Beyond Barriers

The report examines how trade liberalization in Southeast Asia affects women across the manufacturing, agricultural, and services sectors. It argues that trade policies are typically 'gender blind,' ignoring the asymmetric impacts on women due to existing social and economic inequalities. While liberalization has created some employment opportunities, it has also led to wage gaps, poor working conditions, and increased vulnerability for poor women. The document concludes that women's participation in high-level policymaking has not translated into gender-sensitive trade policies and recommends putting women at the center of trade analysis and providing social safety nets.

• Trade policymakers in Southeast Asia generally operate under the preconception that trade is gender neutral, leading to the exclusion of gender considerations in policy formulation.
• There are significant income disparities between men and women across ASEAN countries; for example, the 2006 ASEAN average earned income for women was 6,069.80 PPP USD compared to 12,434.90 PPP USD for men.
• The presence of women in top political and economic leadership roles in Southeast Asia does not necessarily result in the advancement of women's specific economic interests in trade policy.
• In the manufacturing sector, while export-led growth increased female employment in areas like garments and electronics, this often came with a tradeoff in poor working conditions and welfare losses.
• Agricultural liberalization has pressured women through structural shifts toward manufacturing and the introduction of technology, such as combine harvesters in Malaysia, which displaced women from traditional roles.
• Services sector liberalization, particularly in healthcare, may lead to higher costs, lower quality of services, and a 'brain drain' of medical professionals that restricts poor women's access to care.
• The liberalization of tourism and entertainment has linked to the exploitation of women, including sex tourism and human trafficking, particularly affecting young girls from Indonesia, Myanmar, and Lao PDR in Thailand and Cambodia.
• Migration patterns in Southeast Asia are experiencing 'feminization,' with a rising number of women seeking work abroad, yet these workers remain marginalized in official ASEAN economic integration discussions.
• Gender-specific trade advocacy is stronger at the regional level than the national level, with groups like the International Gender Trade Network (IGTN) providing technical information to women's groups and governments.

APA

Chandra, A. C., Lontoh, L. A., & Margawati, A. (2010). Beyond Barriers. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/beyond_barriers_gender_southeast_asia.pdf

Chicago

Chandra, Alexander C., Lucky A. Lontoh, and Ani Margawati. Beyond Barriers. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2010. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/beyond_barriers_gender_southeast_asia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chandra |first1=Alexander C. |last2=Lontoh |first2=Lucky A. |last3=Margawati |first3=Ani |title=Beyond Barriers |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2010 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/beyond_barriers_gender_southeast_asia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chandra2010beyond, author = {Chandra, Alexander C. and Lontoh, Lucky A. and Margawati, Ani}, title = {{Beyond Barriers}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/beyond_barriers_gender_southeast_asia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }