“Increasing women’s economic empowerment is not only the right thing to do, it is also smart economics.” -Ndiame Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The Philippines is known in the East Asia and Pacific region for its policy, legislative, and institutional framework for gender equality. Read about how the World Bank supports the Philippines reduce inequalities between men and women, boys and girls in the Country Gender Action Plan for the Philippines