Outcome TLS_D_2.1

By 2025, institutions and people throughout Timor-Leste in all their diversity, especially women and youth, benefit from sustainable economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty.

UN Women in Timor-Leste is facilitating opportunities and advocating for mitigating impact of fuel crisis and enabling environment that women, especially youth, rural women, and women with disabilities to benefit from economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty. 304 Self-employed women and women-owned MSMEs have enhanced understanding and capacity in entrepreneurship skills through learning sessions UN Women delivered in partnership Chamber of Commerce Timor Leste, Timor Aid and Alola Foundation and Baucau Municipal Authority and solar-energy food carts and equipment provided in partnership with UNDP. 121 women owned enterprises in food related business were identified in 3 municipalities Dili, Liquica, and Manatuto and assessed on capacity building and equipment needs to support their business. The Responsible Party is contracted to develop a tailored curriculum and delivery trainings on financial literacy, business plan, and marketing. 36 selected women entrepreneurs completed the training will be provided with equipment and solar panel. 9 selected women through challenge competition will be provided with solar-energy food carts to support their business. 147 weavers (144 women and 3 men) from Baucau, Viqueque and Covalima municipalities have increased their understanding on tais product diversification, use of natural dye, leadership, gender-based violence by participating in the training provided by TAFA. 78 market vendors (39 women and 39 men) in Baucau municipality benefitted from training on financial literacy, GBV and leadership. In addition, UN Women contributed to creating enabling environment for decent work and women’s economic autonomy through strengthening gender-responsive governance for rural women. In 2022, through the support from UN Women Ministry of Public Works and Baucau Municipal Authority have increased their gender-responsive budget in financing their commitments in gender responsive public infrastructure and safety in public spaces.

By 2025, institutions and people throughout Timor-Leste in all their diversity, especially women and youth, benefit from sustainable economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty.

In 2025, Timor-Leste made measurable progress toward expanding sustainable economic opportunities and decent work for women and youth through strengthened institutional capacity, inclusive policy dialogue, and targeted skills development. A series of national kick-off workshops and consultations on valuing and investing in the care economy, jointly convened by the Secretariat of State for Equality (SEI), UN Women, and ESCAP brought together senior policymakers, technical staff, civil society, development partners, sub-national authorities, and the UN Country Team. These consultations enhanced cross-sectoral understanding of the care economy as a driver of inclusive growth and increased institutional awareness of the disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic work on women’s economic participation. As a result, national and sub-national actors strengthened their capacity to design and coordinate gender-responsive economic, labour, and social protection policies. The first-ever Timor-Leste Working Group on the Care was officially launched during the “Valuing and Investing in the Care Economy: Timor-Leste Kickoff Workshop”, in June 2025, co-chaired by the Secretariat of State for Equality and the Secretariat of State for Vocational Training and Employment, with technical support from UN Women and CSOs including WWCTL and Oxfam. This multi-stakeholder platform marks a significant step toward institutionalizing care as a strategic area for sustainable economic growth and gender equality. The establishment of this mechanism reflects the government’s commitment to investing in and valuing unpaid care and domestic work, a sector predominantly carried out by women and often unrecognized in economic planning. This year, by catalysing policy dialogue, inter-ministerial coordination, and civil society engagement on Care work, the TLCO contributes to strengthening institutional capacity to create gender-responsive policy on Care economy. Under the EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies Project, UN Women strengthened institutional and community-level capacities to promote climate-resilient livelihoods. A Training of Trainers (ToT) reached 101 participants (49 women, 52 men) from the Secretariat of State for Climate Protection and the Civil Protection Authority, with 25 certified trainers subsequently delivering municipal-level trainings that reached an additional 256 participants (107 women, 149 men). Pre- and post-test analysis for 132 participants showed an average knowledge increase of 2.1 percent, indicating strengthened capacity to apply gender- and human rights-based approaches to climate action, disaster risk reduction, and renewable energy initiatives. Further progress focused on women’s entrepreneurship and climate-resilient livelihoods. Advanced ToT sessions strengthened the capacity of 21 Agriculture Promotion Center staff to support gender-responsive entrepreneurial development, while follow-up trainings for women entrepreneurs in Covalima, Ermera, and Viqueque reached 191 participants (165 women, 26 men), exceeding the target of 170. Participants demonstrated improved practical knowledge of renewable energy solutions, low-carbon technologies, and climate-smart business practices, with pre- and post-test results confirming measurable learning gains. Women reported increased confidence to diversify income sources, invest in renewable energy technologies, and strengthen business resilience. At the regional level, Timor-Leste enhanced its institutional commitment to gender-responsive climate action through participation in regional knowledge exchange platforms. Engagement in the Asia-Pacific Regional Cross-Learning Workshop on Gender-Responsive Climate Action strengthened national understanding of gender integration in climate financing, data systems, budgeting, and intersectoral coordination, and reinforced government commitments to mainstream gender equality and women’s empowerment within NDC 3.0 and national climate strategies. Significant progress was also achieved in expanding decent work and employability opportunities for rural youth through the STEP pilot project, implemented by UN Women in partnership with the Ministry of Education, INFORDEPE, and the UK–ASEAN SAGE Programme. Pedagogical capacity was strengthened through a 12-day Training of Teachers for 22 instructors (9 women, 13 men), who demonstrated a 63 percent average increase in knowledge and skills following training and mentoring. These strengthened capacities translated into improved delivery of gender-responsive, learner-centred training. Subsequently, 100 students (80 women, 20 men) from Community Learning Centres and TVET institutions in Lautem and Oe-Cusse completed a 50-day in-person entrepreneurship and skills training. Students reported improved confidence, communication skills, financial literacy, digital competencies, and practical application of entrepreneurial concepts. Outcome-level results were evidenced by students’ ability to apply skills to real market contexts, including launching or expanding small businesses, developing new products, and engaging in income-generating activities. These gains were reinforced through Entrepreneurship Forums and Fairs held in Lautem and Oe-Cusse, which connected 310 participants (189 women, 121 men), including trained students, with markets, business associations, government institutions, and potential partners. The events strengthened market linkages, promoted youth entrepreneurship, and enhanced pathways for sustainable economic participation, particularly for rural young women. Collectively, these interventions demonstrate strengthened institutional capacity, enhanced skills, and increased access to economic opportunities, contributing directly to improved livelihoods and decent work for women and youth across Timor-Leste.

