Tackling discriminatory social norms and practices – such as those restricting women’s decision-making power or limiting their access to economic resources and assets – can translate to an additional 3.3 percentage points in annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Southeast Asia alone.

Since 2009, the OECD Development Centre has shed light on the structural and multiple barriers affecting women’s and girls’ lives in developing and developed countries through the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI). The SIGI measures discrimination against women in social institutions across 180 countries. By taking into account laws, social norms and practices, the SIGI captures the underlying drivers of gender inequality, with the aim of promoting gender-transformative policies that are built on data and evidence. The SIGI is also one of the official data sources for monitoring Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 5.1.1.

The Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is a unique cross-country measure of discriminatory social institutions, which include formal and informal laws, social norms and practices that restrict women’s and girls’ rights, access to empowerment opportunities and resources. The SIGI comprises four components that provide policy makers with facts and evidence in order to enhance governments’ efforts to deliver their gender equality commitments ().

In the quarter century since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), Southeast Asian governments have accelerated their commitments to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. All Southeast Asian countries have ratified the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, which aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the ASEAN Gender Mainstreaming Strategic Framework in 2020. Yet, the region still has a long path toward gender equality. The Social Institutions and Gender Index 2021 Regional Report for Southeast Asia demonstrates that discrimination in laws, social norms and practices in Southeast Asia remains high compared with the rest of the world. The economic cost of discriminatory social institutions for Southeast Asia amounts to around USD 200 billion, accounting for 7.5% of the regional gross domestic product (GDP) and translates into a loss of USD 1 853 per capita. While wide variation exists across Southeast Asian countries, the region displays high levels of discrimination in terms of intra-household dynamics and caregiving roles, labour status, political representation as well as pervasive domestic violence. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates women’s vulnerabilities and reinforces pre-existing imbalances. In this context, this report explores how discriminatory social institutions hinder women’s empowerment and gender equality. It also calls for governments to take urgent action to build truly inclusive societies.

This chapter presents an overview of the results for the Southeast Asian region based on the fourth edition of the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) in 2019 and its four dimensions: “Discrimination in the family”, “Restricted physical integrity”, “Restricted access to productive and financial resources”, and “Restricted civil liberties”. It outlines the main areas of progress and challenges regarding formal and informal laws, social norms, and practices related to gender equality in 11 countries in Southeast Asia. Uncovering the high economic cost induced by discriminatory social institutions, it highlights that reforms aimed at achieving gender equality could “turn lead into gold” and convert existing gender-based discrimination into an opportunity to accelerate economic growth and well-being. The chapter also explores the interaction between women’s empowerment and discriminatory social institutions by examining four core perspectives: health, education, economics and decision making. Finally, building on the evidence uncovered by the SIGI, this chapter provides a set of policy recommendations to enhance Southeast Asian governments’ efforts to deliver on their gender equality commitments and make progress towards achieving SDG 5.

This chapter presents an overview of women’s discrimination in the four key dimensions of the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI): “Discrimination in the family”, “Restricted physical integrity”, “Restricted access to productive and financial resources, and “Restricted civil liberties” in Southeast Asian countries. It examines discriminatory social institutions – formal and informal laws, social norms and practices – that limit women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment over their life course. The chapter also seeks to provide policy makers with the necessary tools and evidence to design effective gender-responsive policies to tackle gender inequality in the four dimensions of the SIGI.