近日沙特國王頒布了一道法令，沙特阿拉伯的女性終于可以合法駕車了。消息一出，舉國歡騰。沙特一直是一個女性地位受到壓制的國家。這場勝利實在來之不易，為了這一天的到來，沙特女性已經堅持不懈地抗爭了20多年。在90年代，就有40名勇敢的女性駕車游行表示抗議。2011和2013年，沙特女性也曾組織過街頭抗議活動。

不過此次政策轉向與其說是為了抬高女權，倒不如說更多是出于經濟考量。隨著油價走低，沙特領導人正在尋求出臺新經濟計劃，促進沙特由石油型經濟向現代型經濟轉型。沙特領導人的算盤打得是很精明的，更多女性參與就業，必將有助于促進沙特的經濟轉型。

這次改革幾乎是一場有贏無輸的賭注。在沙特，半數以上的大學畢業生都是女性，但女性在職場中所占的比例只有20%。也就說，沙特有近一半的勞動力潛力沒有得到發掘。

提高女性對經濟的參與度，其意義遠遠不止允許女性駕車這么簡單，更重要的是，它預示著沙特的“男權庇護”制度或將走向終結。依據現行法律，沙特婦女的地位基本上與兒童無異，她們不能擁有銀行賬戶，不能從事某些商業活動，不能申領護照，也不能在沒有男性親屬允許的情況下出國旅行，而這些都是她們從事商業活動必須擁有的基本權利。

沙特對女性駕車的禁令早已顯得與現代世界格格不入。除此之外，這個王國還存著不少法律上的壁壘，阻礙了女性對經濟活動的參與，而很多人或許根本沒有意識到。比如據世界銀行稱，對女性在就業中的特殊限制，在全球百余個經濟體中均不同程度存在。比如有的工作對女性的婚姻狀況有限制，有的國家對女性的財產權有限制，還有的國家不允許女性簽訂合同。在法國、日本、馬達加斯加、阿根廷、巴基斯坦等國，女性是禁止從事一部分傳統上由男性從事的工作的，或者是對工作時間有限制，從而降低了女性的生產力和收入。還有些國家，女性會在信用上受到歧視，從而限制了她們創業經商的能力。這些法律壁壘在全球各個地區都存在，甚至包括一些發達經濟體。比如俄羅斯就禁止女性從事465項具體工作，如地鐵司機、木工等。在法國和日本，帶有性別歧視色彩的就業限制甚至堂而皇之地寫在法條上。

所以說，盡管全世界都拿沙特女性不能開車來說事兒，但很多人并沒有意識到，世界各國還有幾千部法律限制著女性對經濟活動的參與。現在沙特政府已經意識到，這些法律壁壘只會讓國家付出重大的經濟代價。國際貨幣基金組織和經合組織早就確認了女性的經濟參與度與經濟增長率之間的關系。私人部門也曾就此問題做過詳細研究。麥肯錫全球研究院的一份研究表明，如果能夠彌合經濟中女性與男性的差距——包括消除阻礙女性工作的法律壁壘，那么到2025年，全球GDP將額外增加12萬億美元。

說到這里，有人可能會樂觀地說，從沙特此次修法來看，在經濟現實壓力的推動下，針對女性的法律改革必然是無法避免的。不過從經濟產出的角度看，目前的改革速度還是太慢了。畢竟沙特的女性持續抗爭了30年，沙特才取消了對女性駕車的禁令，其他不少國家的歧視性法律有的還要遠遠長于30年。除此之外，也有一些國家雖然沒有紙面上的性別歧視，其文化傳統卻可能嚴重制約了女性參與經濟活動或從事特定職業的能力。總之，雖然要推動法律層面的性別平權仍然是一項艱巨的任務，不過研究已經表明，女性的法律地位的提升，的確與經濟發展有顯著相關。

目前，全球經濟仍在回暖的路上舉步維艱，全球各地市場與資本尚未完全恢復元氣，無論是沙特還是在其他國家，都承擔不起半數人口不參與經濟活動的代價。所有國家都應意識到沙特此次改革的影響——女性更多地參與經濟活動必將刺激經濟增長。各國早就應該運用法律手段，讓她們成為經濟增長的掌舵人了。（財富中文網）

本文作者Rachel Vogelstein是外交關系協會的高級研究員。

譯者：賈政景

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Women in Saudi Arabia are rightfully celebrating the issuance of a royal decree lifting the female driving ban that has long symbolized their oppression in the kingdom. This hard-won breakthrough followed more than two decades of activism in the country, from the driving demonstration led by 40 courageous women in the 1990s, to more recent protests in the streets in 2011 and 2013.

This policy shift is animated less by a growing commitment to women’s rights and more by rank economic considerations: As oil prices go down, Saudi leaders have sought to implement a new economic program to shift from an oil-based economy into a modern one, and officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have calculated that growing women’s participation in the labor force will fuel such a transformation.

This is an economic bet that is sure to pay off: In a country where women earn more than half of college and graduate degrees, but only comprise 20% of the workforce, Saudi Arabia has left the economic potential of nearly half of its population on the table.

Yet to improve women’s economic participation in Saudi Arabia, perhaps even more significant than the right to drive is ending the system of male guardianship that remains on the books. Under this legal regime, women are functionally equivalent to minors, unable to open a bank account, start certain businesses, apply for a passport, or travel abroad without the permission of a male relative—all rights that are fundamental to conducting business.

And while Saudi Arabia’s former ban on women drivers long rendered it a global outlier, other legal barriers to women’s economic participation in the kingdom are far more widespread than most recognize. According to the World Bank, women face gender-based job restrictions in 100 economies around the world, from spousal consent requirements for employment, to restrictions on property ownership, to the inability to sign a contract. In some countries (including France, Japan, Madagascar, Argentina, and Pakistan, among others), women are prohibited from performing traditionally “male” jobs or limited to certain hours, reducing their productivity and earnings; in others, women face discrimination in obtaining access to credit, thereby limiting their ability to start and grow businesses. These legal barriers exist in every region of the world, including in developed economies: Russia, for example, forbids women from employment in 456 specific occupations, from driving a subway to woodworking, and gender-based job restrictions remain in legal codes from France to Japan.

Thus, while Saudi Arabia’s driving ban has long captured the world’s attention as a marker of women’s subjugation, thousands of other laws limiting women’s ability to participate in the economy remain in place in nations around the world. As the Saudi government is beginning to recognize, these legal barriers impose a significant economic cost: Analyses from the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have long established a link between women’s labor force participation and economic growth. The private sector has documented this connection as well: One study from the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that closing gender gaps between women and men in the economy—including by eliminating legal barriers to women’s work—could add an estimated $12 trillion in global gross domestic product by 2025.

Some may argue that legal reform for women is inevitable, pointing to liberalization of laws in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere as signs of progress driven by economic realities that are impossible to ignore. But in light of the economic payoff at stake, the pace of change remains far too slow: After all, it took almost three decades of activism before the kingdom’s driving ban was removed, and legal restrictions in other countries have been on the books far longer than that. Others may caution that legal reform will go unheeded in countries where strong cultural norms undermine women’s ability to work in certain professions, or at all. However, even where implementation of gender equality laws remains an ongoing challenge, research shows a substantial link between stronger legal rights for women and economic development.

At a time when the global economy is struggling to emerge from an economic downturn that has roiled markets and capitals around the world, we can no longer afford to limit the economic potential of half the population—in Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else. All nations should recognize what the Saudis finally have: Women drive economic growth—and it is long past time for every nation to level the legal playing field and put them behind the wheel.

Rachel Vogelstein is the Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.