Asia losing $16-30b a year for gender gaps in edn: Report
Saturday, 30 April 2011
FE Report
Asia was estimated to be losing US$ 42-47 billion a year because of limits on women's access to employment opportunities and another $ 16-30 billion a year as a result of gender gaps in education, according to a report. The report of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), released Friday says although the region's economic growth of 6.2 per cent in 2000-2007 greatly exceeded the global average of 4.2 per cent, the average growth in women's employment was just 1.7 per cent - below the world average of 2 per cent. The new report prepared jointly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Asian countries have a window of opportunity to tackle gender inequality in their labour markets and support sustainable crisis recovery. The report 'Women and Labour Markets in Asia: Rebalancing for Gender Equality' says, in some developing countries, particularly in East Asia, job growth is back, but the quality of jobs being created is a major concern. "In particular, 45 per cent of the vast productive potential of Asian women remains untapped, compared to just 19 per cent for Asian men," it adds. The ESCAP report says national policies and institutional frameworks can shape the employment opportunities of Asia's 734 million female workers. "Asia faces both old and new challenges and it needs to address both if it is to reap the social and economic benefits of gender equality,' said Sachiko Yamamoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, while releasing the ILO-ADB report. The report points out that poor quality jobs are a greater labour market challenge for women than unemployment. A large proportion of women in Asia toils in low-productivity, vulnerable and low-paid informal work. In addition, female youth unemployment is high and women remain largely perceived as a buffer workforce or secondary earners next to men. The report suggests policies to support for women entrepreneurs; assisting women working in agriculture to boost productivity; reducing Asia's over-reliance on the informal sector; promoting equal access to quality education and training; gender-responsive social protection; ensuring equality in representation and decision-making and following a rights-based approach to come out of the situation.
Asia was estimated to be losing US$ 42-47 billion a year because of limits on women's access to employment opportunities and another $ 16-30 billion a year as a result of gender gaps in education, according to a report. The report of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), released Friday says although the region's economic growth of 6.2 per cent in 2000-2007 greatly exceeded the global average of 4.2 per cent, the average growth in women's employment was just 1.7 per cent - below the world average of 2 per cent. The new report prepared jointly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Asian countries have a window of opportunity to tackle gender inequality in their labour markets and support sustainable crisis recovery. The report 'Women and Labour Markets in Asia: Rebalancing for Gender Equality' says, in some developing countries, particularly in East Asia, job growth is back, but the quality of jobs being created is a major concern. "In particular, 45 per cent of the vast productive potential of Asian women remains untapped, compared to just 19 per cent for Asian men," it adds. The ESCAP report says national policies and institutional frameworks can shape the employment opportunities of Asia's 734 million female workers. "Asia faces both old and new challenges and it needs to address both if it is to reap the social and economic benefits of gender equality,' said Sachiko Yamamoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, while releasing the ILO-ADB report. The report points out that poor quality jobs are a greater labour market challenge for women than unemployment. A large proportion of women in Asia toils in low-productivity, vulnerable and low-paid informal work. In addition, female youth unemployment is high and women remain largely perceived as a buffer workforce or secondary earners next to men. The report suggests policies to support for women entrepreneurs; assisting women working in agriculture to boost productivity; reducing Asia's over-reliance on the informal sector; promoting equal access to quality education and training; gender-responsive social protection; ensuring equality in representation and decision-making and following a rights-based approach to come out of the situation.