Legal framework for women in the economy: Albania lags behind the region, lags in implementation

2026-03-12 15:08:00, Aktualitet CNA

Legal framework for women in the economy: Albania lags behind the region, lags

Albania has built a relatively strong legal framework for women's economic rights. However, the main challenge remains implementation: many of these laws do not always translate into real opportunities in the labor market and economic activity, creating a gap between what is guaranteed on paper and what happens in practice.

In the report “Women, Business and the Law 2026”, Albania is rated with 78.10 points out of 100 for legal frameworks, a higher score than the global average of 67 points. The score for supporting frameworks is 60.68 points, while for perceptions of law enforcement it is 62.60 points, which suggests that institutional mechanisms and implementation in practice remain weaker than the legal framework itself.

In relation to the region, Albania ranks slightly below the average for the Europe and Central Asia region in terms of the legal framework that supports women's economic participation. The report shows that the regional average for the legal framework index is 80.62 points, while Albania scores 78.10 points, positioning itself slightly below this level.

At the same time, some economies in the region achieve higher results. Kosovo scores 88.75 points, while Serbia scores 81.88 points, North Macedonia scores 83.53 points, and Montenegro scores 84.63 points, which places these economies somewhat higher on the legal framework index for women's economic participation.

The report assesses the state of women's economic participation in 190 economies in 10 key areas: safety from violence, freedom of movement, employment protection, equal pay for work, restrictions related to marriage and divorce, maternity and parental leave benefits, access to childcare, entrepreneurship, asset ownership, and retirement security.

The report shows that economic equality for women has not yet been achieved in any country in the world. Women enjoy only about two-thirds of the legal rights that men have, and only 4% of them live in countries close to full legal equality. Even where gender equality laws exist, weak implementation and a lack of effective policies create a large gap between law and practice. /Monitor

Legal framework for women in the economy: Albania lags behind the region, lags