Gender and Development

President's Remarks on the External Forum on Gender

Friday, 9 November 2001

Good afternoon.

I am delighted to meet with the members of ADB's External Forum on Gender. This is an extremely important gathering for ADB. I hope it has been a productive one for you. I look forward to hearing from you today about your deliberations.

I would like to start by thanking all of you for agreeing to be members of the External Forum on Gender, and for making the effort to come to Manila for this meeting. I want to acknowledge Her Excellency Mu Sochua, Minister of Women's and Veterans' Affairs of Cambodia, and Khunying Supatra Masdit, former Cabinet Minister of Thailand. I welcome you to the ADB. I would also like to thank Dr. Licuanan for agreeing to chair this first meeting of the External Forum on Gender. Dr. Licuanan has a long personal and professional association with ADB. We are very pleased that she is working with us in this important Forum.

In reading your biographies, I was very impressed by the diversity and depth of expertise. I was also pleased to see that the Forum members come from a variety of academic disciplines, and represent both civil society and government. ADB will benefit greatly from your breadth of expertise and experience.

I see this first meeting of the External Forum on Gender as another milestone in ADB's efforts to strengthen and mainstream its commitment to gender equality in this region. By establishing the Forum, ADB recognizes that it can learn much from experts outside the Bank who have been working to improve the lives of women. The Forum also reflects ADB's commitment to increase dialogue with members of civil society on development issues of mutual concern in our region.

I would like to share with you ADB's recent work on gender and development. ADB's revised Policy on Gender and Development was approved shortly before I was appointed President. Over the past three years, I believe ADB has taken several important steps to implement this policy:

• For example, gender analysis is now an integral part of our Country Strategies and Programs, and preparation of loan projects;
• ADB's commitment to gender is reflected concretely in the Bank-wide Gender Action Plan, which will be submitted to the Board of Directors later this year;
• Under ADF VIII, ADB has made commitments to increase the number of projects that directly address gender equality, and to further mainstream gender issues in all our operations;
• We have increased the number of gender and development specialists working at headquarters. We have also placed gender specialists in six of our resident missions, to help our government counterparts better address gender concerns in project implementation.
• Finally, we are continuing to increase the number of women in our professional staff, now almost 200, and to promote more women to senior positions.

Looking forward, I see gender equity as a cornerstone of ADB's poverty reduction strategy. The Asia and the Pacific Region is home to two-thirds of the world's poor - most of whom are women and girls. To achieve our goal of poverty reduction, we must address the poverty of women. Our Long-Term Strategic Framework recognizes this: gender equity is a key factor in reducing poverty and achieving sustainable, inclusive development. Therefore, ADB will address gender concerns in all of its three core strategic areas: sustainable economic growth, inclusive social development and effective governance.

To deliver tangible benefits to women, especially poor women, in our region, ADB also needs to work closely with all of its partners, including governments, civil society groups and other development organizations. This is where I see the External Forum on Gender playing a crucial role. Your technical expertise, practical experience and critical perspectives will be important resources for us. I hope this is the beginning of a frank, open and constructive partnership. Together we can work to improve the opportunities for all women in Asia and the Pacific.

I would be very pleased to hear your views on how to improve the lives of women in this region, and what role ADB could play to realize this goal.

I want to thank the members of this Forum for their very valuable assessments and recommendations. Your views will be given careful consideration by ADB's Management. I hope this is the start of a very fruitful relationship between members of the Forum and ADB. I look forward to meeting with you again at your next session. In the meantime, I wish you safe travels home, and continued success in your various endeavors.