Good morning. It’s a great pleasure for me to be here today and to extend a warm welcome to you as you begin this Regional Workshop on Women’s Participation in Local Governance. I wish to thank the United Nations Development Programme for co-hosting the workshop and working with USAID directly and through our Sapan governance project to produce such an amazing event. A lot of time has been devoted behind the scenes to bring things together and create an exciting and stimulating agenda that we hope will inspire you to continue your efforts now, and into the future. 

 

I would also like to thank the speakers and participants from local governments and civil society organizations. This group represents over 20 different countries from around Asia, ranging from Thailand and neighboring Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos to the South Asian and Pacific neighbors of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Fiji, among others. You have all contributed valuable time to join us and share your rich experiences, good practices and successes in the area of women’s leadership and advocacy efforts to advance empowerment of women and girls. 

 

I am pleased that this Regional Workshop provides a forum for interaction and networking between local government officials and civil society leaders. Both within and across the categories of government and non-profit sectors, I have found that we all share a similar goal: we strive to find new ways to improve the lives of people at home and abroad. 

 

USAID recognizes the vibrant work of women leaders throughout the region. We know your exchanges over the next few days will offer many fruitful opportunities for you to learn and benefit from one another’s experiences. 

 

The theme of the workshop is exploring the way forward. Although the workshop will last only a few days, I hope that each of you will listen carefully, participate fully, and be inspired. Learn from your neighbors. Take back a new approach to make a meaningful change when you return home. 

 

The region has made great progress toward empowering women. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, often known informally as the International Bill of Rights for Women, was adopted at the United Nations in 1979. This document defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. In recent decades, governments and concerned individuals have made notable achievements in fostering greater women’s economic inclusion around the world. In turn, this has contributed massively to economic growth, social progress, poverty reduction, healthier lives and stronger communities globally. 

 

However, as we review achievements on gender equality and female empowerment, including at the Beijing+20 review being held this week in Bangkok, we acknowledge there are historical, economic, political, socio-cultural, legal and structural factors that continue to exclude or limit women’s participation. These factors hinder women from achieving their full potential in civic, economic, and political life–much to the detriment of the countries. In fact, I read a startling statistic last year in a UN report; the report reads: “Failure to integrate women fully into the workforce is costing the Asia-Pacific region about 89 billion dollars a year in unrealized output.” Just think what would be possible in your countries, in Asia, and the world if we were able to ensure the full economic participation of women? The possibilities are endless.

 

We need a more active policy response to address the challenges that women face in this region. The UNDP regional Gender Equality Report on women’s participation and leadership in governments at the local level that you’ll be discussing over the next few days is a critical piece of actionable research to understand these challenges and move forward on solutions. 

 

The U.S. Government is committed to supporting this progress. Advancing gender equality and female empowerment is a core development goal of the United States. We are committed to equipping women and girls with skills and capabilities to expand their opportunities and choices. We at USAID are very pleased to support many of you throughout Asia in these efforts-efforts that are leading to significant positive change.

 

As Deputy Mission Director of USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia, I am proud of the work we are doing in partnership with you to support women and girls’ empowerment and increase women’s participation and leadership throughout Asia.

 

Allow me to provide a few examples from our programming here in Thailand. USAID’s Sapan governance program has emphasized gender diversity and the development of women leaders in its activities. The Sapan Program promotes gender equality and respect for diversity as basic human rights and key components of democratic governance and good programming. Staff actively promote the involvement of women and encourage all stakeholders to adopt human diversity principles. 

 

Within its first two years, USAID’s Sapan program was able to help more than 600 women to strengthen their management and technical skills—including more than 400 women trained on personal empowerment and leadership skills. 

 

Sapan has also provided critical training on easy-to-use tools that women can employ to effectively engage with local administrative agencies to address governance priorities and concerns. These tools have had an impact on daily lives of people in their communities–women, men, girls and boys—such as reducing pollution from a local factory, or expanding health clinic hours. 

 

Increasing women and girls’ voices in decision-making and leadership, in both the government and non-profit sectors, will foster and strengthen sustainable development. Theirs are important voices to shape and improve the lives of all people, including addressing priority barriers and advancing opportunities for women and girls, such as communities free of violence, and education systems that encourage more girls to excel in science and technology. I am confident that you will have a very fruitful workshop that will result in useful and practical ideas to improve women’s participation and leadership in local governance around the region.

 

Have a great, productive workshop. Thank you.