IBA 2023: 40 more years to achieve women's equality

The slowing pace of global reforms towards equal treatment of women under the law means that it will take another 40 years for worldwide gender equality, the World Bank's senior lawyer said today.  

Christopher Stephens, senior vice president and general counsel at the Washington-headquartered development organisation, was addressing members of the International Bar Association at its annual conference in Paris.  

Stephens spoke of a 'polycrisis' facing global development efforts, with the number of people living in extreme poverty - which had been falling sharply this century - rising by up to 80 million since the pandemic. 

He described gender inequality as a major contributor to poverty. 'Global economic output would increase by $7 trillion if women were fully engaged,' he said. 

However the World Bank's latest Women, Business and the Law report finds that, of 190 countries in the world, only 14 have laws that give women the same rights as men. 

'Since 1990, 2,000 laws have been passed around the world to improve equality, but the pace is slowing,' he said. The current rate, a 20-year low, will require 40 years to achieve full equality, Stephens said.