The project works across the Mekong subregion, namely in Thailand and Viet Nam, where the concept of SD-GRP is still in the nascent stages of development. Despite regional and national initiatives prioritising the financial inclusion of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), there is currently a limited amount of gender-sensitive data available to promote SD-GRP practices and policies in the project’s geographical focus areas.  

The impacts of multiple, overlapping crises arising from climate change, pandemics and conflict disproportionately affect women, exacerbate existing inequalities and deepen power imbalances. In contexts where disasters and conflict risks intersect, responses need to recognize that women perform various roles in disaster and conflict prevention, have access to different information and services, and are impacted differently — yet they are overwhelmingly excluded from decision-making processes and mechanisms.

The “UN Women impact stories series”, updated quarterly, illustrates the human impact of UN Women’s work across Asia and the Pacific, highlighting the partnerships that make this work possible. These stories share how we and our many partners are striding forward to realize a better world for women and girls—one of equality and empowerment because that is what we do and who we are, as a leader, mobilizer, convenor, and provider of programmes.

The policy brief was developed based on the results of the Survey on the Socio-Economic Situation of 53 Ethnic Minority Group in Viet Nam in 2019 and other recent research results related to ethnic minority issues in Viet Nam. The policy brief aims to support the process of formulating and implementing policy for ethnic minority areas, contributing to an effective and comprehensive promotion of gender equality in ethnic minority areas as Viet Nam.

The Safe and Fair Project, in particular, focuses on addressing the needs of women especially women migrant workers and women in informal employment in this policy document while advocacy interventions of the G20 project target other marginalized groups such as people with disabilities and ethnic minority groups. The interventions on gender equality, gender and labour migration are in line with Viet Nam’s commitments on these issues through ratification of International Labour Standards, UN CEDAW and at ASEAN level (ASEAN Consensus, ASEAN Declaration on Ending violence against women among others).

Transport is one of the most important elements of national infrastructure and a key to gender equality. Women’s opportunities to access paid work are reduced when there is poor investment in gender responsive transport infrastructure.

Among the urgent challenges to peace and security posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, cybersecurity has emerged as a new and critical area for the application of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Asia and the Pacific.

“Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region (2018-2022) ” is part of the multi-year EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence against Women and Girls. The programme is implemented by the ILO and UN Women, in collaboration with UNODC, and aims to reduce women migrant workers’ vulnerabilities to violence and trafficking and increase their access to coordinated and responsive quality services.

ADVOCACY BRIEF | The government of Viet Nam is committed to ensuring a woman’s right to life withdignity, including the right to live free from violence and the fear of violence andadvancing her access to justice when such rights are violated. The Ministry ofJustice, with support of UN Women, has undertaken various researches in orderto get a better picture of the realities women face when seeking protection andjustice in Viet Nam. Their findings and recommendations, along with...

The gender gap among ethnic minorities and between ethnic minorities and the Kinh (the largest group) is wide and persistent, especially in regards to education and health. Ethnic minorities are disadvantaged compared to the majority of the population in terms of education and employment, mobility, access to financial services, productive resources such as land, and access to market due to stereotypes and other cultural barriers. Among ethnic minority people, women and girls are the most...

With a population of 13.4 million, Cambodia is one of the most populous countries in Southeast Asia, and also one of the poorest. 80 per cent of the population is rural, and an estimated one-third of Cambodians still live below the poverty line. i After decades of civil war, the country emerged from conflict in the early 1990s, and the reconstruction phase has seen some economic growth, as well as improvements in overall...