By 2025, institutions and people throughout Timor-Leste in all their diversity, especially women and youth, benefit from sustainable economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty.

In 2024, Timor-Leste made significant strides in fostering sustainable economic opportunities and decent work for women, youth, and marginalized groups , d i r e c t l y c o n t r i b u t i n g t o p o v e r t y r e d u c t i o n a n d e c o n o m i c e m p o w e r m e n t . Tais Women Weavers came togther to established t he first ever registered alliance - Rede Soru Na’in ( RSN ) , leveraging the support UNW provided in partnership with Timor Aid and Alola Foundation . In 2024, UN Women contributed to this by establishing and expanding the National Weavers Association (Rede Soru Na’in - RSN) a c ross all RSN was expanded to all the 13 municipalities of Timor-Leste with further support from UNW and CSO partners. . With the UN Women's support, RSN membership grew from 600 to over 1,600, including men and LGBTQI+ individuals, transforming the association into a dynamic platform for peer networking, collective voice building, and economic empowerment . RSN was established by UN Women in partnership with two of the largest CSO in the country - Timor Aid and Alola Foundation. RSN opened a retail front in Dili, with the support of UN Women and Timor Aid. The retail store i s managed and operated by the RSN member s with Timor Aid’s support. It serve s d as a vital link between rural artisans and national and international markets, generating USD 92,140 in sales in 2024 alone. This initiative d i r e c t l y s u p p l e m e n t e d t h e i n c o m e o f o v e r Through RSN 300 women weavers increased their income and further demonstrated the economic potential of Timor-Leste’s artisans. Approximately 10,000 women in Timor-Leste rely on weaving textiles as their source of income and 52.9 % live on less than $1.25 a da y ( https://web.archive.org/web/20190402214407/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf . The Government of Timor-Leste recognized and appreciated the RSN initiative for its impact, which aligns with SDG 5. and UNSDCF Outcome 5, focusing on empowering excluded populations to access opportunities, claim their rights and fully participate in economic, social, and community life. prominence of RSN was further solidified through advocacy and leadership initiatives, including its General Assembly at the President’s Palace, where key decisions to ensure the association’s sustainability and growth were made.

