Data shows that discriminatory practices prevail in almost all parts of the world. The 2004 Cingranelli-Richards Human Rights Dataset assesses women's social and economic rights, as legally assured and practically enforced. Figure A shows regional disparities in women's social rights, which include rights to: equal inheritance; marriage on a basis of equality with men; travel abroad; obtain a passport; confer citizenship to children or a husband; initiate a divorce; own, acquire, manage, and retain property brought into marriage; participate in social, cultural, and community activities; and finally, the right to education.
Figure B assesses discrimination in economic rights, which include: equal pay for equal work; free choice of profession or employment and the right to gainful employment without the need to obtain a husband or male relative's consent; equality in hiring and promotion practices; job security (maternity leave, unemployment benefits, etc.); and non-discrimination by employers. Also included are rights to be free from sexual harassment in the workplace; work at night; work in occupations classified as dangerous; and work in the military and the police force. The graph shows that women's economic rights tend to have a firmer footing in the law than social rights.
An enabling legal context is needed for women's empowerment. Cueva's 2006 index of the enabling legal environment for women's empowerment is based on the Cingranelli-Richards scores on government commitment and capacity to enforce women's social, economic and cultural rights with the addition of variables on international rights instruments. Assessed against the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which measures women's economic decision-making, political representation, and female share of income, a significant correlation emerges (Figure C). It shows that the existence of an enabling legal context is a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for improvements in women's economic and political position and empowerment.
Women Face Discrimination in Accessing Social Rights
