Advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in Asia beyond the Covid-19 pandemic - challenges and opportunities for the Asian Development Bank

Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries in the Asia and Pacific region had made gains in closing gender gaps and equalizing opportunities for women and girls. However, gaps persisted for at least some groups of women and girls in access to secondary and tertiary education, quality health care, employment and business opportunities, political participation, personal security, and access to justice. Across the region, the Covid-19 pandemic has reversed progress and widened gender gaps, especially for the most vulnerable women and girls, in school attendance, access to contraceptives and health care, employment and entrepreneurship, while further increasing women’s already-heavy burden of unpaid care, and the incidence of child marriage and domestic violence. Since adopting its gender and development policy in 1998, the ADB has made steady progress in mainstreaming its gender equality objectives. Going forward, it will be crucial for the ADB to help its developing member countries rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic in a gender-responsive and transformative way.