Investing in Women (IW) is an Australian Government initiative that seeks to accelerate women’s economic equality and promote inclusive economic growth across Southeast Asia. Our objective is to support women to thrive in the workplace and succeed in business. Building on the results, partnerships and lessons achieved since 2016, IW works with business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, advocates and policymakers to remove barriers to women's full economic participation in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and, to a limited extent, Myanmar. Positioning women at the centre of economic resilience and accelerating economic equality is critical to achieving a wide range of sustainable development objectives in Southeast Asia. Private sector-led effort to harness the productivity, skills, capacity, talent, innovation, and leadership that women offer will help to realise the benefits of women’s economic equality for themselves, their families, and their communities. IW uses innovative approaches to catalyse women’s economic participation through four workstreams: Workplace Gender Equality (Workstream 1), Enabling Policy Reform (Workstream 2), Campaigns and Communities of Practice (Workstream 3), and Gender Lens Investing (Workstream 4). Investing in Women supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda and the leveraging of private sector investments to achieve the Goals. The SDGs recognise that gender equality is not only an essential human right, but a necessary foundation for peaceful, prosperous and sustainable societies. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has contracted Abt Global to implement Investing in Women. Abt Global is a mission-driven, global leader in research, evaluation and implementing programs in health, social and environmental policy and international development. Investing in Women’s current phase is anticipated to be up to AUD 80 million in value, initially for four years (from January 2023 to June 2027), with an option to extend for a further six years. Main countries of focus continue to be Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, with some activities engaging at a regional level.
