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The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network

April 2015 | Vol. 9, No. 1

The Last Frontier: Women at the Economic Policy Table


Reporting on 2014 UN Women Asia-Pacific Regional Expert Group Meeting on
Gender and Macroeconomics
By Yesim Elhan-Kayalar 1

I represented Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the UN Women AsiaPacific Regional Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Gender and
Macroeconomics held in Bangkok on 15-16 December 2014, and
made two presentations on ADBs ongoing analytical and operational
work on gender and economic policy (agenda attached). These
presentations included the (i) research on gender and economic
policy, the gender wage gap, quality of growth, the job ladder in
developing economies; (ii) preliminary findings, policy recommendations to improve female
labor force participation (FLFP); and (iii) the applications of these findings and resultant policy
recommendations to ADBs operations in developing member countries in the Asia and Pacific
region. Key takeaways from the EGM were then shared at a Gender Thematic Group seminar in
January 2015. The UN Women EGM and the Gender TG presentations are attached for ease of
reference.
During the 2014 EGM, UN Women reiterated the call for development justice through
macroeconomic policies, noting 0.001% of the population owns 30% of the wealth in Asia and
this skewed wealth distribution has a strong gender element. They acknowledged that public
expenditure on universal education and health has transformative potential for redressing
historical exclusion. But such expenditure has not translated into labor market outcomes, and
the downward pressure on FLFP has increased over the last decade. It was noted that not all
work is equally empowering, and working conditions matter. Women are not always more likely
than men to be in informal employment, but they are much more likely to be found in the most
vulnerable forms of informal employment characterized by irregularity, low pay and job
insecurity. Furthermore, women are mostly absent from, or are poorly represented in,
economic decision-making.
ADBs research, among others, underscores the broad variations in FLFP in the Asia and the
Pacific region, with the ratio of female to male labor force participation at 1 in 5 in Afghanistan
and almost the same (0.97) in Laos. Male-to-female labor force participation ratios vary even
more sharply among professional and technical workers, legislators, senior officials in the public
sector and managers in the private sector (see slides 3-8 in the attached presentation). There
has been notable progress towards gender equality in access to education, and average years of
1

Yesim Elhan-Kayalar, Principal Public Management Specialist, ADB

schooling for girl children have increased from 2000 to 2012. However, the transition from
school to workforce has yet to be realized for women in the Asia and Pacific region.
ADB is currently exploring the economic cost of gender inequality using both macro- and microlevel analyses. Supported by a technical assistance, economic analysis of gender inequality
issues is being strengthened in selected developing member countries - India, Indonesia, Korea,
Pakistan and Peoples Republic of China (PRC) - to develop effective gender policies and
strategies. Ongoing research suggests that social norms and labor market policies limit
womens entry into or contribute to their departure from the work force in the countries
studied (slides 9-12). Compared to men, women in Asia are 3%-80% less likely to be in the labor
force, across countries and employment opportunities. This gap persists despite economic
growth, decreasing fertility rates, and increasing education. Quantitative research
demonstrates that increasing womens presence in the workforce may have significant benefits
for economic growth and individual welfare.
Economic growth and increasing education are not enough to increase FLFP. Researchusing
data from the PRC, India, Indonesia, Korea and Pakistanyields certain stylized factors which
may explain low FLFP across countries (slides 13-16). Social norms limit whether and where
women work, with housework and child care perceived as a womans primary responsibilities.
Womens presence in public spaces is limited by social norms and safety concerns; limited
mobility inhibits education and work opportunities for women. In the PRC, more educated
women and in India, Pakistan, Indonesia women with intermediate levels of education are less
likely to work. In Korea and the PRC, more educated women are more likely to exit the labor
force, especially after child birth. Women earn 50-70% of men for the same work. Men are
considered more productive in perception surveys among men and women. In India, Indonesia
and Pakistan women enter the labor force at lower rates. There are high instances of family and
self-employment by women. In all five countries, women retire earlier than men. Evidence
suggests greater access to labor markets via free trade policies and employment quotas can
draw more women into the workforce and provide them better jobs.
Building on these country studies, the Asian Development Outlook Update 2015 will explore the
policy variables that can improve the quality of growth (slides 17-18). The cross country
analyses of the quality of growth in Asia vis--vis other regions will focus on how gender
inequality affects the quality of growth, over and above growth enhancing factors (such as
infrastructure investment and productivity), and social indicators (e.g., health and education).
The policy recommendations emerging from these analyses will inform ADBs development
support in the Asia and Pacific region, to further enhance the development results for gender
equity (slides 19-23).
The last session of the EGM focused on current programming priorities, gaps and the
partnerships among development practitioners that may help address these gaps. I shared
ADBs experiences with gender mainstreaming and support for gender equity in the Asia and
Pacific. The presentation drew keen interest from the participants. Two issues were highlighted
for closer attention. Namely, the data gaps that undermine evidence-based policy-making and

