Advancing Women's Equality in Asia Pacific
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Why Are Gender Reforms Adopted in Singapore? Party Pragmatism and Electoral Incentives* Netina Tan
Why Are Gender Reforms Adopted in Singapore? Party Pragmatism and Electoral Incentives* Netina Tan Abstract In Singapore, the percentage of elected female politicians rose from 3.8 percent in 1984 to 22.5 percent after the 2015 general election. After years of exclusion, why were gender reforms adopted and how did they lead to more women in political office? Unlike South Korea and Taiwan, this paper shows that in Singapore party pragmatism rather than international diffusion of gender equality norms, feminist lobbying, or rival party pressures drove gender reforms. It is argued that the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) strategic and electoral calculations to maintain hegemonic rule drove its policy u-turn to nominate an average of about 17.6 percent female candidates in the last three elections. Similar to the PAP’s bid to capture women voters in the 1959 elections, it had to alter its patriarchal, conservative image to appeal to the younger, progressive electorate in the 2000s. Additionally, Singapore’s electoral system that includes multi-member constituencies based on plurality party bloc vote rule also makes it easier to include women and diversify the party slate. But despite the strategic and electoral incentives, a gender gap remains. Drawing from a range of public opinion data, this paper explains why traditional gender stereotypes, biased social norms, and unequal family responsibilities may hold women back from full political participation. Keywords: gender reforms, party pragmatism, plurality party bloc vote, multi-member constituencies, ethnic quotas, PAP, Singapore DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5509/2016892369 ____________________ Netina Tan is an assistant professor of political science at McMaster University. -
How Inequality Defines Women's Work in Asia
OXFAM ISSUE BRIEFING JUNE 2016 Factory workers step out of their shuttle bus as their shift ends. Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone, Yangon, November 2015. Photo: Kaung Htet/Oxfam UNDERPAID AND UNDERVALUED: HOW INEQUALITY DEFINES WOMEN’S WORK IN ASIA Rising economic inequality across Asia is threatening poverty reduction and slowing down the fight against gender inequality. Although the region has experienced economic growth, the bottom 70 percent have seen their income share fall while the share for the top 10 percent has increased rapidly. Low wages and a lack of rights at work, particularly for women, are at the heart of this scandal. At the same time, women are subsidizing the economy with a disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work. Achieving living wages and recognizing, redistributing and reducing unpaid care work could support both economic and gender equality in Asia and should be prioritized by both governments and businesses. www.oxfam.org 1 INTRODUCTION For women across Asia, access to decent work and a living wage represents a fundamental pathway out of poverty, and one of the best ways to counter the dangerous tide of growing economic inequality. Yet in recent decades, working people, in rich and poor countries alike, have received a smaller and smaller slice of the economic pie, while those who own capital have seen their assets grow disproportionately. Low wages for the majority of people, and particularly for women, are at the heart of this scandal. At the same time, women continue to carry out the majority of unpaid care and domestic work, which is essential to keep economies functioning but is unrecognized and undermined in policy making. -
Preview Chapter 7: a Few Good Women
7 A Few Good Women Zhou Qunfei grew up poor in Hunan Province, where she worked on her family’s farm to help support her family. Later, while working at a factory in Guangdong Province, she took business and computer courses at Shen- zhen University. She started a company with money she saved working for a watch producer. In 2015 she was the world’s richest self-made woman, with a fortune of $5.3 billion, according to Forbes. Her wealth comes from her company, Lens Technology, which makes touchscreens. It employs 60,000 people and has a market capitalization of nearly $12 billion. Lei Jufang was born in Gansu Province, one of the poorest areas of northwest China. After studying physics at Jiao Tong University, she cre- ated a new method for vacuum packaging food and drugs, which won her acclaim as an assistant professor. On a trip to Tibet she became fascinated by herbal medicines. In 1995 she founded a drug company, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine, harnessing her skill in physics and engineering to exploit the untapped market for Tibetan medicine. Her company has a research institute and three factories that produce herbal healing products for con- sumers in China, Malaysia, Singapore, and North and South America. She has amassed a fortune of $1.5 billion. In most countries, women get rich by inheriting money. China is dif- ferent: The majority of its women billionaires are self-made. Zhou Qunfei and Lei Jufang are unusual because they established their own companies. Most of the eight Chinese female self-made company founders worth more than $1 billion made their money in real estate or in companies founded jointly with husbands or brothers. -
