This tool kit is to help staff and consultants of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conceptualize and design gender-responsive public policy and projects in the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise sector. It guides users in the design of project and program outputs, activities, inputs, indicators, and targets to respond to gender issues in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise development and finance operations. ADB staff can use the tool kit to identify social and gender issues to be documented in the initial poverty and social analysis during the concept phase. Consultants can use it to carry out more detailed social and gender analysis during the project preparatory technical assistance or detailed design or due diligence phase. It should be noted that the tool kit is not meant to be prescriptive. Rather, it offers a menu of entry points that the project team can choose from.

This tool kit assists staff and consultants of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in conceptualizing and designing gender-responsive projects in the energy sector. It guides users in key questions to be asked and data to be collected during project preparation. It also offers a menu of entry points in designing project outputs, activities, inputs, indicators, and targets that integrate key gender issues identified during the gender analysis. The tool kit is broken down into key subsectors of ADB's energy sector investments---transmission and distribution, rural electrification, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Case studies from ADB energy projects have been included to illustrate good practices in mainstreaming gender in energy sector.

Women owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a great potential to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction through employment creation and income generation. In Bangladesh, women-owned SMEs have different characteristics when compared with men-owned SMEs and tend to face specific challenges and obstacles. To capitalize on this potential, these challenges and constraints have to be addressed in initiatives that aim to support SME growth. The Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Project supported the development and expansion of SMEs in Bangladesh from 2009 to 2013. In specific pilot districts, the number of women-owned SMEs increased by over 10%. The training of women SME owners in business development, accounting, loan application rules and processes, and in the regulations governing businesses facilitated their improved access to institutional finance. The formation of advocacy groups and membership in different associations enhanced the confidence of women SME owners and their ability to lobby for policy changes. Dialogue and relation building between participating financial institutions and women's SME associations helped foster mutual understanding and cooperation, leading to better outcomes for women-owned SMEs. Participating financial institution policies and products require further adaptation to meet the needs and circumstances of women-owned SMEs.

These guidelines aim to respond to these questions and support practitioners in translating the Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Framework, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) into action (FAO, 2016a). Building on FAO’s comparative advantage on gender in agriculture and food security, these guidelines are primarily intended to assist practitioners in designing and implementing interventions that provide women and men with equal opportunities to benefit from agrifood value chain development. They offer practical tools and examples of successful approaches to foster a more systematic integration of gender equality dimensions in value chain interventions in the agricultural sector and enhance the social impact of these interventions.

This report presents the findings of the second Provincial Facilitation for Investment and Trade (ProFIT) survey in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). It provides a comparative picture of the experiences and perceptions of the business community in complying with government regulations by gender. The report shares analysis in six key areas: (i) ease of starting a business, (ii) transparency and access to information, (iii) regulatory burden, (iv) informal charges, (v) consistency in policy implementation, and (vi) business friendliness of the provincial administration. It notes that women entrepreneurs reported that their business registration takes longer and costs more. The report urges the government to train staff to overcome hidden gender biases and make it easier for women to create and run businesses.

While supporting the livelihoods of most of the developing world’s urban poor, the informal sector also deprives them of basic services and social protection. Rendered vulnerable to socioeconomic threats, people in the urban informal sector have suffered disproportionately during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and face a highly uncertain future. Informal Services in Asian Cities explores informality’s forms and constraints. It describes the pandemic’s effects on the informal sector and how leveraging informal services can enable urban resilience. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, the book illustrates the transformative potential of urban planning and governance that addresses informality. It also details measures that could boost the informal sector’s inclusive and sustainable growth potential.

Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) countries face several common challenges in improving the quality of lives of women, and the coronavirus disease pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities. The CAREC Gender Strategy 2030 complements national plans for gender mainstreaming. It provides a regional approach for pursuing gender equality, women’s empowerment, harnessed potential, and strengthened capacity for equal access of women and men to economic opportunities from CAREC investments. Under the overall CAREC 2030 strategy and aligned sector strategies, the gender strategy provides strategic directions and key entry points that will serve as a roadmap to mainstream gender in the CAREC operational clusters.