Philippines Leads ASEAN Gender Equality Transformation for 2045

By: WE Staff | Monday, 11 May 2026

• The Philippines is leading ASEAN’s gender equality agenda for 2045
• The declaration aims to tackle the root causes of inequality across ASEAN sectors
• Leaders stressed full inclusion of women and girls in ASEAN’s growth and development

The Philippines is leading a game-changing development agenda for Southeast Asia, bringing regional leaders together to create a historic declaration and agenda to reduce structural inequalities for 340 million women and girls by 2045.

The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) on Monday released a news release stating that as the current Chair of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW), the country co-hosted a high-level consultation workshop on Tuesday of last week to further develop the "ASEAN Declaration on the Gender-Transformative Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

PCW Chairperson and ACW Chair Ermelita Valdeavilla stressed that the "people-centered" ASEAN is impossible to have if half of its population is on the fringes.

“This is why we must progress—decisively and without turning back—from a gender-responsive approach to a gender-transformative one. Not to concentrate on treating the symptoms of inequality, but on dismantling its root causes,” Valdeavilla said.

She added that the goal is not merely to help women "survive discriminatory structures" but to restructure power arrangements so that all human beings can thrive.

During the workshop, organizers explained that a gender transformative approach is not about gender identity transition. Rather, it is a governance strategy that aims to advance on past achievements – including the 2017 ASEAN Declaration that was adopted during the Philippines' last ASEAN Chairmanship – to systemic reform.

The declaration is designed to put these principles into practice in the strategic plans of all three pillars of ASEAN — political-security, economic, and socio-cultural.

The inputs from the consultation will be incorporated to further fine-tune the draft which will subsequently be validated at the 6th ASEAN Gender Mainstreaming Steering Committee Meeting, said PCW Executive Director and ACW Philippines Focal Person Nharleen Santos-Millar.

“We are not just drafting a declaration; we are ensuring that the 'Resilient, Innovative, and Dynamic' ASEAN we envision is one where every woman, man, girl, and boy can meaningfully contribute to and benefit from our regional community-building agenda,” Santos-Millar said.