近日沙特國(guó)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(guó)歡騰。沙特一直是一個(gè)女性地位受到壓制的國(guó)家。這場(chǎng)勝利實(shí)在來(lái)之不易，為了這一天的到來(lái)，沙特女性已經(jīng)堅(jiān)持不懈地抗?fàn)幜?0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(guò)街頭抗議活動(dòng)。

不過(guò)此次政策轉(zhuǎn)向與其說(shuō)是為了抬高女權(quán)，倒不如說(shuō)更多是出于經(jīng)濟(jì)考量。隨著油價(jià)走低，沙特領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人正在尋求出臺(tái)新經(jīng)濟(jì)計(jì)劃，促進(jìn)沙特由石油型經(jīng)濟(jì)向現(xiàn)代型經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)型。沙特領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的算盤打得是很精明的，更多女性參與就業(yè)，必將有助于促進(jìn)沙特的經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)型。

這次改革幾乎是一場(chǎng)有贏無(wú)輸?shù)馁€注。在沙特，半數(shù)以上的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生都是女性，但女性在職場(chǎng)中所占的比例只有20%。也就說(shuō)，沙特有近一半的勞動(dòng)力潛力沒(méi)有得到發(fā)掘。

提高女性對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)的參與度，其意義遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不止允許女性駕車這么簡(jiǎn)單，更重要的是，它預(yù)示著沙特的“男權(quán)庇護(hù)”制度或?qū)⒆呦蚪K結(jié)。依據(jù)現(xiàn)行法律，沙特婦女的地位基本上與兒童無(wú)異，她們不能擁有銀行賬戶，不能從事某些商業(yè)活動(dòng)，不能申領(lǐng)護(hù)照，也不能在沒(méi)有男性親屬允許的情況下出國(guó)旅行，而這些都是她們從事商業(yè)活動(dòng)必須擁有的基本權(quán)利。

沙特對(duì)女性駕車的禁令早已顯得與現(xiàn)代世界格格不入。除此之外，這個(gè)王國(guó)還存著不少法律上的壁壘，阻礙了女性對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)的參與，而很多人或許根本沒(méi)有意識(shí)到。比如據(jù)世界銀行稱，對(duì)女性在就業(yè)中的特殊限制，在全球百余個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體中均不同程度存在。比如有的工作對(duì)女性的婚姻狀況有限制，有的國(guó)家對(duì)女性的財(cái)產(chǎn)權(quán)有限制，還有的國(guó)家不允許女性簽訂合同。在法國(guó)、日本、馬達(dá)加斯加、阿根廷、巴基斯坦等國(guó)，女性是禁止從事一部分傳統(tǒng)上由男性從事的工作的，或者是對(duì)工作時(shí)間有限制，從而降低了女性的生產(chǎn)力和收入。還有些國(guó)家，女性會(huì)在信用上受到歧視，從而限制了她們創(chuàng)業(yè)經(jīng)商的能力。這些法律壁壘在全球各個(gè)地區(qū)都存在，甚至包括一些發(fā)達(dá)經(jīng)濟(jì)體。比如俄羅斯就禁止女性從事465項(xiàng)具體工作，如地鐵司機(jī)、木工等。在法國(guó)和日本，帶有性別歧視色彩的就業(yè)限制甚至堂而皇之地寫在法條上。

所以說(shuō)，盡管全世界都拿沙特女性不能開車來(lái)說(shuō)事兒，但很多人并沒(méi)有意識(shí)到，世界各國(guó)還有幾千部法律限制著女性對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)的參與。現(xiàn)在沙特政府已經(jīng)意識(shí)到，這些法律壁壘只會(huì)讓國(guó)家付出重大的經(jīng)濟(jì)代價(jià)。國(guó)際貨幣基金組織和經(jīng)合組織早就確認(rèn)了女性的經(jīng)濟(jì)參與度與經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)率之間的關(guān)系。私人部門也曾就此問(wèn)題做過(guò)詳細(xì)研究。麥肯錫全球研究院的一份研究表明，如果能夠彌合經(jīng)濟(jì)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(wàn)億美元。

說(shuō)到這里，有人可能會(huì)樂(lè)觀地說(shuō)，從沙特此次修法來(lái)看，在經(jīng)濟(jì)現(xiàn)實(shí)壓力的推動(dòng)下，針對(duì)女性的法律改革必然是無(wú)法避免的。不過(guò)從經(jīng)濟(jì)產(chǎn)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(xù)抗?fàn)幜?0年，沙特才取消了對(duì)女性駕車的禁令，其他不少國(guó)家的歧視性法律有的還要遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)長(zhǎng)于30年。除此之外，也有一些國(guó)家雖然沒(méi)有紙面上的性別歧視，其文化傳統(tǒng)卻可能嚴(yán)重制約了女性參與經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)或從事特定職業(yè)的能力。總之，雖然要推動(dòng)法律層面的性別平權(quán)仍然是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù)，不過(guò)研究已經(jīng)表明，女性的法律地位的提升，的確與經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展有顯著相關(guān)。

目前，全球經(jīng)濟(jì)仍在回暖的路上舉步維艱，全球各地市場(chǎng)與資本尚未完全恢復(fù)元?dú)猓瑹o(wú)論是沙特還是在其他國(guó)家，都承擔(dān)不起半數(shù)人口不參與經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)的代價(jià)。所有國(guó)家都應(yīng)意識(shí)到沙特此次改革的影響——女性更多地參與經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)必將刺激經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)。各國(guó)早就應(yīng)該運(yùn)用法律手段，讓她們成為經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的掌舵人了。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

本文作者Rachel Vogelstein是外交關(guān)系協(xié)會(huì)的高級(jí)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.