In 2021, amid a raging Covid-19 pandemic and confronted by deep political uncertainties brought about by a military coup in Myanmar, some Asean observers floated the idea of having a woman at the helm of the regional group’s secretariat.
Tackling the dual crises might require a different style of leadership, they suggested, and Asean was due to have Cambodia – its next rotating chair – appoint a new secretary-general in 18 months time.
Yet fast forward four years later, the gender glass ceiling for the top echelon of the Asean secretariat has endured. In Asean’s half-century history, all its sec-gens have been male – including current sec-gen Dr. Kao Kim Hourn from Cambodia who was selected via a traditional route from a small pool of candidates with experience serving in the country’s foreign affairs ministry.
Mainstreaming gender issues remains “novel subject matter” for Asean, suggested Apichai Suchindah, a veteran development specialist who has served both in the Asean secretariat and as executive director of the Asean Foundation.
It is why there is a need to “start early” before every selection process to raise awareness among Asean’s 10 member states for acceptance of the idea of more female leadership, including for the regional grouping’s top post, he said.
“What we are trying to say is that we should consider a more open and inclusive process and allow sufficient time to attract more individuals to step forward,” he told Eco-Business.
Last December, Apichai, together with Sharon Seah, senior fellow and coordinator of the Asean Studies Centre at Singapore think tank ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, as well as scientist Dr Dewi Fortuna Anwar, who previously served in the Indonesian government, co-wrote an op-ed, asking once again if the time has come for a female sec-gen of Asean.
In 2028, it will be Indonesia’s turn to nominate the next candidate for the post, which has a non-renewable term of five years; the timing also coincides with Asean’s 60th anniversary.
In the op-ed, the trio proposed that at the very least, there should be a “campaign to start sensitising the gender deficit issue in connection with Asean’s top post”. Public workshops or seminars could be organised, and opinion surveys conducted, they said.
The op-ed, published in Indonesia daily The Jakarta Post, has reignited discussion among Asean watchers, with more chiming in this time to drum up support for rethinking the selection process for the post.
Indonesian researcher Mutiara Indriani who has experience working in the public sector and is now studying pandemic governance in Southeast Asia, argued in another opinion piece published this month that female leadership is more crucial than ever. This is “as the Indo-Pacific faces rising economic, geopolitical and non-traditional security challenges in an era of global volatility.”
“Gender equality is not merely a moral imperative. It is a strategic necessity,” said the PhD candidate and research officer at the Australia National University.
Mutiara added that in Asean’s consensus-driven culture, decision-making often favours dominant voices and appropriate representation is needed to ensure diverse perspectives.
She shared that Asean has in recent years rolled out numerous gender-based initiatives such as the 2021 Asean Gender Mainstreaming Strategic Framework, while Indonesia has gender equality enshrined in its legal framework. “But gender parity remains elusive.”
In 2023, Asean women held 23 per cent of seats in national parliaments, trailing the global average of 27 per cent; only one out of four Asean deputy secretaries-general is female, and males outnumber females by 10 to 2 in director positions.
At Indonesia’s local level, gender-based violence and child marriage are prevalent and thorny issues yet to be resolved, said Mutiara.
The Asean way?
For many who support the cause of appointing a female sec-gen, the wording in the Asean Charter is at the heart of their argument. The Charter says that the selection and appointment of the sec-gen should “give due consideration” to a few criteria, among them gender equality.
Apichai said that it is interesting that despite the explicit mention, the structural issue of having mainly men in the upper echelons of Asean leadership remains.
It could be that Asean is just “not used to the idea yet,” he said. He highlighted the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP’s appointment of Singaporean Dr Noeleen Heyzer as its first woman executive secretary in 2007 as an example; the organisation would go on to select two more female chiefs to serve in the position – its current head is Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana from Indonesia.
For Asean whose main language of diplomacy is consensus and is made up of diverse member states helmed by heads who are still chiefly male, even if Indonesia were to break the trend and appoint a female sec-gen, Apichai said the individual would still have to navigate the complexities of multilateral governance.
“Because of the way Asean is structured, the sec-gen is neither secretary nor general,” he said. “She will need to be able to fit in. You may break the glass ceiling but you will still have to face a lot of men in the crowd.”
One also needs to know that the role [of sec-gen] has never been competitive, said Sita Zimpel, project and team lead, regional economic integration in Asean, at Bonn-headquartered development agency GIZ. To search from outside “the usual circles”, such as in the private sector or civil society, would involve a mindset change.
“It might be necessary to also find someone who is familiar with and able to navigate the politics and know the Asean way. She would need to build alliances with leaders from the member states.”
But Sita believes that there is no shortage of candidates. Female politicians have been making their mark in different international organisations. Other than ESCAP’s Armida, she also named Retno Marsudi, former minister for foreign affairs in the cabinet of Joko Widodo and current United Nations special envoy on water, as well as Sri Mulyani Indrawati, former managing director and chief operating officer of the World Bank.
Mutiara also said there are individuals such as Asean veteran Adelina Kamal who has risen up the ranks in the organisation and is experienced in humanitarian and disaster management.
Indonesian women who have made their mark in different international organisations, including (clockwise from top left) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana from UN ESCAP, Sri Mulyani Indrawati formerly from the World Bank, Retno Marsudi, former foreign affairs minister and now UN special envoy of water, as well as Asean veteran Adelina Kamal. Images: Earth Negotiations Bulletin, Ekonomi Bisnis
In a LinkedIn post last week, Sita shared her observations while attending the Asean Future Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as current chair of the regional grouping, had called for “the brotherhood of Asean” to come together to build cohesion and centrality in his keynote address.
She wrote: “Sitting through yet another leaders ‘manel’, I could not help but wonder: Although women in Asean have made significant strides in assuming leadership roles, they remain heavily underrepresented. The number of women leaders at the grassroots level of politics has also flatlined.”
Sita told Eco-Business that beyond gender, she hopes to see the Asean sec-gen role strengthened and for more inclusive selection. She said that women who have held the highest office as heads of states in some Southeast Asian countries have come from elite backgrounds or political dynasties, and there is much more work to do for inclusivity besides appointing a female sec-gen for Asean.
But for a start, advancing a woman to the top of the Asean secretariat would require advocacy efforts. “This would generate public buy-in and for Indonesia to cast a wider net and source from a pool of suitably qualified candidates,” she said.
Eco-Business has reached out to the Asean secretariat for its response to these calls.
