Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women in ASEAN

Seminar on “Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women in ASEAN”. Co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Thailand, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat (ASEAN) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Side Events
• Video Length: 01:02:48
• Production Date: 22 September 2017
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS - ASEAN; UNITED NATIONS ENTITY FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN - UN-WOMEN
• Subject Topical: WOMEN; ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
• MAMS Id: 1977195
• Parent Id: 1976433

Description

In September 2015, Member States of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during the United Nations General Assembly, which aims to create a more sustainable and equitable planet for generations to come. The ASEAN Community Vision 2025 was adopted at the 27th ASEAN Summit in 2015. The principles underpinning the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are similar as both champion the greater involvement of people and peoples from all sectors in shaping the development process, making sure that “no one is left behind.” This means that everyone in society, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and religion, has a say in what kind of society they want to live in.

This resonates clearly within the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which recognizes that “the achievement of full human potential and of sustainable development is not possible if one half of humanity continues to be denied its full rights and opportunities.”1 Among its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets, Goal 5 seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.2 Gender equality is a goal in and of itself but there is also a strong interdependence between this and other goals to achieve human development.

Therefore, collaboration between ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) would become a useful platform in generating discussion about greater economic empowerment of women in various aspects including tapping into high-skill sectors and the private sectors. The involvement of successful women entrepreneurs in ASEAN could also be role models/figures to share their best practices to further empower women and girls everywhere.

Objectives
1. To identify priorities and projects between ASEAN and UN Women to enhance economic empowerment for women in the ASEAN region in order to help catalyze ongoing effort at ASEAN Community building and attainment of SDGs.
2. To promote the role and cooperation between the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW), the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurship Network (AWEN) and UN Women in taking forward the implementation of projects on economic empowerment for women in ASEAN.