Women’s economic empowerment and COVID-19: the case of vulnerable women with intersectional identities in Indonesia and Vietnam

Christine Ebrahim; Adrienne Jack; Linda Jones

doi:10.3362/1755-1986.21-00007

Women’s economic empowerment and COVID-19: the case of vulnerable women with intersectional identities in Indonesia and Vietnam

Christine Ebrahim | Adrienne Jack | Linda Jones

In recent decades, ASEAN has seen significant progress in gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, advances have not been even and vulnerable women with a range of intersectional identities have not benefited to the same extent as more privileged women or their male counterparts. Moreover, despite ASEAN’s much-lauded success in COVID-19 prevention and containment, the economic gains that had been achieved for women and girls are rapidly losing ground. Disruptions in the tourism sector, labour migration, and international trade have had a devastating economic impact on vulnerable populations, while innovations and new implementation approaches have provided some relief for low-income communities. This paper describes the COVID-19 economic fallout for women homeworkers and labour migrants engaged in informal jobs in Indonesia and low-income ethnic minority women in agriculture and tourism sectors in north-west Vietnam. It discusses early experiences and learning on pivoting projects, funded by the Government of Australia, to be COVID-19 responsive and contribute to longer-term recovery.

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