ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024 highlights climate change threats to women and girls in Southeast Asia, a warning sign for other regions

Date: Friday, 27 September 2024

[Joint Press Release]
[Embargoed until 13:00 hrs (EDT) on 27 September 2024.]

NEW YORK/BANGKOK — The new ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024, presented today at the United Nations General Assembly, showcases new gender data across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It reveals that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States have made tremendous strides towards several SDGs – decreasing poverty, food insecurity, school abandonment, violent crime and the use of unclean fuels – yet climate change and environmental degradation are still substantially affecting women and girls. Given the intensified consequences of climate change, more efforts are needed to address these impacts.

Poverty in East and Southeast Asia has dropped 10-fold over the past 20 years – more progress than in any other region – yet women in Southeast Asia remain more likely than men to be poor, particularly in their peak reproductive ages (2.66 million women vs. 2.31 million men). If climate change continues to worsen, an estimated 2.5 million more people will be pushed into poverty by 2030.

Despite substantial regional reductions in food insecurity over the past decade, an estimated 17% of women and 16% of men do not eat enough nutritious food, and 38% of pregnant women have anemia. Unsustainable farming practices, land transition and overreliance on cash crops, are projected to impact millions, particularly women and girls, who are more vulnerable to food insecurity.

Women’s political participation is increasing, reaching an all-time high of 23% in parliaments across the region, yet they remain underrepresented in key environmental ministries.^[1] Expanding women’s roles in decision-making in all sectors is crucial to creating inclusive solutions to manage disease spread, build farmer resilience, reduce unpaid work burdens and ensure ecosystem health.

Despite substantial strides towards universal access to clean drinking water, women are more likely than men to die from consuming unsafe water sources across the region. For example, in Indonesia women comprise 29% of deaths associated with unsafe water sources, compared to 25% of men; while the rates are 23% for women vs. 18% for men in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Data reveal the gendered impacts of increased droughts, unpredictable rains and rising temperatures, which correlate with higher rates of child marriage,^[2] adolescent births and barriers to accessing clean drinking water and cooking fuels, disproportionately affecting women’s unpaid work. Climate plans and policies must be gender-sensitive, but currently, only three countries’ are.^[3]

The health of ASEAN oceans is in jeopardy, with high concentrations of algal blooms and extensive beach litter.^[4] Destructive fishing practices and overfishing threaten marine biodiversity and fish stocks, with significant economic costs impacting human health, tourism and the livelihoods of small-scale fishing folk, especially women, who are often unable to change harvest areas or gear to adapt

Rapid deforestation rates continue in the region, with significant forest loss recorded in 2023, particularly in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Indonesia, Viet Nam and Thailand, equivalent to massive carbon dioxide emissions. This deforestation has disproportionate impacts on women, correlating with increased malaria spread that exacerbate women’s unpaid care work.

Although violent crime is low and the region is one of the world’s safest,^[5] 22% of women vs. 18% of men feel less safe than five years ago. Among the poorest women, this rate rises to 25%. Women’s participation in security and peacekeeping has the potential to enhance safety, yet women account for less than 20% of peacekeepers contributed by all countries in the ASEAN region.

Currently, 47% of Official Development Assistance in the region targets gender. But increased investment in collecting, analysing and using gender data across all SDGs, including traditionally gender-neutral areas like environment statistics, is necessary.^[6] With just six years to go to achieve the 2030 Agenda, continuous investment in gender equality is vital.

The ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024 underscores the importance of gender equality for sustainable development to ensure no one is left behind.

For more information on the report: https://data.unwomen.org/publications/asean-gender-outlook-2024

H.E. Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community commented: “The Second Edition of ASEAN Gender Outlook is dedicated to track progress towards gender equality and SDGs in the ASEAN region. It further advocates for enhanced investment in gender data and evidence, which is critical to guide decision-making policies. This approach ensures that policy responses are comprehensive and inclusive, particularly addressing the needs of women and girls, particularly those from the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in the region.”

H.E. Ms. Penny Wong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia commented: “Investing in gender equality is an investment in peace, security and prosperity. The ASEAN Gender Outlook provides essential data to inform regional policy. Data impacts our decisions about how best to respond, and with better data, we can count women in.”

H.E. Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR commented: “ASEAN has consistently mobilized high-level political commitment to advance gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls in the region. Such priority is seen in the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and its complementarities with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Being the ASEAN Chair this year, Lao PDR remains committed to making concrete contributions to the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment which is one of the key priorities, and the cross-cutting priority for achieving the SDGs.”

Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women, Malaysia commented: “The Second Edition of the ASEAN Gender Outlook is a call to action. Integrating gender perspectives into every facet of our development agenda is not only essential but urgent, as we work towards realizing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and shaping the Strategic Plans beyond 2025. The insights from this outlook should ignite real, transformative change across ASEAN, driving us toward a more inclusive future.”

H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand commented: “Gender equality and women empowerment are also central to the ASEAN Community Vision. As we move ahead, we should empower a new generation of women leaders. Let me highlight three key areas where women can make a difference and contribute to a more future-ready and sustainable world: climate action and disaster response; digital transformation; and global supply chains.”

Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director commented: “The second ASEAN Gender Outlook underscores the need to advance progress towards the SDGs, including by improving gender data on key issues for the region. Today’s report shows that gains have been made and progress is within reach, but it must be accelerated. We must keep advancing gender equality to honour the commitments made at the Beijing Declaration nearly 30 years ago, and the 2030 Agenda. Let’s work together to break down the barriers facing women and girls and turn gender equality from a goal into reality.”

About ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. General information on ASEAN appears online at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org.

About UN Women

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

Note to the Editor:

The report was launched on 10 September 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by H.E. Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women, Malaysia. The publication is jointly produced by the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW), led by Malaysia as the Chair of ACW, ASEAN Secretariat and UN Women. The launching ceremony was attended by H.E. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community; Jamshed Kazi, Senior Advisor and Liaison to ASEAN, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; along with the representatives of ACW, ASEAN Commission on the Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children as well as other ASEAN Sectoral Bodies. As regional lead on the SDGs in ASEAN, the Government of Thailand organized and coordinated the high-level launch of this report at the UN General Assembly.

For media inquiries:

Montira Narkvichien
Regional Communications Specialist, UN Women Asia and the Pacific
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[1] There is not a single woman Minister for Energy, Industry or Fisheries in the region. Globally, women comprise just 11% of Ministers of Energy, Natural Resources, Fuels and Mining.

[2] For example, the proportion of women aged 18–49 who were married before age 18 was 10 percentage points higher in Timor-Leste during high frequency (34%) compared to low frequency episodes of drought (24%).

[3] Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar prioritize gender in their Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

[4] The ASEAN region has more beach litter than any other region (more than 288,000 pieces per square kilometre).

[5] At 1.8 victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 people.

[6]UN Women has made significant strides in generating gender and environment statistics through national specialized surveys, but further investments are needed to fill data gaps.