This report updates on an earlier report on the same topic. It confirms that donor action on women’s employment and entrepreneurship has been limited or very recent in ASEAN countries. The ILO is the major aid entity involved. Other major ones include the Asian Development Bank, UN Women and the International Finance Corporation.
Limitations and gaps in the literature are also confirmed, including some inequalities (especially those based on ethnicity and disabilities) and their interactions (e.g. women workers with disabilities, women workers from ethnic minorities).
- Donor action to improve women’s employment and entrepreneurship has addressed:
– Cross-cutting policies and institutions:
– Key labour policies and institutions: informing public policies on labour through gender perspectives; mainstreaming gender in labour institutions.
- Key policies and institutions affecting gender equality in labour: promoting inclusion and women’s rights; changing gender norms.
- Specific labour dimensions:
– Working with the private sector for gender equality: integrating gender equality in employer organisations; making the business case for improved women’s employment; institutionalising dialogue and cooperation with the private sector; advancing women’s participation at all levels of the workforce.
– Improving women’s benefits in value chains, in green production and trade by rural poor women and in agribusiness training for higher-quality coffee supply.
- Specific social groups:
– Young women: promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship; technical education and vocational training.
– Women migrant workers. Support has taken the form of gender-responsive policies and capacities for migrant workers. Other efforts have sought to combat abuse, forced labour and trafficking of migrant workers.
– Women homeworkers.
- Entrepreneurship. Examples include the frequently mentioned WEDGE project in Viet Nam; small- and medium-sized enterprises development; and the ‘10,000 Women’ project.
