Enhancing ASEAN women economic empowerment

By Kim Myong-hee

The ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) Commemorative Summit will be held in Busan, Korea, from Nov. 25 to 26. This event is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations.

One of the important issues to be discussed at the summit is capacity building programs for enhancing ASEAN women's IT skills and entrepreneurial capacities.

ASEAN is the association of 10 Southeast Asian nations making joint endeavors to create a prosperous and peaceful community under the slogan of “One Vision, One Identity, and One Community.”

ASEAN, with a total population of about 650 million and an annual economic growth rate of about 5 percent, has now become the sixth-largest market in the world. Furthermore, due to young and lively population structures whose average age is 30, ASEAN is regarded as a vibrant market with enormous potential for future growth.

Korea has a long established strategic relationship with ASEAN. Recognizing the importance of cooperation with the region, the Korean government has continuously strengthened its diplomatic infrastructure with ASEAN, which includes the establishment of the Mission of ROK to ASEAN and the ASEAN Culture House, as well as a steady increase in financial commitments such as the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund.

In particular, in the framework of the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund, Korea has supported the growth of ASEAN by funding various development programs as part of official development assistance. In order to further deepen relations and better support ASEAN prosperity, the Korean government needs to identify critical local demands and address them properly.

Capacity building programs for enhancing ASEAN women's IT and entrepreneurial competencies address one such set of critical local demands.

Women's economic empowerment is a significant agenda that a number of countries and various international organizations, including ASEAN, the U.N., APEC, and the WTO, are pushing ahead with. This movement has been spurred by a conviction that women's economic empowerment is critical to achieving sustainable, inclusive growth.

The history of international development points to the fact that women's empowerment is beneficial to the development of not only individual women but also their families, communities, and nations. In that sense, the economic empowerment of ASEAN women, who constitute more than half of the ASEAN population, will serve as an effective driving force for the achievement of ASEAN visions.

Currently, ASEAN has been witnessing a dramatic increase in internet use and e-commerce, but, meanwhile, ASEAN women have comparatively less internet access and use.

Internet-based businesses are well known for their potential to benefit women's economic activities because of the relatively low cost of starting a business, direct connectivity with customers, and easy access to the market, as many relevant success stories can attest.

Unfortunately, however, due to the lack of IT skills and knowledge, many ASEAN women cannot afford to integrate IT into business or take full advantage of the business opportunities that the digital economy is creating for women.

In this context, Korea is in a good position to contribute to solving the problem. Korea has long years of experience in IT planning and training, and enjoys a high reputation as an IT country.

Besides, as a part of the ASEAN-ROK cooperation program, capacity building programs for enhancing ASEAN women's IT and e-business skills have been sporadically implemented in some parts of the ASEAN region by Sookmyung Women's University in Korea.

In order for more ASEAN women to benefit from such training programs, ASEAN and Korea should expand their capacity building programs in scope and breadth on the basis of previous experience and insight. This is a timely response to the situation in which ASEAN is preparing for an IT-enabled integrated economy with a single market and free flow of trade.

Fortunately, these capacity building programs for enhancing ASEAN women's IT and IT-based entrepreneurial competencies are well aligned with ASEAN's vision and strategic plans.

First of all, ASEAN highlights the importance of women's economic development through the 2017 Manila Statement on Mainstreaming Women's Economic Empowerment in ASEAN. In addition, the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development 2016-2025 announces its focus on supporting human capital development for women entrepreneurs and thereby implementing entrepreneurial education.

In the ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2020, which aims to propel ASEAN towards a digitally-based economy, ASEAN also emphasizes the need to create a dynamic, integrated digital economy and equip ASEAN entrepreneurs with digital skills.

In this regard, capacity building programs for ASEAN women's IT and entrepreneurial skills are exemplary projects that fit well in ASEAN's visions. These programs will help to achieve sustainable, inclusive growth of ASEAN, and at the same time contribute to deepening and consolidating the strategic partnership between Korea and ASEAN.

Kim Myong-hee is professor at the School of English, Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul. She is also vice president of Global Women's ICT Network (GWIN) and adviser to Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Center (APWINC).