Asia, a sprawling continent which has produced the world’s largest number of female heads of government, lags far behind both in gender equality and gender empowerment. “Progress has been made in reducing gender discrimination in Asia and the Pacific region, though the pace has been uneven between sub-regions and individual countries,” says the 2007 annual regional survey carried out by the Bangkok-based Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Female primary school enrolment is about 26 per cent lower than that of males, while violence against women continues unabated in the region, the new ESCAP survey said.

“In some countries, one in every 10 girls dies before reaching the age of one, and one in every 50 women dies during pregnancy and delivery.” Still, the Asia-Pacific region, which produced women leaders in seven countries (India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Zealand), has made tangible progress in several other areas. Since 1997, the number of women parliamentarians in the region has increased by 50 per cent, while women’s life expectancy has increased from 44 years during 1950-55 to 70 years in 2000-05, with a slightly higher growth rate for women than men.

The largest representation of women in parliaments was in New Zealand, followed closely by Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Timor-Leste. The lowest representation was in Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh (which produced two women prime ministers) and Vanuatu. But Robert Vos, director of the United Nations development policy and analysis division, told reporters this week the region is losing about $42 billion to $50 billion annually because of restrictions on women’s access to employment opportunities. At the same time, he said, the Asia-Pacific region is also losing an additional $16 to $30 billion a year because of gender gaps in education.

“If female workforce participation was placed on a par with developed countries, such as the United States, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) would increase by about 1.08 percentage points — a gain of about $19 billion.” “These numbers are quite substantial, so there is a big case to be made to try and bridge these gaps in gender equality,” Vos said.

Jessica Neuwirth, of the women’s activist group Equality Now, said that the new ESCAP study recognises and documents the extent to which discrimination against women costs society as a whole. “What we need, though, is more action to remedy the discrimination that has been so extensively documented.”

The women are powerless intellectually, materially and politically. The ESCAP study argues that gender balance can be achieved at minimum of effort and cost provided there is political commitment at the highest levels. Among the recommendations in the study are: Offering free primary education, (including scholarships to girls), ensuring schools are close to villages, the provision of safe transport and toilet facilities for girls; providing access to adult education for women, as well as ending gender-based restrictions in professions such as medicine; implementing legislation to ensure the rights of women to equal access to basic health services; and removing restrictions on asset ownership and priority access to resources for achieving gender balance. — IPS