Now that the International Women’s Day celebrations have settled, it’s a good time to look past the flowers and speeches. We hear a lot about programs supporting women in the workforce here in Mongolia, but how do we actually stack up on the global stage? Let’s take a look at the 2026 Women, Business and the Law (WBL) Index to see the real story.

📌 So, what’s the WBL Index anyway?

Think of the World Bank’s WBL Index as a "stress test" for the legal and economic hurdles women face. It scores 190 countries out of 100 based on three things: the laws on the books, the systems meant to support them, and most importantly how those laws actually play out in real life.

🤥 The "Untouchable" Equality

Essentially, this is a report card for economic gender equality. It’s about more than just getting a job; it covers everything from starting a business and owning property to staying safe.

• 🤯 The global gap: On average, women around the world only have about two-thirds of the economic rights that men do. With global scores hitting a low 47 for "support systems," it’s clear that even when laws exist, the institutions meant to back them up are often missing in action.

🔻 Mongolia’s Score: A 7-Point Drop in 7 Years

Here’s the tough part: While Mongolia’s legal foundation for women’s rights actually scores above the global average, we are moving in the wrong direction. Our current score of 76 is 7 points lower than it was seven years ago. We’ve slipped to 74th place globally dropping three spots just since 2020.

• ☔ Why are we losing ground? The World Bank recently raised the bar by adding two critical new categories: Safety and Childcare. Unfortunately, this is where Mongolia hit a wall. Our systems for keeping women safe and providing reliable childcare scored poorly, showing a major gap between what our laws promise and what families actually experience.
• 🤔 Where’s the real bottleneck? One of the biggest issues holding us back is our pension system. As it stands, the current setup leaves women at a much higher risk of falling into poverty as they get older.

Furthermore, while our laws look okay on paper, the "support systems" to make them work scored a failing 47.9. It’s a stark reminder that many women still don’t feel fully protected at work or in public, and the lack of quality, regulated childcare is making it harder for moms to stay in the game. We’ve made progress, but we can't afford to be complacent. There’s still a mountain of work to do to turn those legal "promises" into daily reality.