Asia and the Pacific countries are urged to enable women to play a bigger role in infrastructure development by integrating gender considerations in the design of infrastructure to promote inclusive growth, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
While women make up half of the world’s population, ADB said in a blog that gender gaps remain in almost all sectors including infrastructure development.
“As we try to close a huge infrastructure gap in Asia and the Pacific, we must integrate gender considerations across all stages of the infrastructure development cycle. This is particularly important in the context of post-pandemic economic recovery for Asia’s developing countries,” ADB principal markets development advisory specialist Ichiro Aoki, ADB social development specialist Prabhjot Khan and social and gender specialist Radhika Behuria said.
They said gender disparities are often not recognized or well understood, and as such, not integrated into the design of infrastructure.
“This limits women’s access to and use of infrastructure and the services it provides,” the specialists said.
The ADB specialists believe physical infrastructure has a critical role to play in not just supporting post-pandemic recovery, but also in having a more resilient and inclusive future.
The multilateral lender estimates that $1.7 trillion would need to be invested every year to address the infrastructure gap in Asia and the Pacific.
As this could not be financed by the government alone, the ADB believes public-private partnerships (PPPs) could help address the gap.
Aside from helping facilitate the mobilization of private capital for infrastructure development, the ADB specialists said PPPs could do more to expand opportunities and improve quality of life especially for women and girls who historically do not benefit equally from infrastructure and its services.
“To unlock this potential, greater awareness is needed among PPP practitioners to identify barriers that women and girls face,” the ADB specialists said.
They added that there is a need to acknowledge women and girls as key stakeholders and users of infrastructure and ensure their perspectives are included in issues of access, location, and affordability, which are all important for the projects to succeed.
“While there are strong social and moral reasons for focusing on gender equality, there is also a strong economic and business case for bringing in a gender perspective to improve the overall usability of infrastructure and its services over the lifecycle of a project,” the ADB specialists said.
According to them, the public sector should take the lead in establishing a framework to identify gender gaps, develop relevant strategies in response, and create legal mandates for organizations and entities.
Meanwhile, the private sector could bring in knowledge and expertise to promote women’s access to services and employment opportunities through the design of infrastructure.
As for multilateral development banks, ADB said they could provide tools and advice to align public and private interests and set standards for gender-sensitive market interventions.
“The future of infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific hinges on gender-inclusive public-private partnerships. By embedding gender considerations into every stage of infrastructure development, we not only champion fairness but also enhance economic efficiency and social impact,” the ADB specialists said.