This publication provides insights on how trade can be leveraged for greater economic empowerment of women in the Pacific. It includes an analysis of how gender mainstreaming in Aid for Trade interventions could catalyze greater donor support to help the region benefit from truly inclusive trade-driven growth. In the Pacific, the labor force participation gap between men and women has narrowed, but women there are still less likely to be in work than men. Women are also more likely to be working in low-paid, low-skilled jobs, or informal, vulnerable employment. To tap into the full potential of the female labor force and entrepreneurial potential, much more needs to be done.

This publication explores how international trade is promoting economic empowerment through the increased participation of women and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. It highlights the roles of services and digital connectivity in facilitating diversification and inclusive economic transformation. The report examines recent trends in aid for trade in Asia and the Pacific and how it can do more to boost inclusive growth.

Trade can dramatically improve women’s lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women’s bargaining power in society. It can also lead to job losses and a concentration of work in low-skilled employment. Given the complexity and specificity of the relationship between trade and gender, it is essential to assess the potential impact of trade policy on both women and men and to develop appropriate, evidence-based policies to ensure that trade helps to enhance opportunities for all. Research on gender equality and trade has been constrained by limited data and a lack of understanding of the connections among the economic roles that women play as workers, consumers, and decision makers. Building on new analyses and new sex-disaggregated data, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality aims to advance the understanding of the relationship between trade and gender equality and to identify a series of opportunities through which trade can improve the lives of women.

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.

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.

Pacific economies are bouncing back as tourism recovers and infrastructure projects resume, but inflationary pressures and vulnerability to natural hazards remain downside risks. This edition of the Pacific Economic Monitor tracks the rebound of some tourism-dependent economies; explores new opportunities from agriculture, digitalization, and fisheries; and analyzes ways to mitigate fiscal risks and support sustainable economic growth. It highlights how policies can better support women entrepreneurs and how strengthening fiscal reserves can help countries recover more quickly from shocks.

The services economy is on the rise all around the world, and services now comprise the largest share of economic activity and employment in almost every country. This book presents the latest evidence demonstrating how technologies and globalization have transformed the services industry. Services are becoming increasingly tradable under World Trade Organization rules and regional trade agreements, and some services subsectors are also seeing rates of productivity growth comparable to that in manufacturing. At the same time, services are increasingly contributing to manufacturing success, and countries’ overall economic competitiveness now hinges crucially on the availability of high-quality and affordable services inputs. Furthermore, a well-functioning services sector can accelerate human development through better access to basic needs, such as education, energy, finance, health, water, and sanitation. Services can also be a source of good jobs with fewer negative environmental and social externalities. Overall, the ongoing structural transformation toward a services economy is a unique opportunity to achieve long-term income growth, which in turn promotes sustainable development. This book offers suggestions on how to achieve this, and is thus an indispensable read for researchers and policy makers alike.