the lack of a critical mass of gender champions among decision and policy makers in most
countries. It was stressed that for more sustainable result, institutional buy-in and a number of
capable staff are needed for continued understanding and commitmentespecially where
government and project counterparts are rotated out of their jobs with some frequency.
The need to use all resources and institutional capacity judiciously was stressed during the
panel discussions. It was noted that it will take all hands on deckcivil society, beneficiaries,
governments and private sector and development agenciesto make change happen at the
policy, technical and operational levels. The issues will have to be mapped from both social and
economic perspectives and parties that may be better positioned in terms of capacity, network
and spheres of influence to create buy-in, improve capacity, develop tools, garner resources
and enable access will have to be mobilized. Partnerships thus forged can improve coverage
and results through complementarities of skills, resources and access.
Broader use of language that imbeds gender equity priorities into mainstream policy dialogue
will also be instrumental. Language creates and defines partnerships, which in turn ensure
results. Engaging central agencies like ministries of finance and planning as well as women's
machineries (which are often at the periphery of central economic and budget planning) will
help garner support for policy change and garner resources to translate such policy into actions
for more gender equity. We have to recognize and build on confluence of interests. State and
private sector aren't homogeneous entities. It is important to be aware of and manage the
intensive accountability structure of the private sector partner and the extensive accountability
of the public sector partner (which has multiple stakeholders and multiple socio-economic
obligations to meet). There will have to be additional efforts not to replace but augment
governments' accountability and deliverables to its female and male citizens.
The real acid test of how effective policy is or how relevant the analyses are is results achieved.
Joint reinforcement and monitoring of core results through networks, by development agencies
and national womens machineries across sectors, and at policy and technical levels work
better, based on ADBs experiences in the region. Systematic monitoring of results which in
turn inform further action to maintain the targets outcomes have proven to be very effective in
achieving development outcomes. Creating a gender-aware and gender-responsive policy space
cannot be achieved through a one-time effort. With medium and long-term targets in sight,
approach may have to adapt as the policy environment changes to ensure intended results are
achieved in dynamic and fairly fluid political economy environments. Our operational
experiences to date indicate that results are more achievable and achieved results are more
sustainable if we maintain continuousalbeit incremental, at timesefforts rather than the
Big Bang under one project, or one dedicated agency which may not even be part of the
mainstream policy dialogue. It is also important to note that there is no single approach or a
blue print to anchor womens place at the policy table. Short and long-term efforts
appropriate for the country context do evolve over time.
The final message from the two-day EGM was that development agencies and national
women's machineries achieve better results when they engage policymakers and sector

agencies through a common language of gender and economics. Through a common language
and approachthat articulates both social and economic prioritiespartnerships can yield
more substantial development results, and generate more value for women and men. UN
Women committed to developing the capacity of its staff to facilitate such dialogue. It was also
noted that national and regional womens machineries and development agencies have to
identify confluence of interest, garner support for common targets, and work towards achieving
greater FLFP and gender equity in the labor market.
ADB and UN Women have been collaborating very productively to date. Womens integration
into the economic policy space demands that we move from articulated synergies to
coordinated action. There is much work to be done through financial and knowledge services at
community, country and regional levels. Transformative entry points for development agencies
include supporting evidence-based economic and labor market policies by women, with
women, for women. ADB has a potentially pivotal role as facilitator and catalyst in the evolving
dialogue and approach in the Asia-Pacific region.
_____________
The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy
of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this
paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's
terminology.

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