Feminist Finance

Meet the businesses and corporate leaders driving forward a feminist agenda in Southeast Asia.

Through the high pressure air shower, plastic strip curtains, and onto the factory floor, what makes USM different to other medical manufacturers becomes quickly apparent. 60% of the employees at this Vietnamese medical device development company are women. Its founder, Vo Xuan Boi Lam, is outspoken about her drive to create an enabling environment for women employees and is determined to instill gender equitable values across her workforce. Lam is herself something of a pioneer as one of the few women CEOs in this sector in Vietnam. She set up USM in 2015: the first company in the country to produce cardiovascular products, intravenous catheters and other medical equipment specifically for the domestic market. Other businesses such as TEKY in Ho Chi Minh City aim to empower children through exposure to STEM subjects, focusing particularly on young girls, while SWEEF Capital secures investment for women-led businesses such as Lam’s.

This ongoing photography and video project for UNESCAP aims to show how feminist strategies can fundamentally strengthen businesses. Social corporate responsibility is essential to realising gender equality and the sustainable development goals more widely.