For International Women’s Day 2023, meet some extraordinary women leaders across East Asia and the Pacific, who are all working, in their own ways, to accelerate equality and empowerment across the region. Their stories are moving, challenging, entertaining and inspiring. We encourage you to dive in and hear from these remarkable women, in their own words.
Meet women accelerating equality in East Asia and Pacific
#China | Dr. Binbin Wang is Executive Secretary General of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, hosted by China’s Tsinghua University. A climate activist and social scientist, she has been involved with the UNFCCC process since 2009, and offers cross-cultural expertise on global climate governance and policy.
#Fiji | Analesi Tuicaumia is an early learning practitioner, teacher, and champion for early childhood development. A woman with a mission, Analesi founded Child Benefit Fiji and Mobile Kindy Fiji, championing young children.
#Fiji | Letila Mitchell is a practicing artist, arts administrator, producer, academic, and champion of Rotuman and indigenous culture. A self-described mother, artist, and dreamer, she is the founder of Rako Pasefika, a collective of indigenous Oceanic storytellers sharing performance, visual and digital art informed by their Rotuman culture and identity.
#Indonesia | Lintang Kusuma Pratiwi is the co-founder and Chief Agriculture Officer of Elevarm, an ‘agritech’ businesses focuses on building more sustainable agriculture practices in Indonesia and beyond.
#LaoPDR | Chansouk Insouvanh is a social safeguards consultant and a gender and ethnic group advisor.
#LaoPDR | Payengxa Lor is co-founder of the Hmong Women’s Network in the Lao PDR, and sees herself as a transformational leader. As Miss Universe Laos 2022, Payengxa is using her platform to empower others and highlighting the challenges faced by women.
#Malaysia | Jay Desan co-founded Kuala Lumpur-based agritech startup, Boomgrow Productions Sdn Bhd, which started based on a simple question: ‘How can people eat better?’ – and now grows healthy, pesticide-free food in re-purposed shipping containers.
#Palau | Lindsay Timarong is President and CEO of the Pacific Islands Development Bank, a role she took on in February 2022. The first woman to hold this prestigious position, Lindsay is passionate about serving communities through banking and helping people to achieve their aspirations through banking products designed for their needs.
#Philippines | At the height of the pandemic, Dr. Pia Bagamasbad led a team of students and researchers from UPD-NIMBB in training medical technologists on RT-PCR testing for COVID-19. The training program made significant contributions in rapidly increasing the testing capacity of the country and supporting its pandemic response.
#PNG | Alessandra Mel is a Papua New Guinean development professional with the Pacific Community (SPC), an accredited partnership broker, and a single mother and is determined to contribute to positive change in her community.
#PNG | Arianne Kassman was appointed CEO of Transparency International PNG in 2017. No stranger to anti-corruption work, Arianne has been involved in advocacy for fighting corruption since her teens.
#Samoa | Donina Va’a has worked as a community program manager, early childhood specialist, and a passionate advocate for including Pacific communities in decision-making.
#Samoa | Shelley Burich is not one to let anything get her down. An entrepreneur, a vanilla farmer, an advocate, and a leader, she is motivated by the prospect of trying new things, sharing knowledge, and watching others grow and transform through the power of community.
#SolomonIslands | Christina Lasaqa is CEO of Solomon Telekom; the first woman to serve in the role. Having worked in the Solomon Islands telecommunications industry for two decades, Christina encourages her colleagues to pursue their goals with ambition, confidence, and responsibility.
#SolomonIslands | Cynthia Wickham serves on the boards for Solomon Water and the Tuna Trust Credit Union - leadership roles in which she brings her determination to learn, grow and be of service.
#Thailand | Patricia Mongkhonvanit is the Director-General of the Public Debt Management Office in the Thai Ministry of Finance. She is responsible for overseeing the public debt management strategy and administration to raise funds for the Thai government budget and development projects. She has a key role in developing a domestic bond market for Thailand.
#Thailand | Thisana Thitisakdiskul is CEO and Co-Founder of Thailand’s Noburo Platform Company Limited. Describing herself as persistent, committed, and an inquisitive learner, Thisana believes that technology can help promote gender equality and ensure that people from all walks of life can benefit from innovation.
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Blog: Reducing non-partner gender-based violence with conditional cash transfers in the Philippines
Learn about the study conducted by the East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab (EAPGIL), which evaluated the impact of the Philippines conditional cash transfer program Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (or 4P) on gender-based violence (GBV).
Feature story: ‘You can hear it in their voices’: employment program delivering much more than jobs in Solomon Islands
The Community Access and Urban Enhancement Project (CAUSE) is helping improve the lives of nearly 20,000 people in the Solomon Islands by providing job training, employment opportunities, and short-term income for workers building essential community infrastructure.
Vosa Season 2 Episode 5 - In Conversation: IWD 2022 [External]
Learn about more about women encouraging conversations in the Pacific in the VOSA podcast episode featuring Rhea Moss-Christian of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Vinzealhar Nen of Papua New Guinea.
International Women's Day 2023 around the world
Gender equality and empowerment remains a priority for the World Bank Group – both in our operations and in the organization. To drive transformative change, the World Bank Group’s yearlong Accelerate Equality initiative throughout 2022 explored the important progress made and lessons learned over the last 10 years since the World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development (WDR2012).
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