ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the strategies and practices that women deliberately seek to develop and empower themselves to assume leadership roles in the formal sector. Employing a qualitative analysis of interviews undertaken with women in leadership roles, it explores the factors that contribute and influence gender development in Myanmar. The majority of respondents identified culture, traditions and social norms as the main barriers for women to access leadership roles in Myanmar. The chapter examines the challenges and perceived barriers, how these were overcome and the current practices that support women in leadership roles. These findings will be useful for government policymakers, planners and organisations that support the development of women. Women have also increasingly participated in paid labour. This shift in economic status has facilitated women's empowerment and encouraged labour mobility allowing women to move from the agricultural sector to the manufacturing and services sector. Women are moving out of unpaid and informal employment into paid and formal employment.