Raising Awareness of Gender Equality Among Young People’
EVALUATION REPORT FINAL EVALUATION OF THE UN WOMEN PROJECT ‘RAISING AWARENESS OF GENDER EQUALITY AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE’ EVALUATION REPORT FINAL EVALUATION OF THE UN WOMEN PROJECT ‘RAISING AWARENESS OF GENDER EQUALITY AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE’ JAPAN LIAISON OFFICE UN WOMEN Tokyo , April 10 © 20 20 UN Women. All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of UN Women, the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations. Produced by UN Women Japan Liaison Office Prepared by Foundation for Advanced Studies on In- ternational Development (FASID) TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS ⅰⅰⅰ LIST OF TABLES ⅱⅱⅱ LIST OF FIGURES ⅲⅲⅲ LIST OF ANNEXES ⅴⅴⅴ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ⅵⅵⅵ 1. CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT 1 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND 1 1.2 OBJECTIVES 1 1.3 APPROACHES 2 1.4 THEORY OF CHANGE 2 1.5 MAIN ACTIVITIES 3 1.6 STAKEHOLDERS 5 2. EVALUATION OVERVIEW 7 2.1 EVALUATION PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES 7 2.2 SCOPE OF THE EVALUATION 8 2.3 EVALUATION DESIGN AND GUIDELINES 8 2.4 METHODOLOGY 9 2.4.1 EVALUATION CRITERIA AND EVALUATION MATRIX 9 2.4.2 INDICATORS FOR MEASURING RESULTS 9 2.4.3 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 11 2.4.4 STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION 12 2.4.5 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING DESIGN 12 2.4.6 ETHICAL CODE OF CONDUCT 13 2.5 LIMITATION TO THE EVALUATION 13 2.6 RESPONSIBILITIES 14 2.6.1 EVALUATION MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 14 2.6.2 EVALUATION IMPLEMENTING STRUCTURE 15 3. EVALUATION FINDINGS 16 3.1 RELEVANCE 16 3.2 EFFECTIVENESS 18 3.2.1 OUTCOME ONE: AWARENESS OF GENDER EQUALITY INCREASED AMONG YOUTH, SHISEIDO AND GENERAL AUDIENCE 19 3.2.2 OUTCOME TWO: SKILLS AND CAPACITIES IN PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN INCREASED AMONG YOUTH 25 3.2.3 OUTCOME THREE: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES ON GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN 32 3.3 EFFICIENCY 38 3.4 SUSTAINABILITY 40 3.5 GENDER EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 45 4. -
Women in the Workforce an Unmet Potential in Asia and the Pacific
WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE AN UNMET POTENTIAL IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE AN UNMET POTENTIAL IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2015 Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 4444; Fax +63 2 636 2444 www.adb.org; openaccess.adb.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2015. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-92-9254-913-8 (Print), 978-92-9254-914-5 (e-ISBN) Publication Stock No. RPT157205-2 Cataloging-In-Publication Data Asian Development Bank Women in the workforce: An unmet potential in Asia and the Pacific. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2015. 1. Economics of gender. 2. Female labor force participation. I. Asian Development Bank. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and 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 publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. -
Women in the Philippine Workforce
CONTENTS 5 Preface 7 Authors MAIN TOPICS 9 Work-Life Balance: The Philippine Experience in Male and Female Roles and Leadership Regina M. Hechanova 25 Rural Women’s Participation in Politics in Village-level Elections in China Liu Lige 37 Status of Women in Singapore and Trends in Southeast Asia Braema Mathiaparanam 51 Gender and Islam in Indonesia (Challenges and Solution) Zaitunah Subhan 57 Civil Society Movement on Sexuality in Thailand: A Challenge to State Institutions Varaporn Chamsanit DOCUMENTS 67 Joint Statement of the ASEAN High-Level Meeting on Good Practices in CEDAW Reporting and Follow-up 3 WEB LINKS 69 Informative websites on Europe and Southeast Asia ABSTRACTS 73 4 PREFACE conomic progress and political care giver. Similarly, conservative Eliberalisation have contributed religious interpretations undermine greatly to tackling the challenges of reform of outdated concepts of the role poverty and inequality in Asia. Creating and status of women in Asian societies. equal opportunities and ensuring equal The articles presented in this edition treatment for women is a key concern for of Panorama are testimony to the civil society groups and grassroots leaders multitude of challenges faced by women across the region. Undoubtedly, in most across Asia in the struggle to create parts of Asia, women today enjoy greater gender equality. They range from freedoms than their mothers did before addressing a shift in traditional gender them including improved access to roles derived from advancing healthcare, enhanced career opportunities, modernisation and globalisation to the and increased participation in political need to identify ways and means to decision-making. Nonetheless, key support women in their rightful quest challenges persistently remain. -
Women in Japan
