This research is a product of the A Place Called Home – WeCare project, which is a joint project of UN Women China and IKEA China. The project is to address two interlinked issues that hinder women’s economic empowerment: unpaid care and domestic work, and violence against women.

This brief examines the Online Opposition to Gender Equality: Understanding opposition to gender equality and feminism in the virtual space. Produced by Quilt.AI and UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific with the technical support of Prevention Collaborative. It examines online opposition to gender equality in Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines, showing both common and country-specific oppositional narratives and tactics. 

Globally, there is growing recognition that policy should be informed by indigenous knowledge systems. Indigenous knowledge frameworks and methodologies have been used productively to inform health policies, to support mental health and well-being, to foster sustainable development, and respond to climate change. These topics have some relevance for Filipino migrant workers, and we can therefore expect indigenous approaches to understanding their experiences and issues to be fruitful. Having a better understanding of context, culture, and patterns of communication can lead to improving our responses, their relevance, and their accessibility

This multi-country study on women-led MSMEs, with a focus on microenterprises in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Rwanda and Uganda, is a key output of the Together Digital Programme. It is intended to inform the design and implementation of programmmes, initiatives, and strategies supporting women’s entrepreneurship.

The costing studies sought to raise awareness and shed light on the detrimental economic impact of Intimate Partner Violence on society and support advocacy efforts to invest in prevention and response efforts to meaningful address gender-based violence in RMI and Solomon Islands.

This document is a snapshot of the extent to which, and in what ways, women and women’s rights organisations (WROs) have led and participated meaningfully in the COVID-19 response and recovery in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. This research was conducted through consultation with key actors utilizing the Framework for Measuring Women’s Leadership and Meaningful Participation in COVID-19 Responses.

This study is part of WeEmpowerAsia, a joint program of the European Union and UN Women, which aims to increase the number of women who lead and participate in private-sector businesses in seven countries across Asia, including Indonesia.

In India, there are multiple laws to ensure gender equality in the corporate sector. Women continue to be underrepresented in the corporate sector. Globally women make up only 17 per cent of the board of directors in listed companies and 10 per cent of higher management. In this research study, we examined the implementation effectiveness of three recent laws introduced to strengthen commitment to gender equality in the Indian corporate sector.

Based on an analysis of 11 countries, this research brief summarizes, explains and furthers the understanding of the linkages between gender, security and natural resource management (NRM) in the Asia-Pacific region by analysing the land, water and forestry sectors. Although countries traditionally view NRM as separate from women, peace and security issues, NRM is a field in which the currents and risks of climate change, conflict, security and gender-based disadvantages concretely intersect.

The second thematic brief looks at the legal and justice system changes and implications for gender equality and women’s rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban take-over on 15 August 2021. While incremental progress was made prior to August 2021 to advance access to justice for women and girls in Afghanistan, there has been an observable and swift backslide. Institutions and infrastructure supporting the legal rights of women, such as legal aid and shelters, have been largely dismantled.

This publication provides a thorough assessment of the KAP of local government units (LGUs). The report will be an important starting point towards enabling accountable systems at the LG level and help plan effective strategies to overcome barriers to the effective implementation of the GESI mandates. The survey findings will also serve as a baseline for all levels of government to strengthen gender-responsive public finance management.

Implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has long been recognised as essential to achieving sustainable peace and prosperity in the ASEAN region. ASEAN member states remain committed to gender equality and the full protection of women’s rights. They also remain steadfast in their aim to maintain regional peace, address shared security concerns and advance development and prosperity for all citizens. Member states consider the development of this Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security (RPA WPS) as a critical step to making progress on these commitments. The RPA WPS aims to mobilise the whole of ASEAN to advance implementation of the WPS agenda to promote sustainable peace and security for all citizens.

This Think Piece: Innovations in Childcare to Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment explores the question “Can inclusive Care Entrepreneurship be a pathway to address gaps in the childcare sector in Asia and the Pacific?”. It offers promising entrepreneurship models emerging in Asia and the Pacific that could be replicated and scaled to fill childcare gaps to contribute to efforts to rebuild economies and to recognize the care economy as a vehicle to create more jobs and increase women’s economic participation.

In December 2020, Sustineo was engaged UN Women under the Women in Leadership in Samoa (WILS) Project to lead the design and implementation of Research on Leadership Pathways of Women in Samoa.

The brief concluded that the indirect ramifications of dismissing women staff in the media sector removes them from public space, contributing to the retreat of women into domestic environments. The justification underpinning this retreat is often that of protecting women, which normalizes the narrative that women are inherently vulnerable and require protection, erasing their agency and vital contribution to a pluralistic society.

Pathways for women’s meaningful participation, across all levels of decision-making in politics, the media, the security sector and conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms which, despite challenges, had previously been possible, are currently non-existent. In the lead-up of the Global Open Debate, UN Women Afghanistan run a serios of in-country consultations with Afghan women leaders from diverse sectors in October 2022. The infor­mation presented in this briefs captures the views and policy recommendation of Afghan women on the relevance of the WPS agenda to Afghanistan.

A study looking at Promoting the Recruitment and Retention of Women Humani­tarian Workers in Afghanistan. The study aims to identify specific barriers faced by Afghan women in their work for humanitarian aid agencies. It also aims to share best practices and recommendations for reversing these barriers, and for enabling more women to participate in humanitarian action. This will be vital for ensuring access by women, chil­dren, and marginalized groups to life-saving assistance.

The report aims to strengthen country-driven processes by presenting more evidence of the links between gender equality and climate change in the priority sectors of crop agriculture, water resource management, forestry, and renewable energy.

This Thailand Country Policy Brief entitled “Building Pathways to Gender Equality and Sustainability through the Women’s Empowerment Principles” provides guidance for governments, policymakers and regulators, as well as an analysis of current policies promoting gender equality in the business sector.

Equipping the younger generations of Pacific Islanders with the capacity to make good, considered decisions, work collaboratively and peacefully, and to think critically and creatively is necessary to ensure Pacific countries’ sustainable future.