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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (14 March 2024)—There is growing awareness that promoting women’s economic empowerment makes good business sense. Yet legal, regulatory, and policy barriers persist that prevent women’s full and equal participation in the private sector in the Pacific, according to a new report and framework published today by the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI).

The Gender-Inclusive Private Sector (GIPS) Framework is designed to promote gender inclusivity in the private sector in the Pacific, by offering governments a comprehensive roadmap to assess and improve progress towards supporting a gender inclusive private sector enabling environment.

“For governments and other institutions, the Gender-Inclusive Private Sector framework serves as a really practical checklist to measure and address the ongoing constraints to women's participation in the private sector,” says author Sarah Boxall, PSDI’s Economic Empowerment of Women Expert. “The framework offers clear benchmarks and pathways to support the development of more gender-inclusive private sectors, which can foster more resilient and equal economies in the region.”

The framework and country assessments for Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Tonga were launched today at a side event of the 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the United Nations. The event, held in partnership with the Government of Fiji, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection, featured speakers from the governments of Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, as well as representatives of the Asian Development Bank.

“I would like to congratulate ADB’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) for leading the global launch of the innovative Gender-Inclusive Private Sector Framework for the Pacific,” said Hon. Lynda Tabuya, Fiji’s Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, in remarks recorded for the event. “This framework that can serve as a critical platform for exploring how governments and stakeholders can catalyze economic empowerment for women in all their diversity, thereby driving broader economic development.”

The framework assesses gender-inclusivity in the private sector across seven dimensions, including:

• the foundational aspects of a gender equality context, such as constitution, legislation and policy, and international commitments;
• the workplace conditions that support decent work for women in the formal sector and the in-formal economy;
• the business enabling environment that supports women’s formal and informal businesses;
• financial inclusion and access to capital;
• women’s participation in key economic sectors;
• digital technologies and women’s preparedness for the future of work; and
• the promotion of women’s leadership and voice in the private sector and consumer rights.

PSDI is an Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance program in partnership with the governments of Australia and New Zealand. It supports ADB’s 14 Pacific DMCs to improve the enabling environment for business and to achieve inclusive, private sector-led economic growth, including through reforms designed to enhance the enabling environment for investment.

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Explore the framework and country assessments on the GIPS Framework interactive website