Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Women are a potential boost to the ASEAN economy

Women are a potential boost to the ASEAN economy

The Women Bamboo Producers’ Association works to provide women entrepreneurs with sustainable livelihood opportunities in Kampong Chhnang province. UN Women Cambodia
The Women Bamboo Producers’ Association works to provide women entrepreneurs with sustainable livelihood opportunities in Kampong Chhnang province. UN Women Cambodia

Women are a potential boost to the ASEAN economy

By most measures, the ASEAN region is an economic powerhouse. It is the seventh-largest economy in the world. Labour force expansion and productivity improvements drive GDP growth and the 10 member states are making impressive strides in both areas.

Almost 60 per cent of total growth since 1990 has come from sectors such as manufacturing, retail, telecommunications and transportation. But the evidence shows that the gains are not distributed fairly. To redress this, governments need to plan and implement policies that better promote inclusive, sustainable and fair growth.

Given the commitment by ASEAN member states to gender equality, girls and women have made considerable gains in access to education, representation in the workforce and equality before the law. Still too many women are limited to underpaid, low-skilled, undervalued occupations and work under insecure conditions without labour rights and social protection. Women in Southeast Asia are currently overrepresented in the informal economy, in low-income positions and lower-value sectors such as agriculture and the garment sector.

Although the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) promises expanded opportunities for decent work, entrepreneurship, trade and labour mobility, practical and institutional challenges will impede women’s empowerment, according to the study on Projected Gender Impact of the ASEAN Economic Community, by the ASEAN Secretariat, UN Women and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The study argues that empowering women so they can equally participate in and benefit from ASEAN economic integration is essential for inclusive development. It highlights the need for positive and targeted measures. Higher educational attainment, for example, does not always translate to increased presence in senior management in the private sector. The study also found that women had limited access to credit, technology and nontraditional vocational training which hindered their participation as entrepreneurs across a diversity of sectors.

If women had more opportunities to contribute, not only would economic empowerment and wellbeing be advanced, but trade within ASEAN and to the rest of the world would grow. For this to happen, a range of steps are necessary.

Women-owned small and medium enterprises, already an economic force in some countries, can be further encouraged by tax breaks or mentorship programs. Cultural change is also needed in the private sphere and in the home. More men are accepting equal responsibility in caring for children, the sick and the elderly. But women in the region still do an estimated three and a half hours more household-related and unpaid work than men a day.

Culture and customary laws also hold women back from accessing opportunities, sometimes despite legislation meant to end discrimination. Traditional codes of conduct, cultural stigmatisation of women executives or restrictions on women’s claims to household property and finances all seriously curtail women’s ability to participate in the economy.

Policymakers, corporations and individuals all have responsibility to make sure women are empowered with the right opportunities and labour market interventions. This will contribute both to ensuring women’s economic rights and also influence the growth of trade and economic progress in the AEC starting this year.

Roberta Clarke is the regional director of UN Women Asia and the Pacific and its representative in Thailand.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Ream base allegations must end, urges official

    A senior government official urges an end to the allegations and suspicions surrounding the development of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, now that Prime Minister Hun Manet has addressed the issue on the floor of the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78). Jean-Francois Tain, a geopolitical

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument