High Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy

                   24 September 2021

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Ministerial WEF statement 2021​ 

1. We, APEC Ministers and Heads of Delegations, met virtually for the 2021
Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) on 24 September 2021, chaired by the
Minister for Women for New Zealand, Hon Jan Tinetti. We welcomed the participation
of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), the Pacific Economic Cooperation
Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat and the Pacific Islands
Forum Secretariat.

2. We met as the APEC region continues to respond to, and recover from, the
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted women
and girls in our region and around the world, including through increases in: health and
safety risks; work burdens, including care work; gender-based violence and disparity;
and economic insecurity.

3. We are concerned that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are
exacerbating existing gender inequalities that require urgent attention, and creating
new issues and challenges for women and girls. We emphasise the share of unpaid
and underpaid care and domestic work undertaken by women and girls, which has
increased significantly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is creating
significant barriers in accessing education and participating in the formal economy.

4. We stress that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic risk having a
significantly negative effect on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
(GE &WEE) across the APEC region and that women of diverse backgrounds continue
to face multiple barriers to economic empowerment.

5. At this critical juncture, we recognise the importance of inclusive, equitable,
and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that takes into consideration
the needs and interests of all. We note the substantial benefits that families,
communities, and economies stand to gain from GE & WEE, including greater
productivity, prosperity and innovation, and improved quality of life.

6. In particular, we seek to advance the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 and APEC
Leaders’ commitment to an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific
community for the prosperity of all.

La Serena Roadmap for Women and Inclusive Growth

7. We face a crucial opportunity to advance meaningful development for women
and girls, and in turn families, communities and economies, across the APEC region.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now urgent that we seek to realise the
untapped economic potential of improved participation by women and girls and enable
women’s leadership in the recovery. Gender-responsive approaches - in accordance
with applicable domestic laws and policies – can contribute to inclusive, sustainable
and equitable economic growth and long-term development.

8. We commit to the full and accelerated implementation of the La Serena
Roadmap for Women and Inclusive Growth (2019 – 2030) (the Roadmap), reaffirming
the Roadmap’s Action Areas: empowering women through access to capital and
markets; strengthening women’s labour force participation; improving access of
women to leadership positions in all levels of decision making; supporting women’s
education, training and skills development, and access in a changing world of work;
and advancing women’s economic empowerment through data collection and analysis.
The Roadmap remains well placed to guide our efforts and its implementation stands
to contribute significantly to the APEC region’s economic recovery through the
empowerment of women and girls, consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.

9. We acknowledge the La Serena Implementation Plan Report, which details the
actions underway across APEC fora to achieve the Roadmap’s objectives. We are
particularly encouraged by the activities that seek to promote women’s access to
capital, markets and labour force participation. We emphasise the need to increase
and strengthen the degree to which the full range of objectives under the Roadmap
are progressed under the APEC work programme, including to support women’s
education, training and skills development, and access to leadership positions.

10. We emphasise the benefit of effective partnerships and cooperation across the
APEC region, including between the public and private sectors. We encourage
collaboration across APEC fora, ABAC, other regional fora and key stakeholders to
promote measures to advance our shared goals towards GE & WEE.

11. We commit to continuous monitoring and reporting of progress, gaps,
challenges and opportunities related to the Roadmap’s implementation, in
collaboration with other APEC fora.

Measures to advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment

12. We commit to supporting inclusive, sustainable, practical and measurable
actions to promote GE & WEE across the APEC region. To achieve this, we emphasise
the need to collect, analyse, disseminate, and use sex-disaggregated data to identify
existing barriers and inform effective responses. We aim to collaborate and share
knowledge and best practices to raise the quality, accessibility and dissemination of
such data.
 
13. We believe structural reforms, in accordance with applicable domestic laws
and policies, are critical to advancing our goals and commit to creating an enabling
environment to promote women’s participation in the formal economy. This includes
action to:
 - address gender pay gaps and occupational segregation
 - promote work-life balance and equal sharing of unpaid domestic work and care
responsibilities
 - promote access to non-discriminatory, high-quality and sustainable employment,
including in higher-wage and high-growth occupations
 - address gender-based violence in all its forms in the workplace
 - ensure access to health information and services, including sexual and reproductive
health services
 - address informality and promote the transition of women from the informal to the
formal economy
 - support women’s entrepreneurship and women-led MSMEs, including through
tackling discriminatory legal and regulatory barriers, to enable better access to
employment, business ownership, markets, and credit
 - promote secure access to affordable and safe transportation and mobility options.

14. We commit to enabling women's representation, participation and leadership
in trade across the APEC region as a driver of inclusive and sustainable economic
growth and recovery, GE & WEE. We take note of the calls by the APEC economies
who endorsed the Buenos Aires Joint Declaration on Trade and Women's Economic
Empowerment for an ambitious outcome at the twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference.

15. We recognise that unpaid and underpaid care and domestic work supports
other forms of productivity and is essential to our economies. We commit to exploring
strategies to promote shared responsibility for this work and to address the share
undertaken by women and girls, including through: expanded affordable and
accessible child and elder care facilities; access to social protection systems; and
sharing best practices in technological and digital solutions, which can improve the
ability to manage paid and unpaid work.
 
16. We commit to supporting women’s and girls’ education, training and skills
development – including in business, entrepreneurship and emerging sectors - to allow
women to more fully engage in the future workforce. This includes promoting equal
access to digital skill training - particularly in information and communications
technology – STEM, access to finance and financial literacy, financial tools, and other
business-enabling technologies. By promoting equal opportunities to safely and
meaningfully access and use digital tools, as well as to lead and design technology
and innovation, women and girls can play a leading role in the accelerated digitalisation
of our economies. We recognise that it is essential to counter gender stereotypes and
discrimination in education, training and skills development.

17. We commit to eliminating all forms of gender-based violence and
discrimination against women and girls in all spaces – including in the workplace and
online – which is recognised as a significant impediment to the advancement of gender
equality, women’s economic empowerment, and the region’s economic growth.

18. We reinforce our commitment to promote GE & WEE for an inclusive recovery
from the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to the APEC Women and the Economy
Forum and related activities hosted by Thailand in 2022.

Haumi ē, Hui ē, Tāiki ē
Join, Work, Grow. Together.