190 of the World's Countries Lack Key Legal Protections from Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Economy

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) at UCLA launched "Equality within Our Lifetimes," the most comprehensive analysis to date of laws and policies that relate to gender equality in all 193 UN member states. The research finds 190 countries with gaps in legal protections against workplace discrimination and sexual harassment, as well as unequal and inadequate policy supports for caregiving — with immense consequences for national economies.

Over five years since #MeToo took off globally, gaps in sexual harassment laws leave billions of women vulnerable: 67% of countries fail to prohibit sexual harassment by coworkers, 80% lack protections against same-sex harassment, and 59% fail to require that employers take any action to prevent harassment before it happens. Even worse, a quarter of countries haven't banned sexual harassment in the workplace whatsoever, while nearly half fail to prohibit retaliation against women who report it.

"We should not be surprised that sexual harassment is widespread globally when 104 countries either have no law against sexual harassment or don't ask employers to take any step to prevent it," said Dr. Jody Heymann, a UCLA Distinguished Professor of public policy and public health and Founding Director of WORLD.

Moreover, the study finds that gaps in the law perpetuate gender inequalities in pay and leadership worldwide: 36% of countries lack laws prohibiting gender discrimination in promotions, while 42% fail to address discrimination in training opportunities. Further, while 93% of countries address some forms of gender discrimination, only a small minority prohibit all common forms of discrimination.

Finally, disparities in caregiving supports fuel gender disparities in the workplace.  "Studies from around the world have shown that gender stereotypes about caregiving lead to employers discriminating against women," continued WORLD Senior Legal Analyst Aleta Sprague. "Yet most countries' parental leave policies reinforce gender inequality in care." While 96% of countries guarantee paid leave to new mothers, just 63% provide leave to new fathers — and most leave available to fathers is far shorter than the leave available to mothers.

Even fewer countries provide leave for other common caregiving needs — just 34% guarantee paid leave to care for a school-age child during a routine illness, while only 42% provide leave to care for a seriously ill spouse or parent with gendered impact. According to the International Labour Organization, over 606 million women are out of the labor force due to caregiving responsibilities, compared to just 41 million men.

"Equality within Our Lifetimes" is based on over a decade of research by the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, the world's largest independent data center measuring laws and policies in all countries worldwide. WORLD examined laws and policies in all 193 U.N. member states and rigorously analyzed the impacts of legal changes around the world. Alongside an open-access book published through U.C. Press, the launch includes over 100 new global maps, open-access policy data for all 193 countries, and policy briefs available in three languages.

Importantly, the study finds areas of progress.  While the pace is slow, in every area of non-discrimination and sexual harassment law more countries offer protections today than five years ago.  Faster progress has occurred in the share of countries globally providing paid leave to new fathers.  "Leave for fathers has nearly tripled since 1995," said WORLD Principal Research Analyst Amy Raub.  "While there are countries leading the way in guaranteeing more leave for fathers, in too many countries it remains too short to support more equal engagement in caregiving from the start."

"Gaps in the law match the greatest inequalities that we see playing out in the workplace and economies," Heymann stated.  "Given that recent estimates show that fully closing the gender gaps in the global economy could boost annual GDP by $28 trillion, countries can afford to act and can't afford not to."

About The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) at UCLA
The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) at UCLA is the largest independent global policy data center, capturing over 2,500 social, economic, health, and environmental quantitative legal indicators for all 193 U.N. countries. 

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