Publication:
Changing Laws, Changing Lives: Family Law Reform as a Catalyst for Economic Prosperity

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dc.contributor.authorBehr, Daniela M.
dc.contributor.authorBraunmiller, Julia C.
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-15T19:27:58Z
dc.date.available2025-04-15T19:27:58Z
dc.date.issued2025-04-15
dc.description.abstractFamily law has witnessed significant global progress over the past 50 years: Since 1970, 600 million women have gained economic opportunities through family law reforms. In 1970, only 37 economies had equal family laws for men and women, but this number increased to 85 in 2024. Yet, family laws worldwide reinforce inequality, shaping power dynamics within households. In 105 economies, legal frameworks that lay out rights and responsibilities between household members still deny women equal rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance, or decision-making about family and household matters. Rooted in social norms and often dismissed as a private issue, discriminatory family laws limit women’s financial independence and access to jobs and markets, thereby reinforcing systemic disadvantages. The brief underscores that family law is not solely private but a critical public concern with profound implications for women’s labor force participation and global economic growth. It provides an overview of decades of family law reform, drawing on data from the Women, Business, and the Law project, showcasing how legal changes have strengthened women’s rights, economic opportunities, and autonomy.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099451004152527844
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/43068
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/43068
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesGlobal Indicators Briefs; No. 30
dc.rightsCC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo
dc.subjectFAMILY LAW
dc.subjectWOMEN
dc.subjectGENDER INEQUALITY
dc.subjectWOMEN'S AUTONOMY
dc.subjectECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
dc.titleChanging Laws, Changing Livesen
dc.title.subtitleFamily Law Reform as a Catalyst for Economic Prosperityen
dc.typeBrief
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.disclosure2025-04-15
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-17T03:28:16.273588Z
okr.date.lastmodified2025-04-15T18:04:34Zen
okr.doctypeBrief
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099451004152527844
okr.guid099451004152527844
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-048c8b57-bd9a-43ad-b776-89a0f72e0d26
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum40006929
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum40006929
okr.identifier.report200447
okr.import.id7103
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttps://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099451004152527844/pdf/IDU-048c8b57-bd9a-43ad-b776-89a0f72e0d26.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalWorld
okr.topicGender::Gender and Law
okr.topicGender::Gender and Development
okr.topicLaw and Development::Law and Gender
okr.unitDECWL - Women
okr.unitBusiness ＆ the Law-WB
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