WOMEN IN JAPAN BASIC DEMOGRAPHICS POPULATION1 127,298,000 People % % 65 million 51 WOMEN MEN 49 62 million Population is expected to decrease by 32.3% by 20602 AGE RATIO3 13% 62% 25% 0–14 15–64 65+ YEARS YEARS YEARS WORKING AGE FERTILITY RATE4 PROPORTION5 People Age 65+ 1.4 1.7 25% 39% LIVE BIRTHS ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC PER WOMAN CO-OPERATION AND 2013 2050 DEVELOPMENT (OECD) AVERAGE TERTIARY ENROLLMENT6 43% 57% 13% 87% 66% 34% WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN TOTAL UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS HUMANITIES STUDENTS GRADUATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT7 30% 70% 33% 67% 28% 72% WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN MASTER’S PROGRAM PHD PROGRAM LAW SCHOOL LABOR FORCE EMPLOYMENT RATE8 61% WOMEN 57% OECD average—women 80% MEN 73% OECD average—men LABOR FORCE9 Non-Regular Employees Regular Employees (Part-time, Contract, Temporary, and Agency Dispatched) 44% 56% WOMEN 79% 21% MEN PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN PARTICIPATING IN THE LABOR FORCE BY AGE GROUP10 79 76.1 74.9 73.1 70.3 70.1 69.6 66.5 47.4 15.6 13.8 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+ Male comparison Approximate time of marriage and children EMPLOYMENT STATUS11 UNDERUTILIZED LABOR FORCE12 After Pregnancy continued working 17% million women are not working, with maternity/parental leave 3 but would like to work 10% continued working without maternity/ % in age group % 53 44 parental leave 25-44 left job after % becoming 24 not employed pregnant 5% N/A GENDER WAGE GAP13 In 2013, women in regular employment earned: 16% OECD average gap % 73 WOMEN 27% GAP less than their male counterparts MEN PRESIDENTS14 BOARD DIRECTORS Of All Private and Public Of All Public Companies15 TOPIX Core 30 Index16 Companies 7.5% 1.6% 3.1% 2014 2012 2014 WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN MANAGEMENT Section Manager or Higher in Companies Section Manager or Higher The target year 2020 will coincide 17 18 With More Than 100 Employees in Companies with the return of the Olympics to Tokyo. -
WIC Template 13/9/16 11:52 Am Page IFC1
In a little over 35 years China’s economy has been transformed Week in China from an inefficient backwater to the second largest in the world. If you want to understand how that happened, you need to understand the people who helped reshape the Chinese business landscape. china’s tycoons China’s Tycoons is a book about highly successful Chinese profiles of entrepreneurs. In 150 easy-to- digest profiles, we tell their stories: where they came from, how they started, the big break that earned them their first millions, and why they came to dominate their industries and make billions. These are tales of entrepreneurship, risk-taking and hard work that differ greatly from anything you’ll top business have read before. 150 leaders fourth Edition Week in China “THIS IS STILL THE ASIAN CENTURY AND CHINA IS STILL THE KEY PLAYER.” Peter Wong – Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, Asia-Pacific, HSBC Does your bank really understand China Growth? With over 150 years of on-the-ground experience, HSBC has the depth of knowledge and expertise to help your business realise the opportunity. Tap into China’s potential at www.hsbc.com/rmb Issued by HSBC Holdings plc. Cyan 611469_6006571 HSBC 280.00 x 170.00 mm Magenta Yellow HSBC RMB Press Ads 280.00 x 170.00 mm Black xpath_unresolved Tom Fryer 16/06/2016 18:41 [email protected] ${Market} ${Revision Number} 0 Title Page.qxp_Layout 1 13/9/16 6:36 pm Page 1 china’s tycoons profiles of 150top business leaders fourth Edition Week in China 0 Welcome Note.FIN.qxp_Layout 1 13/9/16 3:10 pm Page 2 Week in China China’s Tycoons Foreword By Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive, HSBC Holdings alking around the streets of Chengdu on a balmy evening in the mid-1980s, it quickly became apparent that the people of this city had an energy and drive Wthat jarred with the West’s perception of work and life in China. -
Japanese Workplace Harassment Against Women and The
Japanese Workplace Harassment Against Women and the Subsequent Rise of Activist Movements: Combatting Four Forms of Hara to Create a More Gender Equal Workplace by Rachel Grant A THESIS Presented to the Department of Japanese and the Robert D. Clark Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts June 2016 An Abstract of the Thesis of Rachel Grant for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Department of Japanese to be taken June 2016 Title: Japanese Workplace Harassment Against Women and the Subsequent Rise of Activist Movements Approved: {1 ~ Alisa Freedman The Japanese workplace has traditionally been shaped by a large divide between the gender roles of women and men. This encompasses areas such as occupational expectations, job duties, work hours, work pay, work status, and years of work. Part of this struggle stems from the pressure exerted by different sides of society, pushing women to fulfill the motherly home-life role, the dedicated career woman role, or a merge of the two. Along with these demands lie other stressors in the workplace, such as harassment Power harassment, age discrimination, sexual harassment, and maternity harassment, cause strain and anxiety to many Japanese businesswomen. There have been governmental refonns put in place, such as proposals made by the Prime Minister of Japan, in an attempt to combat this behavior. More recently, there have been various activist grassroots groups that have emerged to try to tackle the issues surrounding harassment against women. In this thesis, I make the argument that these groups are an essential component in the changing Japanese workplace, where women are gaining a more equal balance to men. -
