Asia Foundation Launches Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Mongolia

On September 25th, The Asia Foundation launched a four-year Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Mongolia funded by Global Affairs Canada.

The launch event was attended by a range of leaders active in Mongolia’s gender equality movement. Those gathered represented Mongolian civil society, government, the private sector, international organizations, and embassies. Women’s participation and leadership in the Mongolian economy has decreased on average by ten percent over the past 20 years while men’s labor participation has remained relatively stable with a slight two percent decrease. The launch was a key opportunity to enhance coordination and cooperation with others working on women’s empowerment and gender equality.

“The project will support women’s participation and leadership in the economy through supporting Mongolian CSO’s to work on a range of economic empowerment issues facing women, while building capacity and multi-stakeholder coalitions to pursue change,” remarked Tricia Turbold, the director of Economic Empowerment Programs for The Asia Foundation Mongolia.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has not only exacerbated the variety of issues women face in Mongolia, but has brought about a new set of challenges. For example, one in three women experience domestic violence perpetrated by their intimate partners in Mongolia, and there has been a drastic increase in these rates since the pandemic began. Through close coordination with our local partners we will implement a holistic approach to address and respond to these complex challenges.”

The Women’s Economic Empowerment project has three main objectives: i) improve the management, programming and sustainability of civil society organizations working on women’s economic empowerment; ii) support and develop coalitions and networks for gender-sensitive social and economic policy change; and iii) nurture current and aspiring women-owned businesses, building on the success of The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Business Center.

Watch a video of the project launch:

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region addresses five overarching goals—strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote international cooperation.

Read more about the Foundation’s work.

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