Land of liberty, equality and fraternity – France, one of only six countries in the world where women have the same legal rights as men.

Only six countries currently give women and men equal rights, a major report from the World Bank has found. France is one of them. But why?
A decade ago the organization started measuring countries by how effectively they guarantee legal and economic equality between the genders. The rate of progress is slow in some areas of the world, but this year, six countries scored 100 per cent: Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden. Of those nations, France saw the biggest improvement over the past decade for implementing a domestic violence law, providing criminal penalties for workplace sexual harassment and introducing paid parental leave. The survey analyzed the opportunities for women going places, starting a job, getting paid, getting married, having children, running a business, managing assets and getting a pension. Questions included: “Can a woman travel outside her home in the same way as a man?” and “Is there legislation specifically address domestic violence?” Overall, the global average came in at 74.71, the UK scored 97.5 per cent.