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The unequal treatment of women in the law is one of the most visible forms of gender inequality. Prevalent legal constraints on the basis of gender prevent women, and thereby economies, from reaching their true potential. In this regard, this paper (i) documents the evolution of gender discriminatory laws around the globe, and (ii) sheds light on the role of legal gender equality in income convergence across countries. It shows that despite the remarkable progress toward gender equality in the law over the last five decades, the legal environment across the world is still far from providing a level playing field for women. Moreover, cross-country gaps in gender discriminatory laws have persisted and even widened over the years, meaning that some countries have lagged behind the progress in repealing the laws that act as a barrier to women’s economic inclusion. Based on a global sample since the 1970s, this paper finds that greater gender equality in the law facilitates cross-country income convergence over time. The results call for action and provide a reason to be optimistic going forward. They imply that legal reforms supportive of gender equality, which could indeed be actionable in the shorter term, help poorer countries catch up with the living standards in the advanced economies. These offer a window of opportunity in the post-Covid-19 period, given the adverse effects of the pandemic on economic growth and gender gaps.

658.1 Gelijke kansen --- Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Gender Studies --- Women''s Studies' --- Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Labor Discrimination --- Labor Law --- Economic Development: General --- Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General --- Measurement of Economic Growth --- Aggregate Productivity --- Cross-Country Output Convergence --- Aggregate Factor Income Distribution --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Gender studies, gender groups --- Gender inequality --- Gender --- Women --- Income --- National accounts --- Income inequality --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Sex discrimination --- Sex role --- Income distribution

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It is well established that a wide range of legal impediments in countries’ domestic laws have prevented women from achieving full economic empowerment, which in turn has negative macroeconomic implications. In many countries, laws often reflect and perpetuate gender norms that limit women’s economic participation, and removal of these impediments through legal reform has been shown to be an effective method to catalyze greater participation of women in the economy—along with the related macroeconomic benefits. Once legal barriers are removed and provisions for more equal treatment under the law are embedded, the law can also be employed as a powerful tool to incentivize women to pursue equal opportunities, change mindsets regarding the role of women, and hold institutions and individuals accountable for achieving results. Accordingly, it is imperative for countries to focus on eliminating existing legal impediments and designing appropriate incentives to increase women’s participation in the economy. This paper goes beyond previous Fund work by categorizing the key sources of laws that impede women’s economic empowerment, as well as ways in which the law can be used as a tool to create behavioral changes and shifts in perceptions of women in the economy. Case studies of six countries (Iceland, Peru, Rwanda, The Philippines, Tunisia, and the United States) that rank high in gender equality in their respective regions demonstrate how legal reforms have been implemented in differing contexts to help achieve women’s economic empowerment. Given the relevance to the Fund’s mandate, the paper also notes the case for a stepped-up role for the IMF in advising on legal reforms that remove barriers to, and incentivize, women’s economic empowerment. Although this paper highlights dominant belief systems and cultural norms that have contributed to limiting the economic empowerment of women, it does not intend to render any judgment on these systems or norms.

United States --- Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Women''s Studies' --- Gender Studies --- Labor --- Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Labor Discrimination --- Other Substantive Areas of Law: General --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Labor Standards: Labor Force Composition --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Gender studies, gender groups --- Labour --- income economics --- Women --- Gender --- Gender inequality --- Gender diversity --- Labor force participation --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Sex discrimination --- Sex role --- Labor market --- Income economics --- Women & girls --- Women's Studies

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While there are ample reasons for discussing gender diversity in good times, there is an even greater need in bad times. At the time of this report, the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the negative spillovers and higher inflation following Russia’s war in Ukraine, have exacerbated pre-existing gender gaps, disproportionately affecting women’s jobs, incomes, and security. The stall in progress towards gender parity has resulted in a call for further action to reduce gender inequality, as seen in the Strategy for Mainstreaming Gender at the Fund. The integration of gender in the Fund’s core activities, when macro-critical, recognizes the fact that reducing gender disparities results in higher economic growth, greater economic stability and resilience, and lower income inequality.

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020 --- Gender identity. --- Economic development. --- Economic aspects. --- Economics of Gender --- Economics --- Gender diversity --- Gender Studies --- Gender studies --- Gender studies, gender groups --- Gender --- Monetary economics --- Monetary Policy --- Monetary policy --- Money and Monetary Policy --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Political Economy --- Political economy --- Sex role --- Women & girls --- Women --- Women's Studies --- United States

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On July 22, 2022, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the IMF’s first Strategy toward Mainstreaming Gender into the IMF’s core activities. Mainstreaming gender at the IMF starts with the recognition that reducing gender disparities goes hand-in-hand with higher economic growth, greater economic stability and resilience, and lower income inequality. At the same time, economic and financial policies can exacerbate or narrow gender disparities. Well-designed macroeconomic, structural, and financial policies can support efficient and inclusive outcomes and equitably benefit women, girls, and the society in general. The strategy lays out how the IMF can help its member countries address gender disparities in the context of carrying out its core functions—surveillance, lending, and capacity development. The strategy comprises four key pillars: first, gender-disaggregated data collection and development of modeling tools to enable staff to conduct policy analysis; second, a robust governance framework for an evenhanded approach across members based on the macro-criticality of gender; third, strengthening collaboration with external partners to benefit from knowledge sharing and peer learning, leverage complementarities, and maximize the impact on the ground; and fourth, the efficient use of resources allocated to gender by putting in place a central unit for realizing scale economies and supporting country teams.

Gender dysphoria. --- Economics of Gender --- Economics --- Education --- Education: General --- Gender budgeting --- Gender diversity --- Gender inequality --- Gender Studies --- Gender studies --- Gender studies, gender groups --- Gender --- Monetary economics --- Monetary Policy --- Monetary policy --- Money and Monetary Policy --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Political Economy --- Political economy --- Sex discrimination --- Sex role --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Women & girls --- Women --- Women's Studies --- Senegal

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This paper examines the role of Fintech in financial inclusion. Using Global Findex data and emerging fintech indicators, we find that Fintech has a higher positive correlation with digital financial inclusion than traditional measures of financial inclusion. In the second stage of our empirical investigation, we examine the key factors that are correlated with the Fletcher School’s three digital divide – gender divide, class (rich-poor) divide and rural divide. The results indicate that greater use of fintech is significantly associated with a narrowing of the class divide and rural divide but there was no impact on the gender divide. These findings imply that Fintech alone may not be sufficient to close the gender gap in access to financial services. Fintech development may need to be complemented with targeted policy initiatives aimed at addressing the gender gap directly, and at changing attitudes and social norms across demographics.

Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Finance: General --- Industries: Financial Services --- Gender Studies --- Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy --- Monetary Systems --- Standards --- Regimes --- Government and the Monetary System --- Payment Systems --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Finance --- Computer applications in industry & technology --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Financial inclusion --- Financial markets --- Fintech --- Technology --- Digital financial services --- Gender inequality --- Gender --- Mobile banking --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations --- Sex discrimination --- Banks and banking, Mobile --- South Africa