APEC Economies Push to Break Barriers, Expand Opportunities for Women

Ministers and high-level representatives from across the Asia-Pacific convened in Shanghai on Friday for the 2026 High-Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy in Shanghai, reaffirming that sustainable future is not possible without women's full and equal participation in the economy.

"The international community has a shared responsibility to advance the cause of women,” said Shen Yiqin, State Councilor of China and President of the All-China Women's Federation in her opening remarks.

“In today’s world, the international landscape is fluid and turbulent, the global economy is forging ahead against headwinds, and women’s economic empowerment faces challenging tests,” she added.

She also referenced the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women held in Beijing in 2025, where measures to advance women’s development and economic empowerment were discussed.

State Councilor Shen outlined four areas for collective action among APEC economies to promote women’s development and economic empowerment across the Asia-Pacific.

First, she underlined the importance of fostering an enabling environment for women's growth and development. “We should remain committed to true multilateralism and open regionalism,” State Councilor Shen said, calling on economies to bring greater stability and positive energy to a prosperous Asia-Pacific.

She also stressed the importance of achieving more practical outcomes to support women’s development and ensure that modernization efforts both involve and benefit women.

“We need to enable women's economic empowerment through innovation and proactively address the imbalance and inadequacy of women's development in the region,” she said.

On advancing equality, State Councilor Shen called for strengthening institutions and legal frameworks to support women’s poverty reduction, education, health, employment and social security. “We should turn gender equality into a common value and code of conduct in the Asia-Pacific region,” she added.

Looking ahead, she urged APEC economies to deepen policy dialogue and experience-sharing through the Women and the Economy Forum, while expanding access to education and training, technological empowerment and entrepreneurship support services for women in developing economies.

Throughout the dialogue, ministers and high-level representatives exchanged practical measures to accelerate women's economic participation and leadership amid digital transformation, green growth and rapidly shifting labor markets across the region.

“Let us uphold the spirit of the Asia-Pacific community, deepen exchanges and mutual learning, and advance women’s economic empowerment and all-round development with stronger determination and more concrete actions. This is key to making greater contributions to building an Asia-Pacific community and a community with a shared future for humanity." State Councilor Shen concluded.