East Asia and the Pacific

There is no doubt that much is being done politically to tackle gender inequality in Timor-Leste.

New legislation supporting gender equality in the workplace has passed through the both houses of Federal Parliament.

Malaysian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a ban on sexist remarks in parliament after a number of cases in which male MPs in the mostly Muslim country have drawn anger with their comments on the floor.

Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) is relying on women voters to propel it back into power in the coming general election.

State BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow said the women's wing of the coalition in the state had an important role to play in garnering votes.

Democracy can legitimize itself in the true sense of the word and spirit only through equal political representation of women.

n next month's general election, politicians — nearly all of them men — will make promises on what they will do to fix the economic morass, but very few of them will mention the role of women in the workforce.

Papua New Guinea’s three women MPs have ruled out supporting legislation for reserved seats for women.

And a prominent supporter of the legislation says the debate over women’s seats may have served its purpose.

Megan Whelan has more.

After a leadership transition that left women off the top table of power, the Chinese government has promoted one of its most senior female officials to be the Communist Party chief of the northern city of Tianjin.