The second Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) Meeting took place on Tuesday in Vietnam’s central Hue city, kicking off the APEC Women and Economy Forum slated for Sept. 26-29.
At the meeting, over 100 representatives from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies, the APEC Secretariat and the APEC Business Advisory Council touched upon Vietnam’s initiative named “Gender Inclusion Guidelines.”
The guidelines consist of ways of embedding equality-centered and gender-responsive approaches in all policies, programs, projects, works and action plans of the APEC.
The meeting’s delegates also reviewed and updated the PPWE’s strategic plan for the 2015-2018 period, discussing initiatives and measures to empower women in the Asia-Pacific region, in various fields, including energy, healthcare, transport, tourism, agriculture, fishery and human resources development.
A sub-fund on APEC women and the economy is scheduled to become operational next year.
Established in 2011, PPWE works to address the five key pillars impacting women’s economic empowerment, namely access to capital, access to market, skills and capacity building, women’s leadership and agency, and innovation and technology.
In the 21 APEC economies, approximately 600 million women are in the labor force, according to the APEC Secretariat.