Equality In Asia Pacific

Women still confront multiple forms of discrimination in every Asia-Pacific country. Despite robust growth and progress on many fronts, gender inequality persists and deprives the region of a significant source of human potential. Countries in the region that have done the most to tap women's talents and capacities have traveled farthest on many aspects of human development. Countries that tolerate deep inequities fall short of equal citizenshipndash;and face social instability and economic loss, particularly acute amid global economic downturn. Today, Asia- Pacific stands at a crossroads. But with better institutions, openness to ideas, and more resources, the region is well equipped to achieve gender equality. This Report looks at three key opportunities for achieving gender equality-economics, politics and the law. Transforming institutions in all three areas, changing attitudes and assessing progress continually will open the door wide to rapid, far-reaching change for human development.

In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stating every human being’s right of equality in dignity and right. However, notwithstanding recognition by the international community of its importance and codification in numerous national and sub-national constitutions and legislation, reinforced by various multilateral and regional human rights treaties, the right of equality continues to be unable to take complete firm hold in all regions and countries. Evidence, as presented by the insightful papers in this collection, published initially as a Special Double Issue of The International Journal of Human Rights dedicated to exploring the place of equality in Asia-Pacific societies, suggests that although progress is being made the right of equality has not yet fully materialized, both in law and in reality, in the world’s most populous region. Many factors, particularly entrenched cultural heritage and practices, the lingering effects of colonialism and newly found independence, and, above all, pervasive ignorance and prejudices, continue to impede the recognition, development and protection of equality in this region. Of course, equality, a normative right and entitlement by virtue of our humanity, has neither been fully achieved in societies outside the region. Such neo-colonial thinking in fact perpetuates and assists in the subjugation of the right of equality in the Asia-Pacific Region as a matter of relevance and concern only to Western countries. Accordingly, we hope that our discussions will also be able to shed light and generate reflections on realities outside the region as interlinked with our aim. The Editor’s book fee has been donated to the UNICEF Tsunami Fund. This book was previously published as a special issue of The International Journal of Human Rights.

This publication provides a regional overview of progress made in implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the Asia-Pacific region, from the perspectives of the national governments. More specifically, this report provides a summary of the identified achievements and challenges of ESCAP members and associate members in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment, including in relation to the 12 critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action. This report also outlines the key means of implementation of the Platform for Action, along with the members’ and associate members’ delineated priorities for strengthening implementation and achieving gender equality.

This book provides a comparative analysis of the social, economic, industrial and migration dynamics that structure women’s paid work and unpaid care work experience in the Asia-Pacific region. Each country-focused chapter examines the formal and informal ways in which work and care are managed, the changing institutional landscape, gender relations and fertility concerns, employer and trade union responses and the challenges policy makers face and the consequences of their decisions for working women. By covering the entire region, including Australia and New Zealand, the book highlights the way different national work and care regimes are linked through migration, with wealthier countries looking to their poorer neighbours for alternative sources of labour. In addition, the book contributes to debates about the barriers to women’s participation in the workforce, the valuation of unpaid care, the gender wage gap, social protection and labour regulation for migrant workers and gender relations in developing Asia.

Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific examines the relationship between gender equality and development and outlines an agenda for public action to promote more effective and inclusive development in East Asian and Pacific countries.

This book establishes gender issues as a major focus within developments shaping higher education in the Asia Pacific region. The discussion is framed as a response to various dedicated efforts, such as that of the United Nations, to foreground gender as a site for political discourse throughout the region. Throughout the volume, authors confront issues that continue to gain prominence in higher education as a policy arena, including the degree to which higher education operates within a framework of gender equity and how higher education appointments—even promotions—are sensitive to gender. By touching specific instances throughout Korea, Japan, China, Australia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan, authors offer an unprecedented big-picture view of gender-relevant policy issues.

Addressing gender inequality is fundamental for achieving a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable future for all. The year 2020 marks a series of converging global milestones; the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and the 5-year milestone of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, all together offering the opportunity to take stock of progress and persisting challenges and to identify and accelerate actions that can make gender equality and the empowerment of women a reality for all women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region. Within this context, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) conducted a study of the progress made and gaps that remain in implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This synthesis report is the result of the analytical review, drawing from the national review reports of ESCAP members and associate members on Beijing+25 review, SDG data, as well as other secondary literature. The findings suggest that the Asia-Pacific region has made good progress in the empowerment of women and girls over the last 25 years, but much work remains. Further, progress made is currently threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic - a pandemic with gendered effects that are in large part attributable to the social and economic inequalities women have long faced. As such, there is a critical need for concerted collective, collaborative and resourced action to empower all women and girls in Asia and the Pacific

Asia’s rapid economic growth has led to a significant reduction in extreme poverty, but accompanied by rising inequality. This book deals with three questions: What have been the trends of inequality in Asia and the Pacific? What are the key drivers of rising inequality in the region? How should Asian countries respond to the rising inequality? Technological change, globalization, and market-oriented reform have been the key drivers of Asia’s remarkable growth and poverty reduction, but they have also had significant distribution consequences. These three drivers of growth cannot be hindered because they are the sources of productivity improvement and betterment of quality of life. This book will be useful to those interested in policy options that could be deployed by Asian countries in confronting rising inequality.