Thailand among top countries in women leaders proportion: survey 

A report was launched to mark the International Women’s Day, covering the survey of 5,500 businesses in 36 economies.

This year the research also showed that 25 per cent of businesses in Thailand have no women in senior management, up from 21 per cent last year. The senior management role with the most females in Thailand is CEO (40 per cent) and CFO (34 per cent). Globally, the travel, tourism and leisure industry have the highest proportion of women in senior management (37 per cent).
The annual report reveals that the proportion of senior business roles held by women in the Asia Pacific has risen from 23 per cent in 2016 to 25 per cent in 2017. This has been driven by improvements in emerging countries in the region, which saw the proportion of senior roles held by women rise from 26 per cent in 2016 to 29 per cent in 2017, while in developed countries the percentage remained static at 13 per cent. However, the results of the survey also revealed that the percentage of businesses with no women in senior management across Asia Pacific has also risen, from 31 per cent in 2016 to 35 per cent in 2017.
Noel Ashpole, Assurance and Audit Partner at Grant Thornton in Thailand, said: “This year businesses across Asia Pacific have increased the proportion of senior roles held by women, however, further progress is needed. In particular, the increase in the percentage of businesses with no women in senior management is disappointing and there is a need for businesses to recognising the untapped potential that women can bring to a management team”.

“Whilst Thailand continues to be in the top three countries with women in senior positions, however, the trend is decreasing indicating the need for a continued effort to support women in the workplace. These results indicate that we could end up facing the same problem as developed Asia Pacific countries which only has 13 per cent women in leadership positions. The balance between motherhood and career is one of the biggest challenges for Thai women, since having a family is often a significant priority. As a result, many have to choose between having a family and having a successful and fulfilling career due to the lack in supporting infrastructure.”