In the past 50 years women's legal status has improved all over the world. But many laws still make it difficult for women to fully participate in economic life whether by getting jobs or starting businesses. Discriminatory rules bar women from certain jobs, restrict access to capital for women-owned firms and limit women's capacity to make legal decisions. Gender differences in laws affect both developing and developed economies, and women in all regions. Women, business, and the law measures restrictions on women’s employment and entrepreneurship as well as incentives for women’s employment in 143 economies. Women, business, and the law and the World Bank's global financial inclusion global findings database show that in economies with a default full community of property regime, there are on average 10 percentage points more female owned accounts at formal financial institutions than in economies with a default separation of property regime. This report has shown that although much progress has been made in recent decades in gradually dismantling many of the legal restrictions which have hampered women from more fully contributing to national prosperity, there is a large unfinished agenda of reform.

Gender equality is important not only for fairness and equity, but also for economic efficiency and is at the center of creating a more prosperous world. The third in a series, "Women, Business and the Law 2014: Removing Restrictions to Enhance Gender Equality" monitors regulations affecting women entrepreneurs and employees in 143 economies. This edition highlights reforms carried out over the past two years, examines the evolution of women’s property rights and legal decision making ability since 1960 and expands coverage to examine legal protections addressing violence against women.

Women, Business and the Law 2014: Removing Restrictions To Enhance Gender Equality finds that while 42 economies reduced legal differences between women and men, 128 out of 143 economies studied still impose legal differences on the basis of gender in at least one of the report’s key indicators. The report also identifies 48 law and regulatory reforms enacted between March 2011 and April 2013 that could enhance women’s economic opportunities

The importance of land ownership goes beyond capital accumulation. Access to and control over land provides income and reinforces bargaining power and agency. Moreover, the ability to leverage property as collateral is important for both female and male entrepreneurs. But regional and local gender asset gaps persist in property ownership, particularly for major assets.