are often influential is property ownership and inheritance. As Figure 1.2 shows, there has been significant progress between 1990 and 2010 in reducing legal discrimination against women regarding their ability to inherit and own assets in their own name – although here too progress has been uneven across regions. Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Developed Regions have all but removed legal restrictions on women’s property rights. There has also been tremendous progress in Latin America and the Caribbean. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa,
which began the period with the largest number of legal restrictions compared to other regions, have made significant strides in removing gender based differences in the right to own property. In contrast, progress in reducing gender disparities in legislation has been less impressive in the Middle East and North Africa and in South Asia.21
Reforming women’s legal status at work, parental leave and childcare
What about legal rights that shape women’s access to paid work and equal conditions at work, maternity and parental leave and childcare policies? Based on analysis of more than a dozen laws and policies spanning 70 countries over three decades (1975–2005), a more recent study charts the uneven progress in these areas as well.22
Figure 1.3 Percentage of countries with legal provisions and policies, 1975-2005 An increasing number of countries have introduced laws and policies to equalize women’s status at work and provide maternity leave and childcare services Workplace discrimination 100
Family leave policies 97
Percentage of countries
91
80
40
81 66
64
63
71
74
43
41
20 0
96
83
81
60
Child care
20
1975
1985
1995
Anti-sex discrimination at worka
2005
6
7
1975
1985
Paid maternity leave
1995
2005
1975
1985
1995
2005
National day care policyb
Parental leave Source: Htun and Weldon 2014. Note: Based on a study of legal provisions and policies in 70 countries. Definitions, methodology and sample size differ from data used in Annex 3 (see statistical notes in the Annex). a Measures whether there are laws in place that prohibit discrimination in the workplace, for instance, in hiring, pay, termination of employment, access to training, and equal participation in workplace governance/unions. bMeasures whether a national or federal day care policy exists.