This report analyzes gender equality in the labor market and related policies and legislation in Cambodia, and concludes with recommendations to promote gender equality. Despite a decline in the gender gap in human capital, the gender gap in productive and decent work persists in Cambodia. The gender employment gap has a profound and compounding effect on women in the labor market, not only because they are subject to the deficits of less available work, more vulnerable work, and the unpaid work burden, but also because they are paid at a lower rate than men even when they do find work. The main constraints on women in the labor market are domestic work and care burdens, and women's more limited access to resources, including education, training, government services, credit, and financial services. Women also face pervasive discrimination and lack of social protection in most aspects of their employment and work. Cambodia faces the task of generating employment growth, reducing vulnerable employment, and improving decent work opportunities. This will require broad macroeconomic responses to expand employment opportunities, as well as policies and legislation to improve decent work, social protection, and active labor market support for men and women alike.

This report comprises a gendered analysis of labor markets, policies, and legislation in Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines. It provides policy recommendations that may expand work opportunities for women in specific sectors. Increasing job opportunities and decent work for women are essential for inclusive growth, and they are vital for advancing economic and social development in a country. This approach to attaining economic and social wealth is based on reliable academic and statistical evidence and is increasingly accepted by international and national financial and development organizations across the globe. In Asia, mostly women continue to experience the greatest disadvantages resulting from gender inequalities and entrenched discrimination in work and in life. The economic and social contributions made by women in the family, the workplace, and society tend to be devalued. There are, however, many strategies which have been developed to counter gender discrimination and promote equality for working men and women through legislation and social and economic policies to reverse the unequal labor market outcomes for women. To document the nature and extent of gender inequalities in the labor market, as well as to capture and share these promising initiatives, ADB initiated studies in three countries - Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines - to identify how these countries promote gender equality in their labor markets. This report comprises a gendered analysis of labor markets, policies, and legislation in each country and provides recommendations for legislation and policies that have the potential to expand or improve employment and work opportunities for women in specific sectors.

Women's economic empowerment is essential for more inclusive growth in Cambodia. This study takes stock of major gender issues in the Cambodian economy seen through the lens of women's participation, benefit, and agency---the three prerequisites for a fairer distribution of growth benefits. It examines labor market trends and obstacles to women's economic empowerment---particularly in agriculture, business development, and wage employment. Labor migration and vulnerability to shocks are highlighted as special themes. The study makes a series of policy recommendations, identifies areas for further research, and highlights how Asian Development Bank investments can promote women's economic empowerment.

This report analyzes gender equality in the labor market and related policies and legislation in the Philippines, and concludes with recommendations to promote gender equality. Key mechanisms for attaining inclusive growth for women requires expanding employment opportunities and decent work outcomes for women to promote gender equality in labor markets. Economic growth in the Philippines, however, has not translated into sufficient employment growth and the employment growth has not been inclusive for women. Generally speaking, there has been little improvement in gender equality in the labor market, as measured by the share of women in waged employment in the nonagriculture sector. In the Philippines, the estimated proportion of women's annual earnings to men's annual earnings stands at less than 60%. However, employment growth alone is not sufficient to judge whether there is inclusive growth, especially in low-income countries where there is significant underemployment and a large informal employment sector. Gender inequality in the labor market is ascertained here by reference to seven gender gaps (or deficits for women): labor force participation, human capital, the unpaid domestic and care work burden, vulnerable employment, wage employment, decent work, and social protection. Despite a variety of gender-responsive legal and policy initiatives, an assessment of the labor market in the Philippines reveals that although some gender gaps have been reduced, women still suffer from persistent gender deficits.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has made advances in narrowing gender gaps in its labor market. It has one of the highest female labor force participation rates in Asia and the Pacific at around 64% in 2013, and one of the narrowest earnings gender gaps. This study investigates how women are faring in the transition to the PRC's new growth model, and what can be done to promote women's participation. It shows how the PRC is undergoing multiple transitions that have implications for gender equality and work. For example, during the market transition, gender wage gaps and gender wage discrimination increased, reaching 33% in urban areas and 44% in rural areas. Find out how evidenced-based gender analysis can foster gender responsive policy approaches to promote women's equality in the labor market.

"Author, Robyn Layton"--Acknowledgments.

Trade can dramatically improve women’s lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women’s bargaining power in society. It can also lead to job losses and a concentration of work in low-skilled employment. Given the complexity and specificity of the relationship between trade and gender, it is essential to assess the potential impact of trade policy on both women and men and to develop appropriate, evidence-based policies to ensure that trade helps to enhance opportunities for all. Research on gender equality and trade has been constrained by limited data and a lack of understanding of the connections among the economic roles that women play as workers, consumers, and decision makers. Building on new analyses and new sex-disaggregated data, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality aims to advance the understanding of the relationship between trade and gender equality and to identify a series of opportunities through which trade can improve the lives of women.