USAID WEE CoP Learning Event: Using Data to Reform Gender Discriminatory Laws and Regulations (July 2022)

On July 13, 2022, the USAID Women's Economic Empowerment Community of Practice (USAID WEE CoP) hosted a peer learning event, presented by WEE CoP members; it centered on  the World Bank’s  Women, Business and the Law 2022 report. Over 118 attendees from 31 countries joined this virtual event, including WEE CoP members and stakeholders. Presenters and panelists focused on the report’s key findings and  why systems-level change and a strong enabling environment are required to achieve gender equality and women’s economic security.

Presenters:  Tea Trumbic, Program Manager for the Women, Business and the Law (WBL) project, shared evidence and case studies to show how report findings inform the design of World Bank Group gender priorities. Ms. Trumbic then moderated a discussion with Michelle Milford Morse, Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy, UN Foundation; Mark Ahern, World Bank Group’s Lead Country Economist for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti; and Erin Carr-Jordan, Managing Director of the Digital Equity Institute and Head of Social Impact at Arizona State University on applying WBL data for global advocacy, supporting national legislative changes, and creating decision-making tools. The panelists discussed how gender discriminatory laws prevent women from fully and equally contributing to their economies and how individuals and organizations can take action now to change those laws.

For more resources on the Women, Business and the Law 2022 report, refer to the links below: 

• Visit the Women, Business and the Law webpage to download the full report and executive summary; or to  explore the data, learn about the methodology, and help spread the word and knowledge with the WBL Dissemination Toolkit.  
• Read chapters of the WBL report on Toward Available, Affordable, and Quality Childcare and  Measuring the Legal Environment in Practice.
• Read about WBL’s research analyzing data on the rights of women with disabilities under family law, labor law, and violence against women legislation, such as  The Gambia’s Women’s Act of 2010 and follow on  2010-2020 National Gender and Women Empowerment Policy.

For more information on the UN Foundation’s work on Girls and Women, please refer to the links below:

• Check out the #EqualEverywhere campaign to call attention to pervasive gender discrimination and the brave advocates striving to realize the promise of equality for all.  
• Access the #EqualEverywhere Champions for Change Discussion Series, including an episode on Constructing New Opportunities for Women and their Work.
• Discover A Snapshot of Gender Inequality: 50 of the World’s Most Sexist Laws, Policies, and Norms, a factbook of the most egregious and discriminatory examples of how women and girls are being held back. 
• Read “Gender Discrimination Is Enshrined in Law. This Needs to Change”,  an article by Michelle Milford Morse, Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy, UN Foundation.

Please refer to the links below for more information on resources developed by Arizona State University:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.  A variety of tools and resources are available including: 
  • Open The Global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5) Notification Tool to learn about country-level progress on legal gender equality, using data provided by the World Bank’s WBL program.

Check out SDG 5 Training for Parliamentarians and Global Changemakers, a video training series to inform members of parliament and other leaders on gender issues and trends, providing actionable steps they can take to advance SDG 5.