ESWATINI RANKS LOW IN PROMOTING BUSINESSWOMEN

MBABANE - Eswatini is said to be one of the lowly-ranked countries in sub-Saharan Africa on promoting women both in business as well as in top public positions.

This was revealed in the recently-published World Bank Women, Business and Law 2021 report. The UN Development Programme lists 46 of Africa’s 54 countries as sub-Saharan, excluding Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia. In sub-Saharan Africa, Eswatini has been placed third from the bottom with 46.3 out of 100 index points. According to World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2021 is one of a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers. The indicators include mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.

zero

Eswatini has been scored a zero in the entrepreneurship indicator capturing differences between men and women in that area. This year’s report updates all indicators as of October 1, 2020 and builds evidence of the links between legal gender equality and women’s economic inclusion. “By examining the economic decisions women make throughout their working lives, as well as the pace of reform over the past 50 years, Women, Business and the Law 2021 makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women’s economic empowerment,” reads the report in part. At the top of the rankings are Mauritius, South Africa, and Zimbabwe while Eswatini, Guinea Bissau and Sudan are listed at the bottom. Globally, 10 economies—Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Sweden—score 100 on the Women, Business and the Law index. The Women, Business and Law 2021 report is a global ranking that assesses laws and reforms in 190 countries, looking at efforts made to eliminate gender-based discrimination and support women.

inequality

In the foreword, the report highlighted that the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and deepened global inequality. “For many women around the world, this could mean not only economic insecurity, but also threats to their health and safety. In times like these, a legal environment that encourages women’s economic inclusion can make them less vulnerable in the face of a crisis. “Yet in difficult moments many women start at a disadvantage,” shared the report. Mari Elka Pangestu Managing Director - Development Policy and Partnerships at The World Bank endorsed the report. The report suggested that locally,  both Women and Law in  Southern Africa and (WLSA) and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs was consulted during the research.

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