Women and girls make up one half of the world’s population. Their full and equitable economic, social, and political participation is crucial for global development, resilience, and prosperity. Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed significant strides in advancing gender equality. Notable achievements include expanded access to primary education for girls, a global decline in maternal mortality, and increased participation of women in the labor force and their leadership in key economic and corporate decision making roles. In the last two decades, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, home to 50% of the world’s women and girls, has made notable progress on several indicators on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly improving access to primary education, and in reducing maternal mortality.
Globally however, the current pace of progress on gender equality remains woefully inadequate and achieving gender parity will take an estimated 123 years. This is reflected by the grossly inadequate progress made on Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, including in the APAC region. Significant gaps remain in reducing gender based violence, increasing political leadership for women and girls, eliminating harmful practices such as child marriage, increasing asset ownership, and in closing gaps in legal protection and removing discriminatory laws.
Without progress on gender equality, the achievement of targets across other SDGs is also at risk. Addressing these gaps is urgent and requires political commitment, policy action, and dedicated, predictable, and long-term financing and support.
By providing a landscape analysis of the volume and trends on financing for gender equality in 17 countries in APAC across four key thematic areas (Economic Empowerment, Health, Tackling Gender Based Violence and Climate Vulnerability) within SDG 5, our report Accelerating Gender Equality: Financing for SDG5 in the APAC region bridges this key gap. This report offers a comprehensive overview of the current financing landscape for SDG 5 across Asia and delves into region specific analysis that highlights financing gaps across the 4 thematic areas.
Investor Toolkits
To support funders on their giving journey, this report includes four standalone Investor Toolkits—one for each focus area: women’s economic empowerment, health, climate change, and gender-based violence. These toolkits highlight real-world, scalable solutions across the capital continuum and offer a clear and actionable roadmap for narrowing the gender financing gap. They are designed to help funders identify practical opportunities, draw inspiration from comparable contexts, and foster collaboration wherever possible.
