As of 2023, 70 countries permit men and women the same degree of freedom to make their own economic choices

VANCOUVER—In 2023, 70 countries—including Canada, the US, and much of Western Europe—provided women the same degree of freedom to make economic decisions as men, finds a new study released by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. This list now includes Sierra Leone.

Despite improvements, however, other countries still limit women’s economic independence and ability to make self-determining decisions relative to men, with 35 countries imposing significant disparities.

People who have more economic freedom are allowed to make more of their own economic decisions, including to own property, to decide what to buy, where to work, whether to start a business, to engage in trade, and even to open a bank account.

The report measures the disparity between men and women across 17 factors, such as whether women are allowed to inherit property, work, register a business, or relocate in the same way as men. The most common restrictions bar women from working in certain jobs.

“Economic freedom empowers women to determine the course of their own lives, granting them greater independence and leaving them less vulnerable, while also benefiting society by creating greater prosperity and increasing economic activity,” said Rosemarie Fike, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, economics instructor at Texas Christian University, and author of this year’s Women and Progress report.

This year’s report, which reviewed 165 countries in total, tracks the level of and changes in economic freedom for women around the world. It finds that women in the most economically free nations earn 5.7 times as much as those in the least free; are 40 per cent more likely to work, 80 per cent more likely to have a bank account, and more than three times as likely to gain on-the-job training. Likewise, they also tend to be healthier and better educated, and encounter smaller male-female disparities in health, education, and income.

Crucially, gender disparity in economic freedom globally has steadily declined since 1970, but still some 600 million women live in one of the 35 countries with the greatest disparities. Sudan has the greatest disparity in economic freedom, severely limiting women’s economic rights compared to men’s. Moreover, backsliding happens. Since 2020, for instance, Saudi Arabia reintroduced several restrictions on women’s economic rights demonstrating that the presence of economic freedom today does not guarantee it will be there tomorrow.

Economic freedom is not just valuable for its own sake but also makes life better across many dimensions.

“While there has been some progress, now is no time for complacency given the sheer number of women around the world who are not provided the same level of economic freedom as men,” Fike said.

“By allowing women the same economic rights as men, policymakers around the world could help all their citizens—men and women—live happier, healthier and wealthier lives.”

The Women and Progress report is part of the Fraser Institute’s internationally-renowned Economic Freedom of the World project.

For a free PDF download and more information, visit WomenAndProgress.org.

Media Contact: Rosemarie Fike, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
Matthew Mitchell, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:
Drue MacPherson, Fraser Institute
604-688-0221 ext.721
drue.macpherson@fraserinstitute.org

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of 86 think-tanks. Its mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit fraserinstitute.org.

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