Markets in a Minute

The State of Women’s Economic Rights Worldwide

Published

4 years ago

July 23, 2020

Jenna Ross

This Markets in a Minute Chart is available as a poster.

Womens Economic Rights

This Markets in a Minute Chart is available as a poster.

The State of Women’s Economic Rights Worldwide

While significant progress has been made over time, women still face entrepreneurship and employment barriers. In fact, on average around the globe, women have just three-quarters of the legal economic rights granted to men.

Equal opportunities are important not only from a human rights perspective, but also from an economic perspective. When women are able to work outside the home and manage money, they are more likely to join the workforce and contribute to economic growth.

In this Markets in a Minute chart from New York Life Investments, we show the state of women’s legal economic rights around the world.

Economic Opportunity by Country

The World Bank analyzed eight metrics that affect women’s economic empowerment at various life stages: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension. For example, in places where women are able to move around freely, they are more likely to join the workforce.

To ensure comparability, women are assumed to work in the main business city of their country and in the formal sector. The formal sector refers to work with companies that contribute taxes and/or are registered with the government. It’s also worth noting that the data is based on legal rights, and religious or customary laws are not considered unless codified.

A score of 100 means that women have the same legal economic rights as men for the eight metrics measured. Here’s how each of the 190 economies stack up, sorted by score.

Economy	Score
Belgium	100.0
Canada	100.0
Denmark	100.0
France	100.0
Iceland	100.0
Latvia	100.0
Luxembourg	100.0
Sweden	100.0
Estonia	97.5
Finland	97.5
Germany	97.5
Greece	97.5
Ireland	97.5
Italy	97.5
Netherlands	97.5
Portugal	97.5
Spain	97.5
United Kingdom	97.5
Australia	96.9
Hungary	96.9
Norway	96.9
Peru	95.0
Austria	94.4
New Zealand	94.4
Paraguay	94.4
Slovak Republic	94.4
Croatia	93.8
Czech Republic	93.8
Lithuania	93.8
Poland	93.8
Serbia	93.8
Slovenia	93.8
Kosovo	91.9
Mauritius	91.9
Albania	91.3
Cyprus	91.3
Taiwan, China	91.3
United States	91.3
Bulgaria	90.6
Romania	90.6
Ecuador	89.4
Hong Kong SAR, China	89.4
El Salvador	88.8
Malta	88.8
Uruguay	88.8
Lao PDR	88.1
South Africa	88.1
Guyana	86.9
Zimbabwe	86.9
Cabo Verde	86.3
Dominican Republic	86.3
Namibia	86.3
Nicaragua	86.3
São Tomé and Príncipe	86.3
Georgia	85.6
Switzerland	85.6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	85.0
Korea, Rep.	85.0
North Macedonia	85.0
Venezuela, RB	85.0
Moldova	84.4
Tanzania	84.4
Togo	84.4
Liberia	83.8
Mexico	83.8
St. Lucia	83.8
Côte d’Ivoire	83.1
Timor-Leste	83.1
Armenia	82.5
Bolivia	82.5
Mongolia	82.5
Singapore	82.5
Turkey	82.5
Brazil	81.9
Colombia	81.9
Japan	81.9
Montenegro	81.9
Bahamas, The	81.3
Philippines	81.3
Puerto Rico	81.3
Zambia	81.3
Grenada	80.6
Kenya	80.6
Malawi	80.6
Costa Rica	80.0
Samoa	80.0
San Marino	80.0
Belize	79.4
Burkina Faso	79.4
Fiji	79.4
Panama	79.4
Azerbaijan	78.8
Congo, Dem. Rep.	78.8
Kiribati	78.8
Tajikistan	78.8
Ukraine	78.8
Vietnam	78.8
Rwanda	78.1
Thailand	78.1
Chile	77.5
Israel	77.5
Barbados	76.9
Kyrgyz Republic	76.9
Mozambique	76.9
Argentina	76.3
Seychelles	76.3
Belarus	75.6
China	75.6
Lesotho	75.6
Morocco	75.6
Cambodia	75.0
Ghana	75.0
Honduras	75.0
Trinidad and Tobago	75.0
Benin	74.4
Gambia, The	74.4
India	74.4
Maldives	73.8
Nepal	73.8
Angola	73.1
Burundi	73.1
Russian Federation	73.1
Uganda	73.1
Kazakhstan	72.5
Bhutan	71.9
Ethiopia	71.9
Madagascar	71.9
Central African Republic	71.3
St. Kitts and Nevis	71.3
Guatemala	70.6
Saudi Arabia	70.6
South Sudan	70.0
Tunisia	70.0
Eritrea	69.4
Djibouti	68.1
Jamaica	68.1
Sri Lanka	68.1
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	68.1
Uzbekistan	67.5
Antigua and Barbuda	66.3
Chad	66.3
Suriname	66.3
Guinea	65.0
Indonesia	64.4
Botswana	63.8
Senegal	63.8
Nigeria	63.1
Sierra Leone	63.1
Dominica	62.5
Haiti	61.3
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	61.3
Mali	60.6
Papua New Guinea	60.0
Niger	59.4
Comoros	58.8
Marshall Islands	58.8
Myanmar	58.8
Palau	58.8
Tonga	58.8
Vanuatu	58.1
Algeria	57.5
Gabon	57.5
Cameroon	56.9
Solomon Islands	56.9
United Arab Emirates	56.3
Brunei Darussalam	53.1
Lebanon	52.5
Equatorial Guinea	51.9
Libya	50.0
Malaysia	50.0
Bangladesh	49.4
Pakistan	49.4
Somalia	46.9
Bahrain	46.3
Congo, Rep.	46.3
Eswatini	46.3
Mauritania	45.6
Egypt, Arab Rep.	45.0
Iraq	45.0
Guinea-Bissau	42.5
Jordan	40.6
Oman	38.8
Afghanistan	38.1
Syrian Arab Republic	36.9
Kuwait	32.5
Qatar	32.5
Iran, Islamic Rep.	31.3
Sudan	29.4
Yemen, Rep.	26.9
West Bank and Gaza	26.3

Data as of September 1, 2019.

