Southeast Asia has a growing fintech ecosystem which provides innovative services such as loans and payment platforms. Fintech fosters a financial inclusion strategy that can reduce the growing wealth gap and provide the poor with critical resources.A 2019 study by ValueChampion, a Singapore-based personal finance and consumer research brand, placed Singapore second after Australia as one of the ‘Best countries for women in fintech in Asia-Pacific’.

Technological advancements and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising manufacturing for industries around the world. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that the global stock of operational industrial robots would have increased to 3,053,000 units by 2020, with the capability to help produce cars, electronics and new machinery. However, the scale and pace of AI in disrupting jobs is a concern and automation may work to widen the existing gaps in work

In Southeast Asia, there is a growing number of women rising through the ranks, starting companies and deciding on industry policy. Despite these achievements, women, especially mothers, still experience discrimination at work. According to a survey by the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) in Malaysia, more than 40 percent of women in the workforce experience pregnancy discrimination.

Violence against women and children is the most prevalent human rights violation. Unfortunately, cases of gender-based violence – especially against women – is nothing new in Southeast Asia.Based on a report by the United Nations University - International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) in Malaysia, intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of gender-based violence, with 28 percent of women in the region having to deal with it.

Over the years, there have been more girls attending schools and completing their studies with many focusing on their careers and a bright future. Girls are also leading global movements on issues ranging from climate change and poverty to gender-based violence and child marriages, proving themselves to be unstoppable. In Lao PDR, youths below the age of 25 make up more than half of the country’s population.

"If you teach a man to farm, his family will eat. If you teach a woman to farm, the whole community will eat." This quote highlights the fact that closing the gender gap in agriculture would not only produce more food but also provide long-term benefits for farming families and their communities.An empirical study in the Springer Journal titled, Gender in Agriculture reveals that women lack access to agricultural inputs, training, information and marketing services.

Prominent women like Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob, Co-Founder of ride-hailing transport services Grab - Tan Hooi Ling and even sports legend, Nicol David have made headlines in the region for their tremendous achievements. A growing number of women today are participating in the male-dominated tech industry, politics, and sports, among other fields.

There is a downward trend in the number of women participating in the workforce as they go up the career ladder. Women may make up half of all the entry-level positions in companies, but at middle management, that number drops.

The recent Gender Gap Report 2020 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Philippines 16th globally. The country boasts the smallest gender gap in Asia by far, even surpassing first world nations like Japan, Australia, Canada, and Switzerland. Among the four dimensions in which the report was based on, the Philippines performed strongly in three of them. In the Economic Participation and Opportunity dimension, 80 percent of the gender gap has been closed.

While Malaysia’s male politicians continue to squabble over power, all the women seem to be left with are breadcrumbs.Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its 2020 Global Gender Gap Report. While it was unsurprising that Nordic countries like Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden were the top performers, some ASEAN countries like the Philippines – which managed to secure the 16th spot out of 153 countries – didn’t do too shabby either.