World Bank Women, Business & Law Index: Ghana improves to 26th position in Africa

Ghana improved by one place to the 26th position, out of 53 countries in Africa, in the 2023 World Bank Women, Business & Law Index.

The country however maintained its 7th position in West Africa, but better than Nigeria (66.3%).

Though the nation scored the same marks of 75% in 2021 and 2022, poor scores in Parenthood (20%) and Pay (50%) categories affected its quest to improve its rank- ings.

Quite a number of African countries improved their rankings. Ghana scored full marks of 100% in Mobility, Workplace and Marriage.

Again, Ghana scored 75% in the Entrepreneurship and Pensions categories. The positions were however unchanged from the 2022’s rankings, meaning very little progress have been made in these categories.

It however scored 80% in the Asset category.

Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon were jointly ranked 1st in Africa with a total score of 95%, overtaking Mauritius (89.9%) which placed 3rd. South Africa placed 4th (88.1%), whilst Zimbabwe (86.9%) and Cape Verde (86.3%) placed 5th and 6th globally.

The Women, Business and the Law 2023 is the ninth in a series of annual studies measuring the laws that a ect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies.

The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they progress through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. Women, Business and the Law 2023 identi es barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages the reform of discriminatory laws. This year, the study also includes new research, a literature review, and analysis of 53 years of reforms for women’s rights. The indicators build evidence of the critical relationship between legal gender equality and women’s employment and entrepreneurship.