Women and Economic Development

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Where are women in the economy of
Cambodia?
 Women in the Economy
High female participation in waged
employment and in enterprises:

• 44% in industry
• 49% of workers
• 36% in services
• 50% in agriculture
• 62% of all private business
 The Rectangular
Strategy for Growth, Enhancement of the
Employment, Equity Agricultural Sector

and Efficiency Peace, political stability and

social order

Employment Generation
Physical Infrastructure
Further Rehabilitation
and Construction of
Legal and

Development and
Fighting

Private Sector
Judicial
Corruption

development
Partnership in
Reform

Good Governance
Public Armed

f o noi t ar get nI
Administration Forces

eht ot ni ai dob ma C
dl r o w eht dna noi ger
Reform Reform

Favorable macro-
economic and
financial environment

RGC committed to Capacity Building

“continuing to work to and Human Resource
Development
strengthen the substantive
participation of women at all Fostering
Gender Equity
levels”
 Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ Vision
• To invest in market oriented training programs and enterprise
development services, delivered through rural Women’s
Development Centers.
• Focus on displaced garment industry and returning migrant workers
and rural women.
• To invest in the establishment of an Advanced Centre for Women

• To integrate gender considerations in Cambodia’s Economic Policies

and Programmes
Trade Action Plan, Agricultural and Rural Programmes, Labor Code
and HRD Policies, and recognition of vital role of MSME sector and
the informal economy
 Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ Vision

• Enhance international competitiveness, especially in the garment sector

• Issues related to the social impact of trade sector development we need

to keep in mind. . .

– Trade and employment creation: social consequences of high

youth unemployment
– Pro-poor trade: poor have little access to jobs in growth industries
– Gender and trade: low levels of literacy and education constrain
economic opportunities for women; occupation groups highly
segregated by sex
MoWA: Promoting women’s economic opportunities
through advocacy and action at all levels . . .

• National policy formulation

• Sex-disaggregated statistics and gender
analysis
Macro • Gender mainstreaming mechanisms

• Mainstreaming gender in line

Meso ministries
• Advocacy for specific policies and
programs

Micro • Strategic action

 An example: Silk Sector
• Macro
– DTIS 2007
– Stakeholder roundtable
– Exchange of best practices
• Meso
– Collective buying platform
– Showroom/clearing house
• Micro
– Production capacity and
skills
– Weaver communities
– Costing, pricing, marketing
and design skills
– Business linkages
 Integrated Women’s Development Centers

Facilitating Common
Linkages to Facility Unit
Business Markets Formation of
Skills Training Associations
Micro
Enterprise Women-friendly
Market-oriented Development Environment
Skills Training Skills &
Human Socio- Life Skills Training
Resource Cultural
Empower Functional Literacy
Mobile Training Devel.
Unit
Business Counseling
Access to & Support
Micro Credit

Facilitating Facilitating
Linkages to Savings & Credit
MFIs Groups
 Problems faced by Women in Micro
enterprise
• They are essentially invisible- Little support available
• Have little or no access to market, credit institutions,
• Lack of information, technology and support services
• Poor transport, water and electricity
• Illiteracy, low education and skills
• Work burden
 The Enterprise Development Approach
• Existing approaches to • Limitations to these
i.g.a. & MSME approaches
development promotion
1-skills training (WID No market demand
Center) →Not able to use skills to
2-Production focus earn income
3-Product focus → Not able to sell
4-Technology focus products that have
been produce
5-Locality focus
→ Potential markets may
be outside of the
location
Future directions

Best quality mat producers

 Scaling up support to WDCs
• Current JFPR project covers 1 of 6 centers established in
the mid-1990s and 1 new center, current UNDP project
assisting 1 center
• Three new centers were constructed in 2007
• Three more centers to be constructed in 2008

Additional resources needed to transform old centers and

introduce market-led training and support in new centers
Project
Area
Siem Reap
Women’s Development
Center (New Facility)

Kompong Chhnang
Women’s Development
Center (Upgrading)

Phnom Penh
Project Coordination Unit
(MOWA)
• Goal
The overall goal of
this project is to
reduce poverty by
increasing access to
services that support
women’s social and
economic
empowerment.
Project
Components
A.
WDC Facility
Development
and
Upgrading
(45%)

B. C.
Life Skills MSE
and Development
Advocacy and Support
Support
(45%) (25%)

D.
Capacity Building
and Project
Management
Support
(40%)
 Component A
WDC Development and Upgrading

WDC Siem Reap

Outputs
 WDC Siem Reap (95% complete)
 WDC Kompong Chhnang (90%
WDC Kompong Chhnang complete)
Component B
Life Skills and Advocacy
Support
Outputs
 Demand-driven programs and activities
 Community Resource Assessments in 30
villages
 21 ‘Home Safety’ Workshops in 15
villages with 630 participants

Upcoming activities
 ‘Life Skills and Family Income
Generation’ Workshops
 ‘Domestic Skills’ Workshops
 ‘Family Management Skills’ Workshops
 ‘Women Worker Rights’ Workshops
Community Resource Assessment Workshop in Kompong
Chhnang, May 2007
Total : 87 courses
Participants: 2,431persons ( Men 44,
Women
988 )
Component C
MSE Development and Support
Outputs
‘Gender and Enterprise Workshops’ in 28
villages with 580 participants (49
men)
 Formation of producer groups
 Mats: 48 groups in 10 villages with
483 members
 Bamboo baskets: 8 groups in 5
villages with 101 members
 Product development and marketing
 Identification of designers and resource
persons
 Improved handicraft production (9 men)
 Market testing of mats in the Phnom Penh
Night Bazaar
 Investigation of market for bamboo
handicrafts
 Product development on new design and
marketing ( sedge mat and bamboo
handicraft)

Upcoming activities
 Market opportunities identification and
value chain analysis consultancy
 Preparation of Enterprise Development
Action Plans for community
Component D: Capacity Building and Project
Management Support
Outputs
 Capacity building and mentoring support
to MoWA Economic Development
Department staff to support WDCs and
PDWAs
 Capacity building and mentoring support
for WDC and PDWA staff in Siem Reap
and Kompong Chhnang:
 facilitation skills
 data gather and analysis
 facilitating community resource
assessments
 facilitating gender and enterprise workshops
 facilitating home safety workshops
 Project management support
ADB Review Mission with Project Team in Kompong Chhnang,
February 2008
Upcoming activities
 Continue capacity building and mentoring
support linked to field activities
 Finalize the management structure of
WDCs
 Develop plan for sustaining WDC activities
upon project completion
Partnerships in advocacy and
action
LIne
Ministries

Private
Sector
Donors

Increasing
Women’s
Economic
Opportunities
Educational
Financial
Institutions
Institutions

Civil
Society