Transformation of Women at Work in Asia: An Unfinished Development Agenda.

Abstract

Asian economies have undergone considerable economic transformation over the last three decades. Home to 2.9 billion working-age people and roughly 55 per cent of the global population, Asia is one of the most dynamic regions in the world today, but there is enormous diversity in levels and patterns of growth across the region. While some countries have relied on low wage export-led growth, others have been largely service-oriented. Agriculture remains important though its share in gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen in most countries. Many economies have moved into middle-income status and poverty rates have declined significantly. Since the 1990s education levels have improved considerably, with gender parity in access to primary and secondary education achieved in most of the region. At the same time, fertility rates have fallen in all countries, by as much as 50 per cent in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Nepal.