Justice for All? Assessing ‘What Works’ to Improve Women’s Access to Legal Services

A Policy Brief Prepared for the World Bank’s 2017 Law, Justice and Development Week October 2017.

Economic inequalities divide men and women around the world. Women on average earn just 60-70% of what their male counterparts earn. They are less likely to participate in formal labor markets, own fewer assets, and have limited control over household economic decision-making.

This policy brief aims to contribute to the World Bank’s discussions in October 2017, and help address research gaps, by presenting some key questions and ongoing research on gender, law, and economic development from the EDI portfolio. The brief describes a series of pilot and full-scale randomized studies that EDI and CEGA have recently supported, falling within the conference’s focus areas of 1) access to and control of key productive assets, 2) voice and influence in governance and political processes, and 3) policing and the prevention of violent crimes.

Authors:
Andrew Westbury at CEGA authored this brief, with input from Temina Madon, Mark Henstridge, Yasmina Yusuf, Stevan Lee, Benjamin Klooss, and Carson Christiano.