Reports

This policy brief examines the low rate of female labour force participation in Asia and the Pacific and its correlation with persistent inequalities in the distribution of care responsibilities between men and women as well as the society and the State. The research presented here highlights the critical role of unpaid care work in the promotion of female participation in the labour

The Policy Toolkit project was initiated by ESCAP under the Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship (CWE) Programme, in partnership with the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (ACCMSME) to advocate women entrepreneur-centric policies and initiatives in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

This case study on the Philippines enhances ESCAP’s technical and advisory assistance to its member States, in particular aligning with the ASEAN region’s efforts to bring care to the centre of public policy.

This case study on Cambodia enhances ESCAP’s technical and advisory assistance to its member States, in particular aligning with the ASEAN region’s efforts to bring care to the centre of public policy.

This primer is designed to support policymakers and government officials in their efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and empowerment of women in their countries. It lays out the basic concepts relating to what is called the “care economy” —the sum total of all paid and unpaid care work.

Through two new methodological tools, it is possible to identify the furthest behind in a range of development areas. The groups which are furthest behind are defined by common circumstances over which the individual has little or no direct control, such as their household’s wealth, their sex or their place of residence.

Micro, small, and medium enterprise make up most of the businesses (by number of firms) in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. In many of ESCAP’s Member States, there are specific entities that focus on MSME policy, but the diverse nature of MSMEs and their contribution to many different sectors of the economy can make coherent policymaking into a challenge.

In late 2020, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship (CWE) Programme, partnered with Kiva to conduct primary research on women entrepreneur financial sector borrowers in the region.

ESCAP is taking steps to mainstream gender in all its activities, to ensure that gender equality is addressed holistically in order to develop forward-looking strategies and contribute to efforts towards gender equality, poverty reduction and economic growth in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.