Release of new datasets
In partnership with DataFirst, the WORLD Policy Analysis Center is thrilled to announce the release of open access longitudinal quantitative measures of laws and policies for African countries that lay the foundation for equal opportunities in early childhood and gender equality. Released on December 10, International Human Rights Day, these indicators highlight the progress African countries have made over the past 20 to 30 years on advancing rights in areas spanning:
- Early childhood, including paid parental leave and tuition-free pre-primary education;
- Access to education, including tuition-free and compulsory education from primary through the completion of secondary;
- Protecting children from early marriage, including by closing legal loopholes;
- Protecting people from gender and caregiving discrimination at work, including all stages of work and provisions to support effective enforcement; and
- Protecting people from domestic violence.
These measures are a tool that stakeholders can use to identify national progress in protecting a series of fundamental rights that matter to health, education, employment, and equality. When merged with the rich individual and household-level data curated by DataFirst, these measures can be used by researchers to test questions about the impact of different policy design at scale. WORLD has published a series of studies demonstrating the potential of this data to provide actionable answers for policymakers and other stakeholders seeking to advance early childhood outcomes and gender equality.
