Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Jaclyn Berfond was quoted in this piece.
Women are underrepresented in the southeast Asian business and political world, often held back by gaps in education or opportunity.
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Another relevant point is the region’s often-complicated rules on ownership which can prevent them from purchasing land, or entering the marketplace to get the equipment and facilities to grow their business. “If a woman starts a business and she’s relying on informal financing, it’s not going to grow at the rate a formally financed man’s small businesses will grow,” says Jaclyn Berfond, a Research, Monitoring and Evaluation specialist at Women’s World Banking. This entrenched problem often keeps a woman’s business ambitions low-key.
