ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024 highlights climate change threats to women and girls in Southeast Asia, a warning sign for other regions

The new ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024, presented at the United Nations General Assembly, showcases new gender data across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It reveals that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States have made tremendous strides towards several SDGs – decreasing poverty, food insecurity, school abandonment, violent crime, and the use of unclean fuels – yet climate change and environmental degradation are still substantially affecting women and girls. Given the intensified consequences of climate change, more efforts are needed to address these impacts.

Poverty in East and Southeast Asia has dropped 10-fold over the past 20 years – more progress than in any other region – yet women in Southeast Asia remain more likely than men to be poor, particularly in their peak reproductive ages (2.66 million women vs. 2.31 million men). If climate change worsens, an estimated 2.5 million more people will be impoverished by 2030.

H.E. Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community commented: “The Second Edition of ASEAN Gender Outlook is dedicated to track progress towards gender equality and SDGs in the ASEAN region. It further advocates for enhanced investment in gender data and evidence, which is critical to guide decision-making policies. This approach ensures that policy responses are comprehensive and inclusive, particularly addressing the needs of women and girls, those from the most vulnerable and marginalized communities in the region.”

Despite substantial regional reductions in food insecurity over the past decade, an estimated 17% of women and 16% of men do not eat enough nutritious food, and 38% of pregnant women have anemia. Unsustainable farming practices, land transition, and overreliance on cash crops are projected to impact millions, particularly women and girls, who are more vulnerable to food insecurity.

Women’s political participation is increasing, reaching an all-time high of 23% in parliaments across the region, yet they remain underrepresented in key environmental ministries. Expanding women’s roles in decision-making in all sectors is crucial to creating inclusive solutions to manage disease spread, build farmer resilience, reduce unpaid work burdens, and ensure ecosystem health.

Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director commented: “The second ASEAN Gender Outlook underscores the need to advance progress towards the SDGs, including by improving gender data on key issues for the region. Today’s report shows that gains have been made and progress is within reach, but it must be accelerated. We must keep advancing gender equality to honor the commitments made at the Beijing Declaration nearly 30 years ago, and the 2030 Agenda. Let’s work together to break down the barriers facing women and girls and turn gender equality from a goal into reality.”

Despite substantial strides towards universal access to clean drinking water, women are more likely than men to die from consuming unsafe water sources across the region. For example, in Indonesia, women comprise 29% of deaths associated with unsafe water sources, compared to 25% of men. In comparison, the rates are 23% for women vs. 18% for men in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Data reveal the gendered impacts of increased droughts, unpredictable rains, and rising temperatures, which correlate with higher rates of child marriage, adolescent births, and barriers to accessing clean drinking water and cooking fuels, disproportionately affecting women’s unpaid work. Climate plans and policies must be gender-sensitive, but currently, only three countries are.

The health of ASEAN oceans is in jeopardy, with high concentrations of algal blooms and extensive beach litter. Destructive fishing practices and overfishing threaten marine biodiversity and fish stocks, with significant economic costs impacting human health, tourism, and the livelihoods of small-scale fishing folk, especially women, who are often unable to change harvest areas or gear to adapt.

Rapid deforestation rates continue in the region, with significant forest loss recorded in 2023, particularly in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Thailand, equivalent to massive carbon dioxide emissions. This deforestation has disproportionate impacts on women, correlating with increased malaria spread that exacerbates women’s unpaid care work.

Although violent crime is low and the region is one of the world’s safest, 22% of women vs. 18% of men feel less safe than five years ago. Among the poorest women, this rate rises to 25%. Women’s participation in security and peacekeeping has the potential to enhance safety, yet women account for less than 20% of peacekeepers contributed by all countries in the ASEAN region.

Currently, 47% of Official Development Assistance in the region targets gender. However, increased investment in collecting, analyzing, and using gender data across all SDGs, including traditionally gender-neutral areas like environment statistics, is necessary. With just six years to go to achieve the 2030 Agenda, continuous investment in gender equality is vital.

The ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024 underscores the importance of gender equality for sustainable development to ensure no one is left behind.