Written by Karen Lin
Women’s rights throughout Asia vary with each country, but what some countries in Asia do have in common is that women usually have the opportunity to receive education, labor, and other rights that men have. Some parts of Asia have better gender equality and rights than others, with East and Southeast Asia generally having greater gender equality than South Asia. However, many Asian countries continue to experience the issues of gender disparities due to stereotypes that influence women’s roles in society, while others are putting in enormous effort to eliminate them and bring about gender equality.
In many Asian communities, women are perceived as being the ones who should manage their households and be caregivers to their children or other family members. Because of this, many women are unable to join the labor force, preventing the growth of women present in the workforce. In some Asian countries, such as India, the number of women in the workforce decreased from 38.8% in 2005 to 28.5% in 2018. China also declined in the number of women in the workforce from 72.5% in 2005 to 68.6% in 2018, despite having the most self-made female billionaires than in any other country. Additionally, women in China usually make 22% less wage than men, despite having the same amount of work.
The gender disparity in the workplace is evident, as several companies in Asia are primarily comprised of males. This can mainly be seen in East Asian economies, which includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. However, many Asian governments have acknowledged the issue of disparities in the workplace and have begun to provide equal opportunities for women in the workplace.
Currently, India holds the lowest number of women in the workforce globally, with only less than a quarter of the workforce. The country also experiences issues with the gender pay gap, which is the highest globally; Indian women make 34% less than men in hourly wage. In an effort to resolve this issue, India introduced the Maternity Benefit Act of 2017, which increased the 12-week maternity leave period to 26 weeks. Although this law was enacted to be beneficial to women, it was not effective enough, because there was an estimate of 1.1 to 1.8 million women that could potentially have lost their jobs.
Japan also has a significant gender gap in the workplace. Not only does Japan have the third-highest gender wage gap among the advanced OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, only 13% of Japanese women occupy management positions. They are the second-lowest of the OECD countries after South Korea. Japan introduced an initiative called the Abenomics program, which aims to increase women's participation in the economy by encouraging the advancement of women in the workforce and recruiting or promoting women in government. Because of these initiatives, the Japanese economy has prospered significantly and helped with increasing the proportion of women with a job, which went up from 60.7% in 2012 to 69.6% in 2018. In addition, Japan’s GDP has the potential to rise by about 15% if the participation rate of women’s labor force becomes the same as men's.
Although the lack of rights for women may be prevalent throughout Asia, this does not apply to all countries. In countries such as Singapore, gender equality is highly valued. There is a high employment rate for females at 72%, and the country also maintains a minimized gender pay gap. Singapore also intended to double the number of women on company boards from 9.9% in 2017 to 20% by 2020. Additionally, women are also granted maternal and reproductive health rights, which compared to the rest of Asia, is uncommon. Alongside Singapore, the Philippines is also ahead of other Asian countries when it comes to gender equality. The Philippines managed to improve wage equality for both men and women and provide access to education for women. There are a substantial number of women who are a part of high-ranking positions as well. According to a survey conducted by Grant Thornton International, women in the Philippines occupy 46.6% of senior management posts, exceeding the world average of 24.14%. Although the Philippines has a high ranking for overall gender equality, they are still behind in terms of the rate of the labor force for women as a result of the family-oriented societal norms of Philippine culture.
Aside from the workforce, it is extremely common to have preferences for men over women in South Asia, especially when it comes to education. Across the region, women are left behind in the race for education. Men are usually prioritized in receiving education, but women are deprived of this same privilege when it comes to continuing their education. This is portrayed through the disparities in the girl-boy ratio in secondary level classrooms. However, the gender gap in education in some countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, and India has declined.
Despite some countries in Asia advocating for gender equality, women continue to face discrimination across the region. Many South Asian countries continue with the tradition of arranged marriages, which disproportionately impact young girls, with Bangladesh having the highest child marriage at 52%, India at 47%, Nepal at 37%, and Afghanistan at 33%. “Honor killings,” in which women are generally targeted and killed by their own families, and femicides across Asia is also an issue and is most commonly seen in South Asia and the Middle East. Women are generally targeted and killed by their own families, which is known as “honor killings.” These killings usually occur if women want a divorce, refuse to go through an arranged marriage, or have an affair. This is primarily common among highly patriarchal cultures and is commonly seen in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Throughout Asia, rights for women are mainly influenced by society’s norms and traditions that prevent and pose barriers for women. However, women’s rights have definitely changed as time progresses, and many countries across the region are making effective and beneficial changes to improve the rights of women in terms of the workforce and in education. While significant progress in the improvement of women’s rights has been made in many countries, there are some that are still behind on this and need to make further progress in providing more rights to women.
Sources:
Cover Photo by Ives Ives on Unsplash
Bagchi, S. & Poddar, S. (2019, March 13). Asia Needs More Women in Its Labor Force. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.brinknews.com/asia-needs-more-women-in-its-labor-force/
Gender equality. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.unicef.org/rosa/what-we-do/gender-equality
Setianto, N., Poole, Y., Tiberghien, D., & Yong, A. (2020, April 07). Advancing Gender Equality in Southeast Asia: Case Studies From the Philippines and Singapore. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/advancing-gender-equality-in-southeast-asia-case-studies-from-the-philippines-and-singapore/
Szczepanski, K. (2019, May 7). The History of Honor Killings in Asia. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/honor-killings-in-asia-4059398
West, J. (2020, January 10). Asia's shameful gender discrimination. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/asia-s-shameful-gender-discrimination
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