Promoting Gender Sensitive Business Environment Reform in South-East Asia: A Compendium of Solutions

Women are playing an increasingly active role in South-East Asian economies. At the same time, there is significant evidence for distinct but related gendered constraints to doing business. Informality, low-value addition and low productivity tend to characterize women’s entrepreneurship, with women-owned businesses mainly operating in low-skilled jobs in the agriculture or services sectors.

While governments must create conditions for an enabling business environment, public and private stakeholders should be increasingly involved in ensuring women’s representation in the reform process.

“Promoting Gender Sensitive Business Environment Reform in South-East Asia: A Compendium of Solutions” identifies and brings together emerging solutions implemented by employers’ organizations in Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam to advance women-owned and women-led enterprises. It also outlines key takeaways as well as recommendations for way forward in the economic, social and political domains to support employers’ organizations in championing a more gender sensitive BER in the region.