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Gender Equality
Gender Equality
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite significant advances towards gender equality and women’s empowerment having been made in the region in recent years, many women continue to face discrimination and institutionalized legal and structural barriers to full and equal participation in society and the economy.
In many countries of the region, societal and cultural attitudes and beliefs continue to subordinate, disadvantage and endanger women. Violence against women remains pervasive throughout the region, manifesting itself in many forms. Full exercise of reproductive rights continues to be challenge in many contexts. Women’s participation in political decision-making remains low and their economic empowerment limited. Women are overrepresented amongst those living in poverty and those in more vulnerable and lower paid sectors of the labour market, particularly the informal sector, with little or no access to social protection and other entitlements.
In many countries of the region, societal and cultural attitudes and beliefs continue to subordinate, disadvantage and endanger women. Violence against women remains pervasive throughout the region, manifesting itself in many forms. Full exercise of reproductive rights continues to be challenge in many contexts. Women’s participation in political decision-making remains low and their economic empowerment limited. Women are overrepresented amongst those living in poverty and those in more vulnerable and lower paid sectors of the labour market, particularly the informal sector, with little or no access to social protection and other entitlements.
Our Response
ESCAP provides a critical intergovernmental platform for governments and other stakeholders in the region to accelerate the implementation of global gender equality commitments in follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and regional implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Millennium Development Goals.
Our Work
In recognition of their cross-cutting nature, gender dimensions are integrated into the planning and implementation of all ESCAP’s work. ESCAP also dedicates specific work aimed at promoting women’s empowerment. To assist governments in formulating a strong governmental response to gender issues, ESCAP provides direct technical support and networking opportunities for national women’s machineries, the key governmental entities responsible for promoting gender equality and the advancement of women, to enable them to effectively integrate gender concerns into the development policy agenda.
ESCAP especially focuses upon women’s economic empowerment as a key strategy for promoting not only women’s economic independence but also as a driver of other forms of empowerment with significant multicountry projects being implemented. These projects involve capacity strengthening, partnership building and research on policy options for promoting women’s economic empowerment, particularly through entrepreneurship.
ESCAP also plays a key coordinating role in the area of gender equality for the UN system in the Asia-Pacific region by co-chairing, with UN Women, the Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.