By 2025, institutions and people throughout Timor-Leste in all their diversity, especially women and youth, benefit from sustainable economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty.

Rural women represent 31.22% of the population in Timor-Leste and are amongst those furthest behind in accessing their economic rights and livelihood opportunities. In 2018, the Government of Timor-Leste adopted the second Maubisse Declaration to improve the lives of rural women and girls over a five-year period (2018-2023). Declaration targets include policies that ensure 30% of those employed on public infrastructure projects in rural areas are women, greater participation of women-owned businesses, and improved disaggregated of data for better monitoring of public infrastructure project implementation. Recognizing that Tais weaving is a sector with potential do enable rural women to be economically empowered, UN Women has consistently invested in supporting women weavers as a sub-group particularly marginalized. The network includes 600 rural women from across the country organised in municipal subgroups that now access to organised capacity building, business orientation, marketing, and other forward linkages. These forward linkages include a range of upskilling initiative such as access to gender responsive production infrastructure, upmarket commercial retail spaces and a coalition of global designer as advisory group to support product diversification. The weaver’s group has its own following on social media that includes the honourable President of Timor Leste. Further, the women weaver’s economic collective with the support of UN Women launched the first ever upscale retail space completely owned and managed by Women Weavers in the heart of Dili, the capital city generating generating a total revenue of 33,432.50 USD from August - December 2023. The store, first of its kind, is a critical milestone in the efforts of government and development partners in the country to strengthen women’s associations, while at the same time safeguarding and promoting the traditional art of Tais in Timor-Leste.

By 2025, institutions and people throughout Timor-Leste in all their diversity, especially women and youth, benefit from sustainable economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty.

Progress towards the outcome indicator is on track in providing and facilitating opportunities and advocating for enabling environment that women, especially youth, rural women, and women with disabilities to benefit from economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty. UN Women contributed to income security, decent work and economic autonomy of 308 women and 117 men, 160 rural women (Tais weavers) in Lautem and Oe Cusse and (157 women and 3 men) including 48 youths (47 women and 1 man) by knowledge development on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, product development and marketing through capacity building sessions provided by Timor Aid, Alola Foundation, ANZ Bank and Women’s Empowerment Principles signatory, who provided on Pro-Bono financial literacy training to the weavers. In continuing advocating for decent work and women’s economy autonomy, UN Women published the analysis on challenges of women in the Tourism sector in Timor-Leste and provided policy recommendations for the relevant stakeholders. The “ For equality and the economy: Exploring the Gender Dimensions of Timor-Leste’s tourism sector” had helped the Ministry of Tourism and Industry secure funding to support community tourism project from the UN World Tourism Organization. “The pieces of evidence from the “ For equality and the economy: Exploring the Gender Dimensions of Timor-Leste’s tourism sector” report had helped us make a case and secured funding for Women Empowerment and Tourism Recovery Project in Timor Leste from the UN World Tourism Organization through the Enhance Integrated Framework Fund” quoted H.E. Ms. Inacia da Conceicao Terxeira, Vice Minister for Community and Cultural Tourism. The report launching event also provided platform for knowledge sharing by the key stakeholders in tourism and hospitality and providing insights on how private sector can play active role in recognizing inequality and promoting women empowerment within the organizations. In addition, UN Women conducted research on unpaid care work situations in Timor -Leste to assess situations and provide policy recommendations, including comparing burden on unpaid care work and domestic works before and during COVID-19 pandemic. This research provided evidence to advocate for policy recommendations to improve conditions that holding back progress on women's economic empowerment. The findings stated disproportionate burden on unpaid care work responsible by women compared to men and highlighted the importance of improving the coverage of social protection and public services, and investment in the care economy, empowering women economic capacity through education and decent paid work, advocating and sensibilizing the issues of unpaid care work with the local authorities and local communities, strengthening mutual dialogue and cooperation with the government as well as with development partners and CSOs. UN Women contributed to creating enabling environment for decent work and women’s economic autonomy through strengthening gender-responsive governance for rural women. In 2021, UN Women signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Baucau Municipal Authority on the four-year (2021-2024) collaboration aiming at enhancing gender-responsive policy in markets management, building the capacity of the market vendors.