Marking International Women's Day

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (7 March 2003) - ADB joined the world's other multilateral development banks and the International Monetary Fund in marking tomorrow's International Women's Day with a joint statement affirming the importance of promoting gender equality and empowering women.

ADB also held a special breakfast event, featuring speeches and presentations addressing the role of women in ADB, the workplace, society, and education.

"Gender equality is not only a goal in its own right, but is important for reducing poverty and hunger, ensuring education for all, reducing child mortality, promoting maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability," the statement said.

"We affirm our continued commitment to promoting gender equality in our organizations and in the work of our organizations to assist member countries."

The statement was signed by ADB President Tadao Chino, Omar Kabbaj, President of the African Development Bank; Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Horst Kohler, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund; Enrique Iglesias, President of the Inter-American Development Bank; and James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank.

International Women's Day offers a chance to reflect on the progress made by women and the initiatives that are needed to achieve greater gender equality, John Lintjer, ADB Vice-President for Finance and Administration, told ADB's breakfast event today.

"It is especially important that we at ADB mark the occasion, for the very nature of our business - reducing poverty - goes to the heart of the challenge faced by many of the women in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

"Any sustainable strategy for poverty reduction must aim at promoting gender equality."

Mr. Lintjer noted that ADB's Gender and Development Policy is improving gender mainstreaming in loan activities. And internally, ADB is planning to enact a Gender Action Program (GAP) II that aims to expand the recruitment of women professional staff at ADB, but with increased emphasis on career development.

"GAP II will continue us along the path towards full participation of women at ADB," he said.

Addressing the issue of women in Philippine education, the guest speaker, Lydia Balatbat-Echauz, Acting President of the Philippines' Far Eastern University, said women dominate the country's education sector, accounting for three quarters of the workforce.

But of 111 presidents of state colleges and universities, only six are women, while in the private school system - accounting for 1,300 institutions - there are only three women university chief executive officers. Ms Balatbat-Echauz is one of them.

"Women, including professional executives in academic institutions, have a long way to go to equal the status of men," she said.

"But together, we women who have a direct hand in the education of thousands of university students, will make the most of the singular opportunity to shape the future of a good slice of the youth and hope of our country, with the added value of a gender-fair and gender-sensitive orientation."