WASHINGTON, Mar 30, CMC – The World Bank is urging Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries to do more to address violence against women even as it acknowledges they have done much to improve women’s economic inclusion.

In a report titled “Women, Business and Law 2018”, the World Bank said reforms have been taken in several LAC economies in the past two years to improve women’s economic position.

It said that most of the reforms focused on making it easier for women to work by expanding maternity leave benefits.

“However, the region’s economies need to do much more to protect women from violence by enacting laws against domestic violence and sexual harassment in public places,” the report notes.

Now in its fifth edition, the report introduces, for the first time, a scoring system of zero to 100, to better inform the reform agenda.

According to the World Bank, scores are assigned to every monitored economy on each of the report’s seven indicators: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, going to court, building credit, and protecting women from violence.

“Women’s entrepreneurship is a driving force behind economic activity in the region. So, the more women can realize their full economic potential, as workers or business owners, the more the region’s economies and societies will benefit,” said Rita Ramalho, senior manager of the World Bank’s Global Indicators Group, which produces “Women, Business and the Law.”

The report says the region’s strengths lie in the areas of using property, with an average score of 98. All but four of the region’s 32 economies score a perfect 100, the report states.

It says the region also performs well in the area of accessing institutions, with an average score of 97, “as most economies do not differentiate between women and men in a range of public interactions, such as registering a business, opening a bank account or obtaining a national identification.”

The report also highlights areas where the region is not faring as well and where progress on indicators, such as getting a job, building credit and legislation on sexual harassment and domestic violence, could be improved.