News outlets discuss “Closing the Gender Gap,” a new report by UCLA’s WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) on inequalities in legal rights among women and girls worldwide.

The Guardian: Legal barriers prevent women’s empowerment in more than 170 countries
“Twenty years after the historic Beijing conference on women’s empowerment, more than 170 countries still have legal barriers in place preventing women from experiencing the same rights, protections, and liberties as men and boys, according to a new report on trends in gender equality around the world…” (Chonghaile, 3/9).

Los Angeles Times: Roadmap to equality: Are women better off than 20 years ago?
“…The UCLA study looked at how individual countries had fared on some of the major legal and policy recommendations included in the road map. There were some encouraging findings…” (Zavis, 3/9).

Newsweek: Child Marriages, Less Pay: The World for Women Is Still Unequal
“…[T]he study shows issues like child marriage and barriers to education for girls mean many countries have a long way to go. ‘It’s frankly staggering that in 2015 there still is inequality embedded in the law,’ said the study’s author, Jody Heymann, dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center…” (Westcott, 3/9).

PBS NewsHour: Twitter chat: What are the barriers to global gender equality?
“…Join us on Twitter on Thursday, March 12th, to discuss how women’s rights have advanced in the last 20 years, where they have stagnated, and what can be done to promote increased gender equality worldwide. Dr. Jody Heymann (@WPolicyForum), dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, will share her insights based on the findings of the new report. Follow along and chime in using #NewsHourChats…” (Daly, 3/9).