and footwear. Large enterprises were found to be predominantly owned by men, with women owning only around 7 percent of businesses with more than 100 employees. The report also noted that most MSMEs, including those owned by women, remained in the informal sector, which in turn, hampered access to formal finance.<sup>4</sup> An unpublished assessment of the relationship between gender and firm performance from the World Bank Enterprise Survey data found that female-owned firms tend to have lower sales revenues and number of workers.<sup>5</sup> The assessment also found that firm characteristics such as firm size and sector were driving the performance gap between male and female owned and operated firms, rather than just gender. Further, female-owned small firms in the manufacturing sector consistently had lower labor productivity and sales revenues compared to their maleowned counterparts of the same firm size and in the same sector.

**Myanmar’s social and cultural traits present significant challenges to addressing gender inequality.** While the Constitution prohibits the state from discrimination of its citizens based on gender, the same Constitution also states that “...nothing shall prevent appointment of men to the positions that are suitable for men only.” A gender equality situational analysis for Myanmar noted that over the past decade there have been several improvements in the economic and social status indicators for women in Myanmar.<sup>6</sup> However, this improvement has helped nurture a pervasive assumption that men and women enjoy equal status and opportunity, and that this is a unique trait of Myanmar society. While on paper Myanmar is a signatory to multiple international and regional conventions against discrimination, and the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on gender,<sup>7</sup> in reality, social and cultural norms continue to undermine gender equality. Several parts of the legislation regarding family law, including divorce, are discriminatory towards women. For example, adultery alone, if committed by a man, is not grounds for divorce, however, women found guilty of adultery alone may be ordered by the court to relinquish their rights to joint marital property for the benefit of the husband or children.<sup>8</sup> The situational analysis noted that women continue to bear the major responsibility for unpaid care work in addition to their paid jobs, while men are typically the household heads. A World Bank (2020) study reports that there is a lack of women’s agency over the division of labor in the household and that this constitutes a burden to women. In the survey this was also indicated as the main impediment to accessing both paid labor and community participation. Gender segregation can also be seen in the education system. The Admission Standards page of the government operated Myanmar Maritime University states that 320, or 80 percent of students, will be male, and the remaining 20 percent will be female.<sup>9</sup> Traditional views also shape

> 4 <u>http://www.uncdf.org/download/file/127/6266/uncdf-power-country-assessment---myanmar.pdf</u>

> 5 Women Entrepreneurs in Myanmar: What does the Enterprise Survey Data Tell Us? _Working Document_ , WBG (Anne Ong Lopez, Sjamsu Rahardja) 2017. 6 Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, 2016, Gender equality and women’s rights in Myanmar: A situation analysis.

> 7 At the international level, Myanmar is a signatory to the Beijing Platform for Action and the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). At the regional level, Myanmar is an active member of the ASEAN Commission on Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW). The Myanmar Constitution prohibits the state’s discrimination in many forms against its citizens, including sex. The Constitution also guarantees equal pay for similar work and promises equal rights under the law for both genders.

> 8 Gender Equality Network, “Raising the Curtain: Cultural Norms, Social Practices and Gender Equality in Myanmar,” 48; Crouch, “Promiscuity, Polygyny, and the Power of Revenge: The Past and Future of Burmese Buddhist Law in Myanmar,” 85–104; The Burma Divorce Act, 39 Section X.

> 9 http://www.mmu.edu.mm/AdmissionStandards.aspx (downloaded 22 October 2019).

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