Feminist Perspective in ASEAN Economy: Unveiling Gender Inequality in the Workforce

Written by: Wendi Wiliyanto

Gender inequality in the workforce is one of the forms of structural violence, which is systematically rooted in society. Because of that, feminism as an academic discipline attempts to unveil this unequal relations, which exist to varying degrees in all societies and seek to end it (Bayles et al, 2014). Feminism does believe that unequal relations between men and women are intertwined with a global gendered division of labor. In this context, women are most disadvantaged by the pattern. Furthermore, gendered division of labor defines women as housewives, a category which is considered unpaid and normalizes underpaid work to the extent of below-subsistence level (Prügl, 1999 in Baylis et al, 2014). Consequently, those conditions make women underprivileged.

In ASEAN itself, gender inequality in the workforce still exists today. Based on ASEAN Gender Outlook 2021, 58% of women earn less than their partner, which shows the manifestation of women as victims of structural violence. Nevertheless, I argue that both women and men have important contributions in enhancing the economy in ASEAN member states. Therefore, gender inequality in the workforce must be addressed carefully. This article thus attempts to assess ASEAN’s response on this issue and the current existing output.

Between culture and structure: The long-standing gender inequality

The patriarchal culture is one of many factors that contribute to perpetuating gender inequality in the workforce. This culture shows the domination of men, and meanwhile, women are exploited and oppressed. Moreover, women — especially unskilled and uneducated ones — frequently are more oppressed than men, given their relatively lower wage (Walby, 1989). In addition, gender inequality in the workforce is manifested in discriminative work division. In contrast to women, who often work in the production line with limited upward mobility, men tend to get more technical and high-skilled jobs (Nair, 2019). As well, the majority of women who are exploited by this culture and system can not articulate their interests.

The stereotype given to women as a person who has the double burden in society also contributes to perpetuating gender inequality in the workforce. In the context of the married couple, for example, women are always associated with domestic work and are responsible for taking care of the children and husband. This stereotype creates limitations for women to have a paid job outside of their house. Owing to pandemic Covid-19, 30% of women in ASEAN noted an increase in domestic work intensity, compared to men which are only 16% (ASEAN Gender Outlook, 2021). This data shows the glass ceiling still has not been broken, women are still the victim of discrimination in the workforce. As a result, the gap between men and women remains.

Women in lack of education: strengthening the glass ceiling

Based on ASEAN Gender Outlook (2021), 20% of women in ASEAN have a seat in parliament and 24% work as middle and senior managers in private sectors. This fact shows that women have the ability to do work besides domestic work. Unfortunately, this condition only can happen to those who have the privilege to get proper education. In reality, women in ASEAN still receive little or no formal schooling. Therefore, not a small number of them thus forcibly resort to or trapped in child marriage. That exact condition only perpetuates the violence cycle towards women and girls.

Source: ASEAN Gender Outlook 2021

The graphic above shows the gap between women who can access education and who cannot. Most women in ASEAN, especially those living in rural areas, only graduated from primary school or even not at all. This lack of education makes women earn less than their husbands in the workforce because they do not have bargaining power (ASEAN Gender Outlook, 2021). Therefore, the majority of women cannot fulfill their needs.

Education is one of the crucial elements against gender inequality in the workforce. It is impossible to break the glass ceiling as emancipatory action if the women in ASEAN still lack education. Furthermore, Lane (2016), in his book titled Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education, stated that education is a key to transforming or empowering such groups in society who are marginalized, disempowered, or discriminated against to reach equity. In this era, higher education opens opportunities to do upward mobility. Education also helps the marginalized, disempowered, or discriminated against people, which in this context is women, to realize that they need to work together against this structural violence.

The implications of gender inequality: How does it affect the ASEAN economy?

Undeniably, the ASEAN region is one of the most economically powerful regions in the world. Looking at the aggregate Gross Product Domestic (GDP) indicator, all ASEAN member states were valued at US$ 3.2 trillion in 2019. This number places ASEAN as the fifth largest economy in the world, after the United States, China, Japan, and Germany (ASEAN Key Figures, 2020).

Source: ASEAN Key Figures 2020

This fact means that ASEAN has an important role in the international structure. Through the dynamic condition of ASEAN economy, it will open investment opportunities from abroad. It is because the good performance of ASEAN economy will drive investors more confident to invest their capital. Furthermore, these investment opportunities can create positive impacts for ASEAN economy. The investment will increase the ASEAN countries’ revenue through taxes, generate more job opportunities for ASEAN people, and finally, prosperity can be achieved. Yet, in the meantime, gender inclusivity in the workforce is still a challenge for ASEAN. Based on the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Indonesia has the highest gender disparities in LFPRs at 83.1% for men and women only at 51.9%, followed by the Philippines at 74.8% for men and women at 47.6% (ASEAN Key Figures, 2020). I do believe that the massive gap between men and women in the workforce affects ASEAN’s economic growth. It is because every person contributes to a country’s economy no matter what gender we are attributed with.