Gender, Age and Migration an EXTENDED BRIEFING
Gender, Age and Migration AN EXTENDED BRIEFING JENNY BIRCHALL 2016 About this briefing This briefing was written by Jenny Birchall, part of the BRIDGE team at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). The author would like to thank Zeina Zaatari for her advice, Aditi Bhonagiri and Jessica Buhl-Neilsen for research assistance, and Very Own Studio for design. This briefing was produced with the financial support of the UK Department of International Development (DFID). The views expressed in the briefing do not necessarily reflect those of DFID. Cover image: Women at sunset inside the ‘27 February’ Saharawi refugee camp near Tindouf, Algeria. Photo ID 443285. 24/06/2010. Tindouf, Algeria. UN Photo/ Martine Perret. Copyright © Institute of Development Studies 2016 ISBN: 978-1-78118-301-4 You are free to Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt: remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow these license terms. License terms: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. 2 Executive summary In many parts of the world, migration has replaced fertility and mortality as the leading agent of demographic change (Bell et al 2015). It is estimated that one billion of the world’s seven billion people are migrants (UNDP 2009). A person’s gender, age, religion, race, ethnicity, sexuality and health or disability shape every stage of the migration experience. -
Population Aging in Australia: Implications for Social and Economic Policy
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 271 683 CG 019 222 AUTHOR Hugo, Graeme TITLE Population Aging in Australia: Implications for Social and Economic Policy. Number 98. INSTITUTION East-West Center, Honolulu, III. REPORT NO ISBN-0-86638-078-7 PUB DATE Apr 86 NOTE 58p. AVAILABLE FROMEast-West Center, 1777 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96848 ($3.00). PUB TYPE Reports General (140) EDRS PRICE MFC1/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Aging (Individuals); Economics; *Eligibility; Federal Programs; Foreign Countries; *Older Adults; *Population Trends; *Public Policy; Retirement; Social Services IDENTIFIERS *Australia; *Social Security ABSTRACT This report begins by recognizing that Australia's recent immigration, fertility, and mortality trends have resulted in a rapid increase not only in the numbers of older Australians but also in their proportion of the total population. After briefly reviewing the contemporary demographic aging of Australia's population and its likely course over the next two decades, this report examines the Australian social security system which is noncontributory and historically has focused on the alleviation of poverty rather than the replacement of earnings. Thepaper discusses the liberalization of the eligibility criteria for theage pension, widened access to government-subsidized or funded pensions, private superannuation, and the range of services available to the aged. The report examines how these changes have contributed to modifyingage at retirement, migration behavior, housing, and living arrangements of the elderly. Recent pressure to change the social security provisions for the aged is considered, some of the proposed changes are reviewed, and their possible effects upon the behavior and well-being of the Australian aged populationare briefly addressed. -
Abandoning the Masculine Domain of Leadership to Identify a New Space for Women's Being, Valuing and Doing
University of Wollongong Thesis Collections University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Year Abandoning the masculine domain of leadership to identify a new space for women’s being, valuing and doing Diann M. Rodgers-Healey University of Wollongong Rodgers-Healey, Diann M, Abandoning the masculine domain of leadership to identify a new space for women’s being, valuing and doing, PhD thesis, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, 2008. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/782 This paper is posted at Research Online. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/782 ABANDONING THE MASCULINE DOMAIN OF LEADERSHIP TO IDENTIFY A NEW SPACE FOR WOMEN’S BEING, VALUING AND DOING A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by DIANN M. RODGERS-HEALEY, B.A. (Sydney Uni), Dip. Ed. (Alex Mackie), M.Ed. (ACU) FACULTY OF EDUCATION JANUARY 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Professor Stephen Dinham for journeying with me through this study and for his wisdom, proficiency and constructive feedback. I am also extremely grateful to Associate Professor Narottam Bhindi for his unwavering support and guidance and discussion of broader issues of life. My deepest thanks are also extended to my husband, Philip Healey for supporting me in my lengthy quest in every possible way. Sincere thanks to my father Roy Rodgers for his guidance and for ardently encouraging me to be the best I can be. Thank you to my three young sons, Aaron, Benjamin and Matthew whose smiles and cuddles made the tedious juggle so much easier.