Equal Futures moves evidence to impact by empowering advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders with actionable information on what works to improve health and economic outcomes at scale and
which policy approaches have been feasible in geographically, culturally, or economically similar contexts. Equal Futures’ approach to impact builds on a model developed with the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, which includes:
- Building actionable comparative policy data
- Undertaking rigorous studies of inequalities hidden in law and what works to improve outcomes
- Widely sharing data through at-a-glance policy maps, data visualizations, tailored policy toolkits, and other accessible resources
- Partnering with civil society organizations, IGOs, governments, advocates and others to ensure actionable information reaches policymakers
Applying this approach over the course of a decade at WORLD, we shared data directly supporting policy changes in at least 38 countries, with the potential to affect 1.4 billion lives over the next decade. These included:
South Africa: Tripling Paid Leave for Fathers and Partners
Following WORLD’s longstanding engagement with South African partners, civil society organizations and policymakers used WORLD’s comparative data on paternity leave in an advocacy campaign around a new leave law. In 2017, the new law passed—
increasing the paid leave available to fathers and partners from 3 to 10 days.
Lesotho, Gambia, and the Maldives: Advancing Access to Education by Children with Disabilities
After UN experts sought out WORLD’s data for the 2018 Flagship Report on Disability and Development, the final publication featured WORLD’s disability findings and highlighted barriers to inclusive education in Lesotho, Gambia, and the Maldives. Within the next three years, all three countries passed new laws banning disability discrimination in schools.
Banning Child Marriage Across the African Union
In 2018, the African Union extensively used WORLD’s data in a report launching a new regional campaign to improve child marriage laws. Shortly thereafter, a number of countries highlighted in the report closed legal loopholes that left girls vulnerable, including Cote d’Ivoire in 2019, Sao Tome and Principe in 2019, and Mauritius in 2020.
Advancing Paid Family and Medical Leave in U.S. States
In support of longstanding partnerships with U.S.-based organizations working to advance paid leave, WORLD has produced numerous resources and toolkits, shared findings widely with media, provided testimony to state legislatures, and submitted information to the U.S. Congress on the feasibility of paid leave and options for policy design. These efforts have had impact on policymaking in states across the country as well as recommendations by federal agencies.
Advancing Paid Paternity Leave in Ireland
In 2015, Equality Now, a global civil society organization that works to protect and promote women and girls’ rights around the world, used WORLD’s data in its flagship “Words and Deeds” report, published every five years to highlight sex discriminatory laws around the world and call for their reform. After the 2015 report showed that Ireland provided far less paid leave to new fathers than other countries in Europe, local advocacy partners embarked on a campaign to extend paternity leave—successfully advancing a new law providing fathers with two weeks of paternity leave and two weeks of paternity benefit, a critical step forward for gender equality at home and at work.
Advancing Maternity and Paternity Leave in Rwanda
In 2022 and 2023, WORLD partnered with the Rwanda Men’s Resource Center (RWAMREC) as RWAMREC was working on a campaign to advance paternity leave in Rwanda. WORLD provided a consultative toolkit on feasible options for Rwanda for increasing paternity leave, engaged in virtual and in-person data sharing events in Rwanda, and shared new global findings on paternity leave with RWAMREC and the media, which were picked up by BBC Focus on Africa and bolstered national and regional attention to the issue. In August 2023, following RWAMREC’s efforts, Rwanda adopted a new policy expanding access to both maternity and paternity leave, benefitting at least four million families over the next decade.
Closing Legal Loopholes on Child Marriage in Sierra Leone
Amplifying a locally driven campaign to end child marriage, a range of UN agencies, funders, and intergovernmental organizations have taken up WORLD’s data on child marriage laws in Sierra Leone, including UNICEF, UNFPA, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. In 2024, Sierra Leone closed one of the key gaps highlighted by WORLD’s data by fully prohibiting child marriage and ending the legal loopholes for parental consent.
Moving forward, Equal Futures is positioned to update the policy databases annually, subject to funding, and to continue developing and answering research questions that are responsive to partners’ needs in the field. Building on our history of impact, we will carry forward our proven methods of building and sharing this data in a way that helps countries improve their policies by better understanding what works and what has been feasible in peer countries.
