The lack of sex-disaggregated data is a long-standing issue with global relevance. Measurements of gender equality are essential to identify inequalities and variations in these inequalities over time. When data collection doesn't capture women's lived experiences, it limits efforts towards advancing women ́s economic empowerment. To respond to this concern, this report aims to share best practices and recommendations on gender data production, collection and dissemination among APEC economies. Additionally, this document represents an effort to raise awareness on the importance of disaggregating data by sex, as well as collecting and disseminating gender data periodically in the region.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a significant role in economic development in Pacific island countries and offer pathways to women’s leadership and economic empowerment. This report explores the state of knowledge on women’s economic empowerment in the region, focusing on women’s entrepreneurship and MSMEs owned by women. Drawing on over 200 published papers and studies and 11 quantitative datasets, it analyzes drivers of—and barriers to—women’s economic empowerment. It looks at business ownership, formalization, and expansion; violence against women and girls; and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report provides recommendations for research, policy, and programming.

Women living in rural regions today still often struggle to harness the full potential of mobile internet for their economic empowerment, despite a rapidly evolving digital landscape. This limitation hinders their ability to engage in online selling, job searching, and accessing public services, thereby constraining potential economic opportunities. The powerful research book, Empowering and Advancing Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs, presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of mobile internet on gender-inclusive economic empowerment, offering innovative solutions to enhance rural entrepreneur’s digital skills and knowledge. The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles globally must be addressed to advance gender equity. This book examines the systemic barriers, including stereotypes and biases, that impede women's advancement in leadership positions. By proposing coordinated solutions involving corporations, governments, and civil society, such as allyship building and policy reforms, the book aims to reduce gender gaps in leadership and foster a more inclusive society. Through its insightful analysis and practical recommendations, this book is a valuable resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to promote gender equality and inclusive development, and underscores the necessity of their roles for this initiative.

This book investigates the barriers to women’s economic empowerment in the Global South. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of countries, the book outlines important lessons and practical solutions for promoting gender equality. Despite global progress in closing gender gaps in education and health, women’s economic empowerment has lagged behind, with little evidence that economic growth promotes gender equality. International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) programme was set up to provide policy lessons, insights, and concrete solutions that could lead to advances in gender equality, particularly on the role of institutions and macroeconomic growth, barriers to labour market access for women, and the impact of women’s care responsibilities. This book showcases rigorous and multi-disciplinary research emerging from this ground-breaking programme, covering topics such as the school-to-work transition, child marriage, unpaid domestic work and childcare, labour market segregation, and the power of social and cultural norms that prevent women from fully participating in better paid sectors of the economy. With a range of rich case studies from Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book is perfect for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in the Global South.

During the first 10 years since it was designed, the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia Programme has been supporting 95 grant projects across 18 developing countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. These projects promote Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) amongst Asian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), business intermediaries and consumer organisations. In their pursuit of SCP promotion and related contribution to poverty alleviation and sustainable, environment-friendly economic growth, project propos-als are also encouraged to support women's empowerment. Extensive consultations with projects and a review of their implementation practice indicate that to date approximately 20% of them, including both ongoing and completed projects, have directly contributed to empower women in the course of their interventions, although they do not necessarily have gendered data and reports on results and impact. During their lifetime, 19 projects generated specific results supporting women's empowerment in 11 countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia, which traditionally have some of the lowest rates of women's empowerment in the Asia Pacific region. These 19 projects are presented as case studies in this publication. They are grouped into four main thematic areas, based on their sector of intervention: garment and textile, agriculture and natural resources (jute, rattan and forestry), energy and sustainable consumption.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The Asia Foundation prepared this report as a guide to support women's entrepreneurship in Asia and the Pacific. The three parts of the report cover the key barriers that women in Asia and the Pacific face when trying to establish or grow a business, case studies of projects supported by ADB and The Asia Foundation throughout the region, and proposed areas for further research. The recommendations are aimed at creating an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs and strategies for addressing gaps and leveraging opportunities.

The 2018/19 edition analyses the gender pay gap. The report focuses on two main challenges: how to find the most useful means for measurement, and how to break down the gender pay gap in ways that best inform policy-makers and social partners of the factors that underlie it. The report also includes a review of key policy issues regarding wages and the reduction of gender pay gaps in different national circumstances.