Annex C: Recommendation from The APEC Private-Public Dialogue on Women and the Economy 2016

Annex C: Recommendation from The APEC Private-Public Dialogue on Women and the Economy 2016

• 1)    On Care Economy System for recognizing, reducing and redistributing unpaid care work for inclusive growth, we agreed that the burden of unpaid care and domestic work as well as the need to strengthen the social infrastructure and services are essential in APEC Economies to change attitudes about women’s value and their role. We recommend advancing on care and domestic provision to achieve life balance and full women’s economic participation, such as childcare services, telecommuting, and co-responsibility measures. In addition, we suggest professionalizing care workforce as a redistribution strategy and a market opportunity to attend women’s demands.
2)    On Financial and economic literacy and inclusion for access to capital, we recommend APEC economies to tackle discriminatory regulations in order to improve capital access for women and girls, as well as provide financial education programs and products that respond to women’s specific needs in order to realize their growth potential on MSEMs throughout their business life cycle, particularly during the start-up phase.
• 3)    On Economic Cost of Gender Based Violence, we recommend APEC economies to gather standardized data across the economies on the economic costs of gender-based violence for the public and private sectors, and monitor this data. We also recommend the identification and sharing successful strategies like awareness raising and primary prevention programs for employers and employees or changing procurement contract criteria to include gender-based violence.
• 4)    On Digital Literacy, we recommend APEC economies scale-up good practices on gender-responsive digital literacy programs. Promote business innovation based on STEMs as makerspaces and fab labs for women and girls (focus on STEM fields for women and girls). Concerning ICT tools and digital strategies for SMEs on global markets, joint efforts should involve public and private sector actors to promote hands-on programs, such as multi-language e-learning platforms for women entrepreneurs.
• 5)    On Mechanisms for the internationalization of MSMEs led by women, we recommend encouraging strong buy-in programs, branding, membership programs, use of media channels and other promotional practices – such as profiling female exporters and export awards – assists program visibility to identify PPP partners and external funding sources to roll out entitlement and a capacity building program; taking into account that Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) and other stakeholders that are well positioned to take on a leadership role in empowering women-led MSMEs for mainstreaming gender-responsive trade practices across APEC.

To achieve these recommendations, it is essential to improve our networking and partnership among women entrepreneurs of the 21 economies to break the barriers and integrate women into the global market economy.