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Empowering women workers for a better ASEAN
Women comprise nearly half of all intra-ASEAN migrant workers, and the percentage continues to grow, according to official data.
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Women comprise nearly half of all intra-ASEAN migrant workers, and the percentage continues to grow, according to official data. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he 10 members of ASEAN form an economic powerhouse. The ASEAN Economic Community is now the world’s seventh-largest economy and third-largest labor force.
But to maximize its enormous potential for further growth, the region needs to ensure that its labor force is diversified and ready to adapt, expand and move freely.
Currently, the ASEAN region is a hotspot for labor migration. It hosts a reported 9.9 million total international migrants; 6.9 million of them are from within ASEAN — easily a size of one country.
Women comprise nearly half of all intra-ASEAN migrant workers, and the percentage continues to grow, according to official data.
However, this can be a significant underestimation due to the large presence of undocumented workers.
But current labor governance frameworks are inadequate to ensure they enjoy adequate protection and equal rights.
Together with the ASEAN Secretariat, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower, UN Women has just published an important study, “Women Migrant Workers in the ASEAN Economic Community”, which shows that the gains and opportunities of migration in the ASEAN labor market will benefit all if distributed more fairly.
