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• This report from the McKinsey Global Institute outlines the economic gains that the countries of Asia Pacific could reap if they achieved gender parity and specific, impactful steps that countries can take to improve gender equity.
• How can philanthropy support gender equity initiatives in the countries of Asia Pacific?
• Learn about the global cost of gender inequality.
Advancing women’s equality in the countries of Asia Pacific could add $4.5 trillion to their collective annual GDP by 2025, a 12 percent increase over the business-as-usual trajectory. Already a powerful engine of global growth, pursuing the goal of gender parity can lift many more women out of poverty, unleash the economic potential of many others, and reinforce the region’s dynamic growth story.
- All countries would benefit from advancing women’s equality. Across Asia Pacific, we estimate that 58 percent of the opportunity would come from raising the female labor-force participation ratio, 17 percent from increasing the number of hours women work, and the remaining 25 percent from more women working in higher-productivity sectors.
- MGI has established a strong link between gender equality in work and in society—the former is not achievable without the latter.
- On gender equality in work, the Philippines stands out for its progress, followed by New Zealand and Singapore. The six countries furthest from gender parity in work are Bangladesh, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, and South Korea. Gender inequality also remains high across the region in the sharing of unpaid care work.
- On gender equality in society, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Singapore are ahead of most in the region on essential services such as education, maternal and reproductive health, financial and digital inclusion, and legal protection and political voice; countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan still have a considerable distance to travel.Physical security and autonomy remains a concern in many parts of the region—and globally.
- Asia Pacific nations have made progress in the past decade, driven by a combination of economic development, government measures, technological change, market forces, and activism. Many countries have increased women’s labour-force participation, but participation has fallen in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka, a trend that may be linked to rising household income.
Mapping the road ahead, policy makers, companies, and non-governmental organisations could consider prioritising action in five areas that are urgent issues (to differing degrees) across the region: (1) focus on higher female labour-force participation, with steps to address unpaid care work as a priority to boost economic growth; (2) address the pressing regional and global issue of women’s underrepresentation in business leadership positions; (3) capture the economic and social benefits of improving access to digital technology; (4) shift social attitudes about women’s role in society and work in order to underpin progress on all aspects of gender inequality; and (5) collaborate on regional solutions as powerful catalysts for gender equality.