Ministers and senior representatives from APEC member economies convened in Incheon on 12 August 2025 for the APEC Women and the Economy Forum, issuing a joint statement under the theme "Promoting Women's Economic Participation for Sustainable Growth."
The statement reflected the outcomes from the 2025 High-Level Dialogue on Women and the Economy, chaired by the Acting Minister of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea, Shin Youngsook.
Ministers underscored the urgency of addressing interconnected challenges, including digital transformation, demographic shifts, and persistent gender gaps, to ensure women's full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership in the economy.
The joint statement outlines concrete actions across three priority areas:
- Promoting growth for all through women's empowerment and greater economic participation and leadership
- Creating safe and enabling environments through the prevention and elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls
- Achieving a sustainable future through building quality care systems
Ministers also emphasized the need to mainstream gender equality across all APEC policies, improve the collection and use of sex-disaggregated data, and strengthen partnerships with the public and private sectors.
They reaffirmed that advancing women's economic empowerment is critical to building resilience and ensuring sustainable, inclusive growth across the Asia-Pacific.
Read the 2025 APEC Women and the Economy Forum Joint Statement
Also read the 2025 APEC Women and the Economy Forum Statement of the Chair
