Enabling Women’s Contributions to the Indian Ocean Rim Economies

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) represents one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic regional communities. While the people of the Indian Ocean Rim come from a variety of backgrounds, they rely on interconnected environments, institutions and markets for their livelihoods. They are united by a shared commitment to the prosperity of the region through inclusive, sustainable economic growth and women’s economic empowerment. This report identifies some of the key trends and critical issues for the Indian Ocean Rim Association Member States to address in support of women’s substantive gender equality and economic advancement. It provides an overview of existing data on key aspects of women’s economic empowerment in Indian Ocean Rim countries using publicly available and comparable data. The datasets used have been produced and collated by international organizations such as the World Bank, International Labour Organization and UN Women.

The report develops a simple baseline, primarily using data from 2010 onwards in some of the areas that describe women’s participation in the economy and their opportunities for advancement in business and economic leadership. It also explores some of the key enabling factors that support women’s increased labour force participation and are associated with improvements in the terms and conditions of their employment, leadership and entrepreneurship.