ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
ORGANIZATION
ACCOUNTABILITY
ADB supports projects in developing member countries that create economic and development impact, delivered through both public and private sector operations, advisory services, and knowledge support.
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Women are 1/3 of the workforce at the 20 largest global technology companies but hold only 1 in 4 leadership positions.2
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Excluding women from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the GDP of low- and middle-income countries in the last decade.2
Sources:
1 International Telecommunication Union. 2022. The gender digital divide
2 UN Women. 2022. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2022
DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality
With the global theme, "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality," International Women’s Day 2023 will recognize the critical role women and girls play in innovation and technology and highlight the importance of women’s digital inclusion in building prosperous and sustainable economies.
ADB is organizing various events to celebrate Gender Month. From awarding of gender champions, discussions on digital ecosystem for women’s empowerment, to a film about a remarkable woman and her journey in the Philippines. We look forward to having the ADB community join us.
Gender through ADB's Lens
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"We need to accelerate investments in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and digital education for women and girls. This will improve their access to high quality jobs. We need to break structural barriers for women including the lack of official identification documents, low mobile phone ownership, and access to energy. We also need to support development of digital solutions to provide women with greater access to finance."
Masatsugu Asakawa
ADB President -
"In Asia and the Pacific, there is a 6% gender gap in internet usage. The digital revolution has not produced equitable benefits. Women and girls without digital access are cut off from the knowledge, employment opportunities, networks, products, services, and benefits that the internet provides. It is time to close the digital gender gap."
Samantha Hung
ADB Chief of Gender Equality -
"Women entrepreneurs who can't get access to finance aren't able to build their businesses and grow it. Here at the ADB, we are doing a lot of gender (women's) empowerment projects such as the Women's Finance Exchange where we work with our financial institution clients to help give access to finance to women entrepreneurs so that they can build their businesses."
Lisette Cipriano
ADB Senior Digital Technology Specialist
In the Spotlight
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For the Pacific to Prosper, More Women Need to Benefit from Technology
This International Women’s Day theme of DigitALL explores the impact of the digital gender gap on widening inequalities and promotes the inclusion of women and other marginalized groups into technology. This is particularly important in the Pacific.
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Inclusive Digital Economies and Gender Playbook
Inclusive Digital Economies and Gender Playbook describes common market constraints faced by women in developing markets and practical solutions for building gender-inclusive digital economies.
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Mongolian Girls Brainstorm Solutions to Online Harassment
With girls in Mongolia spending more time online and falling prey to cyber harassment, an ADB technical assistance is providing digital and crowdsourcing approaches to prevent new forms of gender-based violence, increase reporting, and hold predators accountable.
Key Resources
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Last Mile Connectivity: Addressing the Affordability Frontier
This working paper addresses the challenge to implement "last mile" solutions that deliver affordable internet connectivity to communities in Asia and the Pacific region.
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Gender, Entrepreneurship and Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of GoFood Merchants in Indonesia
Online platforms provide an opportunity for businesses to sell their products to a larger consumer base.
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Digital Doorstep Banking: Female Banking Agents Lead Digital Financial Inclusion Through the Pandemic and Beyond
India has made significant progress toward financial inclusion with the support of technological and policy innovations.
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Innovative Financial Products and Services for Women in Asia and the Pacific
This paper examines digital financial services and products—powered by financial technology—as well as low technology solutions that can boost digital financial inclusion for women in remote and rural areas.
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Publication Series
The Gender Tip Sheets are a reference guide for staff and consultants of the Asian Development Bank, and developing member countries for conceptualizing, designing and implementing gender inclusive projects. -
Nov 2022
PublicationG20 countries need to develop more differentiated policies that will reduce the gaps in digital financial inclusion and digital financial literacy. -
Sep 2022
PublicationSkills development strategies should emphasize the formation of soft and hard skills in addition to digital transformation initiatives. -
Aug 2022
PublicationFinancial Instruments to Strengthen Women’s Economic Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risks
This publication explores good practices in the use of financial instruments to enhance women’s economic resilience to disasters caused by natural hazard events and extreme weather conditions. -
May 2021
PublicationMarried women in urban areas increase their working hours when they have internet access. -
Feb 2020
PublicationThis report examines ADB’s Unlocking Innovation for Development technical assistance project and highlights lessons learned from activities and pilot projects it has funded. -
Jul 2019
PublicationThis publication explores how international trade is promoting economic empowerment through the increased participation of women and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. -
Dec 2017
PublicationWoman-owned firms face additional hurdles in financing their exports and are thus more likely to adopt fintech solutions
Related
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6 Mar 2023 | InfographicAccelerating Digital Inclusion for Women and Girls in Asia and the Pacific
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25 Nov 2022 | Project Result / Case StudySafer Trains: Expanding Communication Platforms to Report Gender-Based Violence in Transport Services in the Philippines
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10 Aug 2021 | PageWomen's Finance Exchange
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18 Jan 2022 | Asian Development BlogChatbots Offer a New Lifeline to Address Domestic Violence