Cuberes and Teigner (2016) in their article titled Aggregate Effects of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate show that gender inequality creates an average income loss of 16% in the short run and 17.5% in the long run for developing countries. In addition, gender inequality in the workforce could lead to wealth losses of $23,620 per person globally (World Bank, 2018). It means that gender inequality not only creates a negative impact on a woman per se but also on a country’s economy. Let us imagine, if gender inequality in ASEAN can be minimized, for sure ASEAN economy will be more enhanced and improved because all genders get the same access, facility, and treatment in the workforce.

ASEAN responses: well-established in normative aspects

This disparity between men and women in the workforce is still and will always be a concern for ASEAN — in the long-run at least. Fortunately, it is arguable that ASEAN has an awareness about the crucial roles of all genders in the economy. The ASEAN Gender Outlook published in 2021 is a manifestation of how ASEAN cares about this issue. The ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) is also one of ASEAN’s concrete actions to tackle this gender inequality issue. The primary objectives of this committee are to promote gender equality and empower women in ASEAN. ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) was established in 1975 and remains important today (ASEAN, 2021).

To achieve its objectives, ASEAN Committee on Women created a work plan. The recent one is the 2016–2020 work plan. In this work plan, ASEAN Committee on Women sets seven objectives, two of them are related to unequal relations in the workforce. First, is to increase the proportion of women in leadership at ASEAN member state levels, both public and private sectors, and second is to increase access of women entrepreneurs, including young women, to finance, credit, markets, skill training, technology, and social protection. In addition, this work plan covered six priority areas. Four of which are promoting women’s leadership, non-gender stereotyping and social norm change, economic empowerment of women, and protection and empowerment of women in vulnerable situations (ASEAN, 2021).

It must be admitted, ASEAN has a normative well-established response toward this issue. Moreover, ASEAN provides many instruments, such as declarations and work plan to create gender equity. Nevertheless, the implementation still needs to be improved. For instance, the work plan 2016–2020 of the ASEAN Committee on Women attempts to increase the proportion and accessibility of women in the workforce, but in reality, men are 11.5 times more likely to be employed than women (ASEAN Gender Outlook, 2021). It means that the normative aspect does not work in line with the practical. Indeed, if we compare this era to the past, there is a transformation of women’s representation in the workforce. Women have a crucial role in the workforce, yet majority of them are still trapped in this disadvantaged situation to this day. I realize that minimizing gender inequality in the workforce is not as easy as turning the palm of the hand. It is a long journey that ASEAN should face.

Furthermore, ASEAN should ensure the normative instruments are implemented effectively. Hence, ASEAN needs to increase the intensity of dialogue among member states to unify their views and take action on solving this gender inequality issue. I do believe gender inequality in the workforce is an obstacle to ASEAN economy. Because of that, we need to create a sense of belonging against this inequality. It is the era of freedom, which means every human being has an equal opportunity.

REFERENCES

ASEAN. (February 8, 2021). Overview. https://asean.org/overview/.

ASEAN. (2021). ASEAN Gender Outlook. https://data.unwomen.org/publications/asean-gender-outlook.

ASEAN. (2020). ASEAN Key Figures. https://www.aseanstats.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ASEAN_Key_Figures_2020.pdf.

Baylis, J., Smith, S., Owens, P. (2014).Gender in World Politics. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations. OXFORD University Press.

Cuberes, D., & Teignier, M. (2016). Aggregate Effects of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate. Journal of Human Capital, 10(1), 1–32. doi:10.1086/683847.

Lane, A. (2016). Emancipation through Open Education: Rhetoric or Reality? In P. Blessinger & T. Bliss (Eds.), Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education (1st ed., pp. 31–50). Open Book Publishers. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1sq5v9n.7.

Nair, T. (2019). Female Labour in ASEAN Economies — Gender, Inequality, and Work. In Working Women and Economic Security in Southeast Asia (pp. 4–8). S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20017.5.

Walby, S. (1989). THEORISING PATRIARCHY. Sociology, 23(2), 213–234. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42853921.

World Bank. (2018). Unrealized Potential: The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29865.