Addressing Legal Barriers to Women’s Economic Empowerment

Paula Rudnicka, Advisor at ABA ROLI, is joined by fellow panelists:
T.H. Jennifer Newstead, Legal Adviser at U.S. Department of State;
H.E. Pennelope Beckles, Permanent Representative at Permanent Mission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN & President of the Executive Board for UN Women;
Tanja Auvinen, Director of Gender Equality Unit at Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland; and
Sarah Iqbal, Program Manager at Global Indicators Group, The World Bank

Last week, the United States (U.S.) Delegation to the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) convened gender experts to discuss legal barriers to women’s economic empowerment during an event at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City, New York. The panel examined international efforts to reform laws and policies that restrict women’s economic rights and hold them back in their communities and economies. Speakers agreed that formal equality under the law—a basic predicate to women’s equal opportunity and their economic empowerment—remains elusive in many legal systems. They also emphasized the need to address not only discriminatory norms entrenched in national laws, but also a disparate impact of seemingly gender-neutral laws on women and men.

Paulina (Paula) Rudnicka, Advisor at the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), spoke on the panel about her research on women’s economic rights in Cambodia, El Salvador, and Honduras based on the “Women’s Economic Empowerment Barrier Assessment Tool,” conceptualized under the Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE) consortium. She focused her remarks on legal barriers to female entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of women’s legal autonomy and ability to transact, commercial regulations, property rights, financial inclusion, and access to justice. In addition, Paula gave an overview of ABA ROLI’s and WAGE’s efforts to reduce these barriers in practice through innovative technical assistance programs implemented in close partnership with local civil society actors and women political and business leaders. Follow more developments related to WAGE on Twitter and Facebook.