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Investing in women and girls in Asia
and the Pacific: a pathway to equality
and sustainable prosperity
Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive
Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
G
ender equality plays a fundamental role in trans-
forming our economies and societies. Investing in
women and girls is not only a vital part of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is also a
prerequisite for addressing some of the key challenges
faced by our region, including the economic slowdown,
rising inequalities and rapid demographic transition.
Increasing women’s participation in the economy could add
US$28.4 trillion to annual global output by 2025. Closing
gender gaps in hours worked, participation and productivity
could result in gross domestic product (GDP) gains of up to 60
per cent in India and 48 per cent in the South Asia subregion,
and 30 per cent for East and Southeast Asia (excluding China)
by 2025.
1
The strong correlation that exists between gender
equality and economic growth means that a 0.1 reduction in
gender inequality as measured by the United Nations Gender
Inequality Index
2
is associated with almost one percentage
point of higher economic growth.
3
In spite of the economic opportunity, progress in female
economic participation has been slow and uneven. The gender
gap in labour force participation in Asia and the Pacific has
Image: Daphna Beerdsen/ESCAP
Women sell eggs in Sittwe market, Myanmar. Increasing women’s participation in the economy will add significantly to annual global output
G
ender
E
quality
and
W
omen
’
s
E
mpowerment