The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has published research on how to promote and strengthen equal opportunities for women to take leadership roles in political, economic, and public life (SDG target 5.5). According to in-depth interviews with 17 women leaders from 14 countries, to become leaders women must have: access to productive resources, such as agricultural land; a supportive family environment and positive role models; informal opportunities to take leadership roles; and temporary special measures such as gender quotas for parliaments. ESCAP member States have pledged to make gender equality and women’s empowerment a central issue of the regional policy agenda.