Roundup: More needs to be done to promote Thai women's role, says PM

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o- cha has urged Thais to promote the role of Thai women in society and to further empower them.

"Thai women now play diverse roles in the various functions of society, and countless female individuals have demonstrated their capability in acting as an important driving force behind the country's economic and social progress," Prayut said in his weekly TV program on the eve of the International Women's Day.

Despite improvement in women's role, Prayut called on all Thais to contribute in further empowering women so that they can become agents of change in Thai society.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which emphasizes doing away with discrimination against women and promoting gender equality.

"While gender equality exists in Thai laws, in reality there is still much to be done to realize the objective of these laws. The proportion of Thai women in business and politics is still much lower compared to men," Siriluk Chaipropasit, director of the Confucius Institute at Assumption University, said.

Siriluk is also a member of the International Women's Club.

In fact, the proportion of Thai women in business in early 2015 is only 27 percent, dropping by 10 percentage points from the previous year, according to Grant Thornton's annual survey, which was released on the occasion of this year's celebration of International Women's Day.

Julaporn Namchaisiri, managing director of Corporate Finance Services at Grant Thornton in Thailand, said that a report released recently by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) of Thailand showed that in 2040, the country's total workforce will drop to 35.2 million from the current 40 million.

"As the total workforce starts to decline, more of the younger members need to work. At the same time, the NESDB report showed that the number of people in Thailand aged 60 and above will rocket to 20.5 million in 2040, or 32 percent of the country's total population," Julaporn said.

Julaporn said that one disturbing result of the survey is that there has been an increasing trend for senior women in Thailand to seek early retirement to look after members of their family.

"The net effect is a reduction in the number of experienced and top women executives in both the public and private sectors thus creating a serious brain drain," he said.

According to Siriluk, while there are fewer women than men holding top business positions, there are more women who have excelled in the education sector with more and more Thai women now working as deans or professors in various schools and universities in Thailand.

"The contribution of these women in the education sector is highly appreciated by Thai society. Their role in molding the future of Thai youths is an invaluable service to the nation," Siriluk said.

She also urged young Thai women to pursue their studies and become professionals so that they will not only be assured of a better future but would also contribute to Thai society and promote gender equality.

For her part, Areerat Thanapakpawin, business development manager of Thailand Novaleaf Software Company and vice president of Thai Elite Group of Chinese-Thailand Young Executive Program, called on Thai women to achieve not just personal but also professional success and satisfaction in life.

She said that it is important for Thai women to break from their traditional role as plain housewives and to strive for excellence in various fields of endeavor. "We have to have confidence in ourselves, in our ability to pursue our own dreams for a better life," she said. Endi