In the region recent economic and employment trends have been mixed, reflecting weak external markets in some cases and resilient domestic demand in others. However, across the region women still face significant barrier for realizing their full economic potential as we observe persistent male-female gap in labour force participation and a disproportionate number of women work in informal sectors. While the overall unemployment situation appears less concerning, decent jobs for young people remains daunting in many parts of Asia-Pacific, and low job quality and productivity remain paramount challenges in the region