Following the introduction of paid paternity leave, Canada joined seven other countries that have a perfect score of 100. Paid leave for fathers contributes positively to women’s economic opportunity as it allows childcare responsibilities to be distributed more evenly.

At the other end of the spectrum, economies in the Middle East and North Africa had the lowest scores, with women having only half of the economic rights granted to men. However, these regions have also seen their scores improving the most.

For example, Saudi Arabia was the top-improving economy, more than doubling its score from 31.8 in 2017 to 70.6 in 2019. The country exacted reforms that had an impact on six out of the eight metrics. The amendments included allowing women to travel abroad without the approval of a male guardian, and changes that prohibit employment discrimination.

A Force for Good, and Economic Growth

All regions have improved their scores, but most countries still need further legal reform to put women on an equal economic footing with men. Doing so will have important socioeconomic implications. For instance, greater equality of economic opportunity is correlated with a reduction in the wage gap, increasing women’s earning power.

It also has positive economic outcomes. One study published in the Harvard Business Review found that when more women joined the workforce, they helped make cities more productive and increased real wages for both women and men.

As investors pursue geographic areas with economic growth potential, they may want to consider countries that are making the biggest strides for women’s economic rights.

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Markets in a Minute

The Top 5 Reasons Clients Fire a Financial Advisor

Firing an advisor is often driven by more than cost and performance factors. Here are the top reasons clients ‘break up’ with their advisors.

Published

3 days ago

April 15, 2024

Dorothy Neufeld

This circle graphic shows the top reasons for firing a financial advisor.

The Top 5 Reasons Clients Fire a Financial Advisor

What drives investors to fire a financial advisor?

From saving for a down payment to planning for retirement, clients turn to advisors to guide them through life’s complex financial decisions. However, many of the key reasons for firing a financial advisor stem from emotional factors, and go beyond purely financial motivations.

We partnered with Morningstar to show the top reasons clients fire an advisor to provide insight on what’s driving investor behavior.

What Drives Firing Decisions?

Here are the top reasons clients terminated their advisor, based on a survey of 184 respondents:

Reason for Firing	% of Respondents Citing This Reason	Type of Motivation
Quality of financial advice and services	32%	Emotion-based reason
Quality of relationship	21%	Emotion-based reason
Cost of services	17%	Financial-based reason
Return performance	11%	Financial-based reason
Comfort handling financial issues on their own	10%	Emotion-based reason

Numbers may not total 100 due to rounding. Respondents could select more than one answer.

While firing an advisor is rare, many of the primary drivers behind firing decisions are also emotionally driven.

Often, advisors were fired due to the quality of the relationship. In many cases, this was due to an advisor not dedicating enough time to fully grasp their personal financial goals. Additionally, wealthier, and more financially literate clients are more likely to fire their advisors—highlighting the importance of understanding the client.

Key Takeaways

Given these driving factors, here are five ways that advisors can build a lasting relationship through recognizing their clients’ emotional needs:

Understand your clients’ deeper goals
Reach out proactively
Act as a financial coach
Keep clients updated
Conduct goal-setting exercises on a regular basis

By communicating their value and setting expectations early, advisors can help prevent setbacks in their practice by adeptly recognizing the emotional motivators of their clients.

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Markets in a Minute

The Top 5 Reasons Clients Hire a Financial Advisor

Here are the most common drivers for hiring a financial advisor, revealing that investor motivations go beyond just financial factors.

Published

3 days ago

April 15, 2024

Dorothy Neufeld

This circle graphic shows the top reasons for hiring a financial advisor.

The Top 5 Reasons Clients Hire a Financial Advisor

What drives investors to hire a financial advisor?

From saving for a down payment to planning for retirement, clients turn to advisors to guide them through life’s complex financial decisions. However, many of the key reasons for hiring a financial advisor stem from emotional factors, and go beyond purely financial motivations.

We partnered with Morningstar to show the top reasons clients hire a financial advisor to provide insight on what’s driving investor behavior.

What Drives Hiring Decisions?

Here are the most common reasons for hiring an advisor, based on a survey of 312 respondents.

Reason for Hiring	% of Respondents Citing This Reason	Type of Motivation
Specific goals or needs	32%	Financial-based reason
Discomfort handling finances	32%	Emotion-based reason
Behavioral coaching	17%	Emotion-based reason
Recommended by family or friends	12%	Emotion-based reason
Quality of relationship	10%	Emotion-based reason

Numbers may not total 100 due to rounding. Respondents could select more than one answer.

While financial factors played an important role in hiring decisions, emotional reasons made up the largest share of total responses.

This illustrates that clients place a high degree of importance on reaching specific goals or needs, and how an advisor communicates with them. Furthermore, clients seek out advisors for behavioral coaching to help them make informed decisions while staying the course.

Key Takeaways

With this in mind, here are five ways advisors can provide value to their clients and grow their practice:

Address clients’ emotional needs early on
Demonstrate how you can offer support
Use ordinary language
Provide education to help clients stay on track
Acknowledge that these are issues we all face

By addressing emotional factors, advisors can more effectively help clients’ navigate intricate financial decisions and avoid common behavioral mistakes.

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