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 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.  

Check out the profiles of the 2020 gender champions and learn the impacts they have created in enabling a more gender-equal business world.

Skills development is key to economic empowerment of women migrant workers and improvements of their lives in Thailand and after returning to their countries of origin. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, skills development become more necessary and should be given to women migrant workers to overcome inequalities in economic and social development which are increasingly exacerbated. Skills development can improve productivity and help women migrant workers diversify their employment opportunities enhancing their possibilities to secure employment during the crisis and as part of recovery.

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.

Effective coordination and referrals are essential to respond to the needs of women migrant workers subject to violence. Safe and Fair has created a regional service directory for this purpose. The service directory enables referrals of women, including women migrant workers survivors of violence, by sharing information on available violence against women (VAW) specialized service providers across the region.

This bulletin features stories, events, announcements, publications and resources as well as updates on the implementation of WeEmpowerAsia programme.

Now, nearly a decade later, the TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme (ILO) and Safe and Fair programme (ILO and UN Women) have conducted a similar survey of 4,099 nationals to track trends of attitudes in three of the above countries. One of the original four countries was changed, with the Republic of Korea replaced by Japan, given its emergence as an important destination country for low-skilled migrant workers in Asia. Certain questions from the first survey were repeated to allow for identification...

There are approximately 300,000 Laotian migrants working in Thailand which accounts for over half of all migrants from Laos PDR globally. Their remittances are responsible for between 25 and 50 percent of the income of rural household in the country. To reduce vulnerability to labour exploitation and human trafficking, information particularly pre-departure should be made available and accessible. Appropriate knowledge and accessibility will empower migrants to make informed choices and...

This study is one of the first to focus on the attitudes and behaviour of employers and service providers towards domestic workers. It has been important to combine the broader issues of public attitudes towards domestic workers with the scope of legislative protection and working conditions at individual and household levels. The particular vulnerabilities and challenges associated with this...

Domestic workers, the vast majority of whom are women and girls, make a critical contribution to societies and economies across the world. Still, domestic work is typically not regarded as work and is often excluded from full protection under labour legislation and social security provisions. It is usually carried out for private households, often without clear terms of employment, leaving...

UN Women has developed this publication to bring the key challenges faced by women migrant workers in the low wage sectors of the informal economy within the ASEAN. It is expected that the study will help key labour sending and receiving countries with the ASEAN in developing and implementing national and regional policies that will empower and legally protect women migrant workers.

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...

East and Southeast Asia Programme Country Briefs: Thailand