On International Women’s Day, more women still needed at top decision maker level in Myanmar

Myanmar is a leader in women’s participation in the Civil Service, with women representing 63% of the civil servants in Myanmar, one of the highest participation rates for women in the UNDP GEPA series of study.

The Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) - Myanmar Case Study is a comprehensive analysis of the workforce composition of the Myanmar civil service. It situates where women are positioned in public administration, providing baseline data to inform policy making for better gender equality. 

The study offers unparalleled granularity and reveals striking patterns of gender imbalance between ministries, ranks and state and regional level. It identifies specific barriers for women and men, and recommends modern human resource management techniques to improve gender balance and the effectiveness of the civil service. Read more>>

Statement by Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP 

Statement by Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on International Women’s Day - 8 March 2020. Theme: ‘I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights’, aligned with UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign.

UNDP’s Transforming the Future of Work for Gender Equality initiative is being piloted in six countries in Asia and the Pacific to explore new innovations to address unpaid care and domestic work; explore skills in the context of the future of work; and advance new ways to advance gender equality in the workplace.

And the Spotlight Initiative – a global, a multi-year partnership between the United Nations and the European Union -- is working to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

In line with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’s visionary agenda, UNDP will continue to work closely with the UN family, particularly UN Women, to help advance a new generation of innovative laws, policies and programmes to change discriminatory beliefs and practices in order to achieve gender equality. Read more>>

Featured Story

Inspiring #IWD2020 message from Ms May Sabai Phyu, Direct of GEN, as well as 2019 N-Peace awardee

How big and thick is the Glass Ceiling?  New analysis suggests that it covers all aspects of women’s lives – including the household – and that it is constructed, not of glass, but of pervasive bias and prejudice against women held by both men and women worldwide.

These were the findings behind the new Gender Social Norms Index released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today. This index measures how social beliefs obstruct gender equality in areas like politics, work, and education, and contains data from 75 countries, covering over 80 percent of the world’s population. Read more>>

LOST AND FOUND: Climate action enhances water & food security in the Dry Zone of Myanmar
In response, and with financial support from the Adaptation Fund, UNDP, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation is helping communities in the Dry Zone of Myanmar cope with the impacts of climate change. 

Dr. Cynthia Maung: N-Peace Champion of Myanmar 2018
Praised for her work developing a system of providing emergency maternal healthcare in vulnerable and conflict situations in Myanmar, Dr. Cynthia Maung won an N-Peace Award under the category of ‘Untold Stories’.

Tackling what cannot be said
Khine Lwin Myint and her DIVAS team won first prize in the Women’s Empowerment category at a Hackathon supported by UNDP and Ooredoo Myanmar. 

Trailblazers of local democracy and gender equality in Rakhine
Pioneer female village tract administrators on the opportunities of participatory township planning

UNDP in Rakhine: Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Addressing the social and structural barriers that prevent women’s participation and voices both in the formal peace process and in bottom up peacebuilding exercises. 

UNDP in Rakhine: Access to justice and rule of law
UNDP provides services for conflict resolution through fair and affordable mechanisms and legal support on particularly acute problems in Rakhine such as gender-based violence and land right.

Stepping up: The story of one Myanmar woman farmer leading the way
Daw Maa Dee is one among several beneficiaries of the four-year project ‘Addressing Climate Change Risks on Water Resources and Food Security in the Dry Zone of Myanmar’, led by the Myanmar Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation with technical support from UNDP and financing by the Adaptation Fund.

Myanmar: Inspiring women with mobile app i-Women
iWomen Inspiring Women App aims to solve the problem whereby rural Myanmar women do not have enough access to knowledge resources, contacts, networks and mentors that fosters their economic empowerment and social standing in the community. 

Addressing Climate Change Risks on Water Resources and Food Security in the Dry Zone of Myanmar
The project aims to reduce the increasing impacts of climate change on agricultural and livestock production cycles in the dry zone of Myanmar - the impacts of increasing temperature and evaporation, declining water availability, and intensifying weather events especially flash floods and cyclones.

A lasting commitment to development
An integrated approach to sustainable development in Myanmar

Violence against women, a cause and consequence of inequality
Gender-based violence is often reinforced by discriminatory laws and exclusionary social norms that undermine opportunities for education, income and independence.

The silent health toll of gender-based violence
As we join others in the #HearMeToo movement to stand with survivors and chart a path towards justice, let’s ensure to listen all women's voices, including those living with mental illness. 

Experimenting with Inspiration to Achieve the 2030 Agenda: The iWomen Inspiring Women Project

To Enable Positive Behavioural Change, Does Development Need a Structured Approach to Inspiration? - A Study of the iWomen Inspiring Women Project

Consolidated Summary Report: Access to Justice and Informal Justice Systems in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States

Women and Local Leadership