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Women in Asia have been at the forefront of the region’s export-fuelled boom over the past decade, but they were also among the first casualties of the global economic crisis. As economies in Asia begin to rebound, the time is ripe for policymakers to tackle gender inequalities that continue to leave women excluded, a high-level conference heard today.

The three-day regional conference on the impact of the global economic slowdown on poverty and sustainable development is being hosted by the governments of Viet Nam and the People’s Republic of China, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is co-sponsored by ten other development partners. About 350 delegates from 28 countries, 25 development agencies and embassies, and 13 non-governmental organizations and labor unions are participating.

At a session on gender issues, H.E. Ing Kantha Phavi, Cambodia's Minister of Women’s Affairs, noted that while women have played a key role in the region’s labor-intensive export industries, they were also the first to bear the brunt of the slump in demand for Asian goods when the crisis hit.

“In my country, thousands of women have lost their jobs in the garment sector leaving them struggling to make ends meet, and it is now critical for governments to address the specific needs of women in these tough times to avoid major setbacks in gender equality gains and intergenerational poverty,” Ms. Phavi said.

Rising calls to boost domestic consumption and intra-regional trade, and to improve social protection systems in the wake of the crisis, provides a rare opportunity for the region’s policymakers to address gender gap issues, speakers said.

“The Asia Pacific region should no longer rely on women being the buffer to economic shocks,” said Shireeen Lateef, Director, Social Sectors Division of ADB's Southeast Asia Department. The informal sector, which provided a financial cushion for women during the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, is no longer able to do so, participants said.

Gender issues in a broad range of export sectors were discussed including leather and shoe making in Viet Nam, textiles in Cambodia, automobile accessories in Malaysia and Thailand, electronics and call centers in the Philippines, furniture making in Indonesia, and electronics and other sectors in southern China. Speakers noted that women workers pushed out of export-related jobs have limited opportunities to earn alternative incomes and are facing higher unpaid workloads, relying increasingly on family and friends for support in the absence of social protection. Young migrant female workers are especially vulnerable.

Speakers also cited studies dispelling claims that women workers who lose their jobs in the formal sector are able to cushion the blow with informal jobs such as "waste picking." The studies show that increasing numbers of men and women in the informal sector are competing over smaller slices of a shrinking pie, with women often missing out.

"This recession means less waste from the urban middle class and reduces the income of the poor in the informal sector by 20-35%," said Zoe Horn from Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing, a global research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy.

Speakers noted that the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis provided many lessons for policymakers to advance gender equality, yet recent government rescue packages to tackle the current crisis have largely failed to consciously incorporate them.

Now, as the region looks to rebalance its growth drivers in the wake of the crisis, policymakers have the chance to take concrete actions to address gender issues. Speakers observed that greater support for gender equality is one of the most effective ways of promoting economic recovery and inclusive growth, and mitigating negative social impacts.