Understanding gender gaps across life stages in the ASEAN region

The study, Pathways to progress: understanding gender gaps across life stages in the ASEAN region applies an innovative lifecycle monitoring framework to identify progress and persistent barriers for girls, women and marginalised groups.  

Conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) through the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’ Education (ASEAN-UK SAGE) Programme, the research connects educational, social and economic outcomes across 3 life stages: early childhood to primary, adolescence, and young adulthood. Linking data across these points, the framework shows how norms and systemic barriers evolve, shaping access to learning and opportunity. 

Jeaniene Spink, Director of ACER’s Education and Development team explains: 

'If we want to address inequity meaningfully, we need to understand how educational, social and economic outcomes accumulate across the stages of life. A single data point cannot capture the complexity of these challenges, but a lifecycle approach helps us see the full story.'

ACER tested the framework through case studies in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Timor-Leste (CLT), using demographic, household, and labour force surveys, and generating new indicators such as grade attainment. Quantitative analysis was complemented by reviews of national and regional literature and policy. 

Key findings 

Across the 3 countries, strong progress has been made in closing gender gaps in education, health and social outcomes. Girls and women now achieve more years of schooling, higher grade attainment, and greater participation in post-secondary education. Fertility rates have declined, with young women having fewer children and later in life. 

However, these education gains are not translating into equal economic outcomes. Education strongly predicts income and formal employment, yet men consistently see higher returns from schooling and work experience.  

In some ASEAN countries, women require up to 6 additional years of education to achieve the same economic outcomes as men. Marriage and childbirth further constrain women’s labour market participation, while having little or even positive effects for men. 

Persistent challenges remain in foundational learning. Access to early childhood education is low across the region, disproportionately excluding marginalised children. Early disadvantage compounds over time, with insufficient learning in primary school leading to grade repetition and higher dropout rates in both primary and secondary school. 

Patterns of out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) are shifting, highlighting the need to understand how gender and socioeconomic factors intersect to shape exclusion from education.  

Labour market analysis highlights the increasing value of completing at least lower-secondary education to access formal employment. Yet only 1 in 2 adolescents in CLT countries reach this milestone. 

A data map to strengthen evidence-informed action 

Alongside the research, ACER has expanded its data map, a regional data visualisation tool built on the lifecycle monitoring framework. Originally released in 2024 to map publicly available data across 11 ASEAN countries, the platform has now been enhanced with new trends analysis. 

The 2025 update introduces time-series data for selected indicators from 2000–2023, enabling users to explore how outcomes have changed over time – both within and across countries, and among different population groups. This deeper view supports more nuanced tracking of progress, stagnation and emerging inequalities. 

Why this matters 

As ASEAN member states work towards narrowing development gaps and advancing gender equality, the lifecycle monitoring approach offers a powerful tool. By integrating data across life stages, it highlights the interplay between gender, education, social norms and economic opportunity – and points to where targeted, timely interventions can drive the greatest impact. 

The CLT findings illustrate the progress achieved and the systemic barriers that persist. Combined with the expanded regional data map, this research provides governments, development partners and policymakers with an evidence base to shape more equitable policies across the region. 

About the ASEAN-UK SAGE Programme 

The ASEAN-UK SAGE Programme is the first project to be implemented under the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action (2022-26). The 5-year programme aims to support ASEAN member states to develop effective policies and programmes that improve foundational learning and tackle constraints limiting the achievement of girls, women and marginalised groups. The ASEAN-UK SAGE programme is delivered by British Council and SEAMEO Secretariat, in partnership with EdTech Hub and the Australian Council for Educational Research. ASEAN-UK SAGE is an ASEAN cooperation programme funded by the UK. 

About this research  

This research involved a team of ACER researchers, including Debbie Wong, Elizabeth Cassity, Jacqueline Cheng, Jeaniene Spink, Jevelin Wendiady, Toby Carslake and Payal Goundar.