CAREC Gender Awardees, gender experts explore women empowerment programs at study visit to Shanghai, PRC

Awardees of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Award for Advancing Gender Equality 2023 and gender experts from Central and West Asia countries joined a study visit to Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 23 to 26 April, to explore the municipality’s vibrant landscape on advancing women empowerment. 

The eleven awardees, hailed as CAREC Gender Champions, and nine members of the CAREC Regional Gender Expert Group (RGEG) joined the study tour. The RGEG is an advisory and consultative body for the gender cross-cutting theme in the CAREC Program and provides strategic guidance in the development of regional projects on women’s empowerment. 

“Shanghai, as we all know, is the economic center of the People’s Republic of China. For the next four days, we have the privilege to learn and explore interesting and relevant topics in this economic powerhouse, such as recently revised law on protection of women’s rights; the NGO landscape on girls’ education and child protection; women entrepreneurship in the digital era; women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics); and gender mainstreaming and partnerships in international organizations.” Ms. Zulfia Karimova, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), told the delegates in her opening remarks. 

The study tour aims to enhance the participants’ capacity on gender issues, facilitate knowledge sharing, and foster regional dialogues that can lead to meaningful collaborations in advancing gender equality in the region. Through the study tour, the delegates have explored successful programs that expand women’s participation and opportunities in economic and social life. 

On Day 1, the delegates participated in a leadership training on “The Power of Negotiation” by Ms. Lynda Chen, CEO of Promised Land Negotiation Foundry. They also went to the Chunzhen Youth Development Center, where presentations about youth engagement with a special focus on sex education were made by its chairperson Ms. Jiang Peili, and project directors Ms. Guo Shengfang and Ms. Yu Yingying. 

On Day 2, participants visited the Shanghai Women’s Federation, where Ms. Li Ming, Vice President of SWF, presented the major projects of the Federation and provided a comprehensive overview on the situation of women in Shanghai in the fields of economic development such as employment and entrepreneurship; education opportunities; technology innovation; and political participation. Mr. Lu Ronggen, Director of the Rights Protection Department at SWF, introduced the recently revised Law of the PRC on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests, which took effect on 1 January 2023, as well as various supporting mechanisms and policies to enforce and implement the law at Shanghai municipal level. The SWF has greatly contributed to the success of the CAREC Gender Study Tour by recommending and inviting other organizations and guest speakers to host the CAREC gender group and share insights at the sessions.

In the afternoon session of Day 2, Ms. Zheng Yijing, Secretary General of Shanghai United Foundation, explained the NGO landscape in the PRC to the participants. This was followed by a dialogue and an exchange of questions about NGO best practices with Ms. Baili, Chairperson of Shanghai Le Yang Charities, Ms. Zhou Minwei, Associate Director of Product Operations of BeBetter, and Ms. Li Linna, President of Unlimited Her.

On Day 3, participants visited the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) Development Service Center, a public organization assisting in the promotion of the SME service system and organizing SME cross-industry and cross-regional activities. A presentation on work of the Women’s Federation of Zizhu National High-Tech Industrial Development Park, as well as women’s employment in enterprises in the park, their promotions to the management ranks, and the support and incentives for women employees was also provided by Ms. Liu Ping, President of Women’s Federation of Zizhu National High-Tech Industrial Development Park. In the afternoon, a session called Women Leadership Roundtable featured Ms. Jill Tang, Founder of SHE REWIRES; Ms. Sun Jingge, Director of Innovation Projects, Impact Hub Shanghai; Ms. Linda Wang, Founder of Shanghai Liye Optoelectronics Technology; and Ms. Jane Yin, founder of various fashion brands in the PRC.

One of the study tour’s highlights was the Knowledge Forum on Day 3. Ms. Huang Fei, Gender Officer at the PRC Resident Mission, Gender Equality Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department at ADB; and Mr. Philip Martin, Senior Gender Specialist and Head of Gender, Strategy, Policy, and Budget Department at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, shared about how Multilateral Development Banks assist countries in promoting gender equality. Meanwhile, Ms. Wang Bing, Partnership Specialist of UN Women in the PRC; Mr. Dong Le, Program Officer (Partnership and Innovation) and Gender Focal Point at Food and Agriculture Organization PRC; and Ms. Zheng Fei, Gender Program Specialist at UNICEF PRC, discussed best practices and case studies in their organizations.

On Day 4, the delegates visited the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) Xuhui campus and several laboratories at SJTU’s School of Oceanography. During the visit, Ms. Su Zhuojun, Executive Deputy Director of the Women’s Federation at SJTU, introduced the university’s inspiring role models of accomplished women scientists, as well as strategies to promote gender equality at the university level, while women researchers from the School of Oceanography shared their daily research work.

At the end of the tour, the RGEG members convened for their 3rd annual meeting. The Gender Champions also took part in a team pitch session where they had the opportunity to collaborate with fellow awardees and showcase their innovative proposals on regional pilot activities promoting understanding and cooperation on gender issues. To recall, the CAREC Gender Study tour is one of the capacity development benefits for the winners of last year’s CAREC Award for Advancing Gender Equality. A second round of the CAREC Award is envisioned to happen in November 2024.

The CAREC Program is a partnership of countries and development partners working together to promote sustainable development, accelerate economic growth, and reduce poverty. The member countries of CAREC are Azerbaijan, PRC, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. ADB hosts the CAREC Secretariat.