Laws meant to give women equal economic opportunities are, on average, only half enforced around the world, according to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2026 report, published on February 24, 2026. The findings bear directly on the work of the W20, the G20 engagement group on women’s economic empowerment, which the United States has led in 2026 since taking over from South Africa on January 12. For employers, investors and policymakers, the report remains the most detailed global benchmark of where legal and practical barriers lie.
What the report measures
The eleventh edition covers 190 economies and 10 areas that shape women’s working lives, including safety from violence, childcare, entrepreneurship, employment protections, asset ownership and retirement security. For the first time, it assesses three pillars: the laws themselves, the policies and institutions needed to put them into practice, and legal experts’ perceptions of enforcement. Its data are current as of October 1, 2025.
The gaps it found
On average, economies score 67 out of 100 on the adequacy of their laws. The average falls to 53 for enforcement and to 47 for the systems needed to implement those rights, according to Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist. None of the 190 economies grants women equal economic opportunities, and women worldwide hold about two-thirds of the legal rights of men. Only 4% of women live in economies that provide nearly full legal equality.
Childcare and finance stand out. Fewer than half of the economies covered have laws providing financial or tax support for families, and among those, only 30% of the policies needed for affordable, high-quality childcare services are in place. In low-income economies, the figure is 1%. Women can start businesses on the same legal terms as men in nearly all economies, but only about half promote equal access to credit.
The report also identifies safety from violence as a key shortcoming, one that leaves women less able to work consistently.
Reform is continuing
Laws on the books are still changing. Between 2023 and 2025, 68 economies enacted 113 legal reforms that strengthen women’s economic opportunities, across most areas the report covers. Gill said the gap between laws, enforcement and support systems reflects “huge opportunity gaps” and that the findings give policymakers evidence on where action is most needed.
For businesses, the childcare and credit findings are the most practical. The report treats affordable, reliable childcare as one of the strongest predictors of whether mothers can work or move into higher-productivity jobs, and equal access to credit as a condition for women entrepreneurs to grow.
The W20 presidency rotates with the G20. South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom form the current troika, and the United Kingdom takes over the W20 presidency in 2027.
