Women Leaders

ADB continues to mainstream gender equality in its operations, recognizing that gender is a cross-cutting issue that influences all aspects of society and economic development.

This presentation highlights the challenges and the gains of women in resource management and protection.

ADB Gender Month 2017 Celebration

ADB holds a series of gender-related activities annually throughout the month of March to reaffirm its commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The month-long activities aim to: (i) promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the work culture and environment; (ii) provide an understanding of ADB’s institutional commitment to gender mainstreaming; and (iii) demonstrate the benefits of gender mainstreaming to greater operational effectiveness and key ADB Gender Policy.

Gender-Responsive Laws, Policies, and Activism for Women's Empowerment

Pakistan ended on the second to the last spot in the World Economic Forum's 2014 Global Gender Gap Index. But victories have been observed in the recent years when it comes to women empowerment. This presentation gives an overview of the Pakistani experience in lobbying for gender equity, particularly in promoting gender responsive laws and policies.

Keeping Up with the Energy Transition: Addressing the Skills Gap

Converging energy access and sufficiency, women empowerment, and environmental sustainability are all crucial in meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This presentation discusses the support provided by Asian Development Bank’s Education Sector in working towards achieving the SDGs. A strategic and holistic approach to skills development is also shared.

Self Employed Women's Association: A Collective Voice of Women

Women in the informal sector are vulnerable, posing threat on their income security, food security, and social security. The Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) was established to help women become individually and collectively self-reliant, economically independent, and capable of making their own decisions. Poor women are the owners, managers, and beneficiaries under the association.

SEWA now has 1.9 million members and over 100 affiliated organizations working to empower women in the informal sector mainly by promoting financial inclusion and social security.

Women are Ready for Roads

After years of civil war, Cambodia was transforming into a vibrant market economy. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved funding to rehabilitate 500 kilometers of rural roads in seven provinces, one of the key pieces of infrastructure for Cambodia's mostly rural population to access much needed social services and opportunities in economic centers.

Employment Generation in Emerging Clean Energy Industries: How Can Women Break Through Traditional Barriers?

South Asia’s rapid growth is met with an increasing crisis in energy demand. Strategic investments in human capital is needed to address this major challenge in energy security. The productive engagement of women in training and employment opportunities accelerates access to renewable energy sources that will sustain growth and development.

Exploring Factors that Enhance and Restrict Women’s Empowerment through Electrification: Scoping Study Report

This report examines how policy and practice may enhance women’s empowerment though electrification in rural areas in the South. It presents the results of a desk study in which empirical literature on women’s empowerment from electrification and international initiatives and national electricity policies in Kenya, India, and Nepal are studied.