Young people represent the fundamental drivers of economic and social growth and nowhere is this more visible than in Southeast Asia. In a region of more than 630 million people, 60 percent are below the age of 30.However, in an ever-changing global environment, it is vital for the next generation to be prepared for challenges that may or may not be so apparent now.

Xuan Thu started at the front desk of Victoria Resort in Can Tho, located at the southern end of Vietnam, and worked her way up to the very top. In a year, she was made Front Office Manager and within another four, she was promoted to Room Division Manager.

Gender equality offers a sizeable economic opportunity for any country. A government that hopes to achieve strong growth without tapping into women’s full potential is essentially fighting with one hand tied behind its back.In fact, new research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) finds that Asia-Pacific economies could boost their collective gross domestic product (GDP) by US$4.5 trillion per year by 2025, just by accelerating progress toward gender equality.

Asia is aging fast: by 2040, 16 percent of the region’s population will be older than 65, more than double the 7.8 percent share in 2015. While the rise in healthy life expectancy is a positive development, this demographic shift poses a serious threat to many economies, which are already losing vitality.A consistent supply of young, skilled workers was an essential ingredient of Asia’s rapid economic catch-up process over the last three decades.

In a region teeming with potential and growth, the economies of Southeast Asia have seen an improvement that has surpassed expectations from decades ago. However, over the years, the minimum wage in these countries has become an issue. A disgruntled workforce is left to scratch their collective heads in figuring out how to make ends meet with the ever-rising cost of living.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication on the Rights of Woman and Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex were ground-breaking texts that dealt with the perceptions and roles of women in a patriarchal world. Both books remain relevant today, as the struggle for gender parity is still very much an ongoing concern. In Southeast Asia, the lack of gender diversification in the workplace is still a visible problem in both, local and international companies throughout the region.