The role of regional governance on shaping trade and gender nexus policy in the pandemic and recovery: Asia-Pacific practices and perspectives

The COVID-19 pandemic caused challenges to public health systems and disruptions in international trade and society. This chapter will highlight the role of regional governance in complementing international governance in responding to global crises and addressing gender issues. The discussion concentrates on the Asia-Pacific region, including responses by individual economies and the regional organizations the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The findings show that policy measures responding to the pandemic are progressing dynamically. While policies are primarily concerned with the strength of public health systems and the stability of economic and social situations initially, they will focus on answering specific groups’ needs, including women’s challenges, at a later stage. Besides, comparing the actions between ASEAN and APEC indicates the difference in the governance approach to the trade and gender nexus; that is, the human rights-based versus the economic and technical cooperation (ECOTECH)-oriented approaches. Accordingly, this chapter argues that policy priority and institutional structure are crucial elements behind the diversity of regional governance on gender issues in the Asia Pacific. Finally, it suggests that the experiences of Asia-Pacific regional governance facilitate the understanding of dimensional and cross-cutting gender issues and provide insights into international governance of the trade and gender nexus.