Photo/Illutration The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2024 report highlights that women globally enjoy less than two-thirds of the rights that men do.

WASHINGTON--Japan has the widest gender gap among developed countries, ranking 73rd among 190 economies in a World Bank report released on March 4.

Japanese women enjoy only 72.5 percent of the legal rights and protections that Japanese men do, according to the annual Women, Business and the Law 2024 report published ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.

The ratio is significantly lower than 84.9 percent, the average for the 34 high-income economies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Although Japan’s rank improved from 104th place last year, it remains the lowest among those wealthiest OECD countries.

Globally, the average index score stands at 64.2 percent, dropping significantly from 77.1 percent last year.

Previously, gender equality within the legal system was evaluated in eight distinct areas, including workplace, pay, marriage and entrepreneurship. This year, two new indicators, safety from violence and access to child care services, were introduced.

This lowered scores particularly in emerging and developing economies, where the necessary legal frameworks are often lacking.

In Japan, there is no reported gender gap in the legal framework concerning child care. However, the World Bank has called for improvements in the area of “safety,” citing the lack of sufficient protection against domestic violence and comprehensive legislation against sexual harassment.

The lack of significant progress in addressing long-standing issues such as the gender pay gap and discrimination against women in entrepreneurship also contributed to the low score that Japan received.

Italy ranked first in the survey, guaranteeing women 95 percent of the legal rights available to men.

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