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The number of countries with policies that formallyentrench sex discrimination in the workplace—forexample, by prohibiting women from working incertain types of jobs, doing night work or overtime—declined during this period. 23 In 1975, it was mosttypical not to take action to outlaw discrimination.By 2005, the opposite was true, with most countriesoutlawing workplace discrimination (see Figure1.3). For example, in 1975 only about one third ofcountries had legislated for equal pay; by 2005 theproportion had gone up to 86 per cent. 24Similarly, as Figure 1.3 shows, the number ofcountries that provide paid maternity leave toworking women has increased and there hasbeen a dramatic expansion in parental leave.Moreover, by 2005, more than 81 per cent ofcountries out of the 70 studied had a nationalday-care policy in place and 43 per cent hadcommitted to public day-care provision. 25As with family laws, women’s movements haveplayed a pivotal role in pushing for women’s legalrights to work and at work. Women’s organizingon their own behalf has played a critical partin triggering changes with respect to women’slegal right to work—by prohibiting discrimination,for example, or promoting equality in hiringand promotion. Overall income levels were asignificant factor for the adoption of maternityand parental leave provisions: without anadequate revenue base, countries are unlikelyto adopt publicly-funded paid maternity leave. 26Women’s movements have also been influentialin the development of childcare policy and havefound useful allies on this issue among politicalparties with a redistributive agenda.PERSISTENT INEQUALITIES IN PRACTICEGaps remain, but in many countries legal barrierspreventing women from pursuing the same kindof opportunities and careers as men appear tobe diminishing. Nevertheless, widespread gendersegregation continues to confine women to thelowest paid segments of the labour market. Athome and in their communities, women and girlscontinue to assume the lion’s share of unpaid careand domestic work. Gender inequalities withregard to earned income, wealth, time use andsocial security, documented in detail in Chapters2 and 3, clearly indicate that something isterribly wrong: why are ‘equal opportunities’not translating into equal outcomes? It ishighly unlikely that women as a group woulddeliberately and consistently choose lessremunerative livelihoods. 27 And even if womenand men did ‘freely choose’ different livelihoodoptions, why should the economic activities thatwomen typically choose systematically attract alower valuation in the market than those chosenby men? 28Discriminatory social normsEven in countries where gender-equal lawshave been put in place, power inequalitiesbetween women and men as well as genderstereotypes and discriminatory social norms aredeeply embedded. In some contexts patriarchalstructures and practices constrain women’sability to seek paid work, or even health care,and to participate in social and political life.Gender stereotypes reinforce norms of genderinequality such as the continued devaluationof ‘women’s work’ or the belief that womenand men should be confined to narrow andsegregated social roles. 29In the labour market, stereotypes aboutsuitable occupations for women and menserve to maintain the existing gender divisionof labour. Young women and men who moveinto occupations that are associated with theopposite sex risk disparagement or ridicule.Women who work in male-dominated sectorsmay find their performance devalued and theircompetence questioned. This, in turn, can affecttheir prospects for receiving promotion or payawards. 30 Men have little incentive to move intofemale-dominated occupations, given that thosejobs often pay less than equivalent jobs that aremale-dominated. 31 Such stereotypes inevitablyinfluence women and men’s choices, even wherelegislation provides for ‘equal opportunities’.33