Thirty years ago, the Beijing Platform for Action was born out of the astute recognition that the lack of opportunities for women and girls was stalling development across the world. And that there could be no sustained progress without their improved human development condition. 

Three decades later, we are counting progress in gender equality in a few areas but nothing close to what had been expected. Today, in the Asia-Pacific region, more girls attend school, more women own and manage their businesses and run for local office, and access to healthcare and physical and economic mobility has improved. Yet glaring, stubborn gaps persist where they should not. Hence, it is no surprise that the gender-related Sustainable Development Goals remain among the furthest behind. As of 2024, only 44% of the region’s working-age women are in the labour force, compared to 74% of men. Women earn 44 cents for every dollar earned by men, and one in four women experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner violence in their lifetime. And while women-owned businesses contribute significantly to the region’s growth and economy, women-owned businesses often face daunting barriers to scale. 

Looking across decades of development practice in the Asia-Pacific region, UNDP sees five major blockages that act as grime in a nation’s development engine, causing it to splutter if not halt. And if cleared, it could unleash economic growth and prosperity.  

Moving women-owned businesses out of the ‘micro trap’. The informal sector outside of big cities has survived on the toil and perseverance of women who run micro enterprises, whether in food and spices, clothing and footwear, or fresh produce. And yet, they remain micro. Women owners find it much harder to get bank loans, and often rely on micro credits to pay for any continuity or expansion, and hence these remain small; many do not own the collateral required, or assets are often not in their name, including ownership of the store or home; several have not had access to the financial, marketing and management skills required to take their business to the next level. These are all immediately ‘fixable’ challenges and should not be left to piece-meal or charitable operations but must be part of growing the country’s business sector. 

A Care Economy that pays. Women and girls in Asia and the Pacific spend two to five times more hours than men on unpaid care and domestic work. This unpaid burden limits their access to education, employment, and community leadership opportunities. Recent estimates by UN Women suggest that monetizing women’s unpaid care and domestic work could add $3.8 trillion to the Asia-Pacific economy. UNDP has worked with national governments on policies that provide the regulations to protect and provide legal identity and hence pay for the Care Economy, such as in Malaysia and Cambodia, and followed to support piloting affordable and accessible childcare models for lower-income urban households as in India. These initiatives include community-based care and workplace-based solutions through public-private partnerships. 

(Em)powered by renewable energy. Women disproportionately bear the burden of energy deficits with limited access, on average, to clean and affordable energy. This disparity is especially significant as women perform most of the energy-intensive, unpaid work, whether in homes or in the fields. At the same time women make up only 16% of the global energy sector workforce and earn 15% less than their male counterparts. In Indonesia, UNDP is expanding renewable energy access, building 22 solar power plants that now provide clean electricity to over 14,000 people. Women are at the forefront of these solutions—50% of trained local operators are women. In Mongolia, the clean energy for gers in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, supported by UNDP have turned polluting coal-based indoor stoves and heating to solar based systems, managed by women-headed households.  With reliable energy, women-owned micro-businesses can also expand into online markets and increase their sales.  

Digital and innovation dividends. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence present enormous opportunities for expanding opportunities in socio economic engagement. Yet, in much of the world, women remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields: in 12 out of 20 Asia-Pacific countries for which data is available, women represent less than 40% of the STEM workforce and only 23.9% of STEM researchers are women. Addressing gender disparities in digital connectivity and literacy and enabling ‘leap-frogging’ so women and girls can catch-up in access to digital industries and services, is not difficult to do. In China, the HER Digital Future  aims to bridge the gender gap in STEM education by enhancing the digital literacy of teenage girls. To date, over 5,000 girls from more than 90 rural schools have worked on digital solutions to everyday challenges. By making their curriculum publicly accessible, this initiative amplifies its reach and impact, while equipping more girls and women to embark on STEM careers and boost the overall digital economy. 

More women leaders in politics and parliament. Women held just one in five parliamentary seats in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024, and only one in eight ministerial positions in 2023. However, the experience of Nepal and the Philippines shows that change is possible. In Timor Leste 35% of parliamentarians are women, 33.5% in Nepal and in Philippines it is 28%. The Pacific Islands still has one of the lowest percentages of women parliamentarians. Rising costs, corruption and harassment are cited by qualified women who try to enter politics and are discouraged. However, Marshall Islands and Samoa now have female heads of state. Advancing in business and sports have been better equalizers and these and other entry points, such as a younger voter base, must be used more intentionally to increase women’s access to political leadership opportunities. So must female representation quotas for all political parties. After all, this is 2025 and look at where we still are!  

Three decades on from Beijing, the journey to prosperity in Asia and the Pacific remains one that advances only half the population, while the other half advances in some areas. And that too at such a snail pace that it would take 13 more decades to catch up. For countries wishing to move to sustained higher growth with high human development, it will require policy and investment choices that ensure catch-up progress for women and girls. To move this development needle, societies cannot hide behind the ‘culture’ argument. Behind societal norms and cultural cues sit people who hold others back. Leaders and laws that advance women’s equality and agency, that enable not disempower – this is what moves the needle. Five areas have been presented that can drive immediate tangible change. This will give speed and direction to development otherwise adrift in the region.