Where do Women Stand? New Evidence on the Presence and Absence of Gender Equality in the World's Constitutions

• DOI: 10.1017/s1743923x1400004x
• Publication Date: 2014-05-20T13:48:04Z
• Authors: Adèle Cassola; Amy Raub; Danielle Foley; Jody Heymann
• Keywords: Constitutional right; Marital status

In countries around the world, constitutional protections of women's rights have provided a legal foundation to combat discriminatory laws, customs, and actions catalyst for advances in gender equality. This article draws on newly available data from 191 analyze across spheres general equality nondiscrimination, political participation, social economic rights, family life, customary religious law. We examined how gender-specific universal differed according constitution's year adoption last amendment, identified regional patterns that persisted all decades. Women were explicitly guaranteed or nondiscrimination 81% constitutions, some aspect 32%, marital 27%, work 26%, equal educational 9% constitutions. Protection increased substantially between 1980 2011. As June 2011, however, no constitution Middle East North Africa protection education, work, marriage, there guarantees South Asian Of constitutions protected equality, 5% stated laws could prevail over provisions.