Dynasties and domination

Asia’s rising prosperity might have succeeded in narrowing the gender gap in many countries in health, education, economic opportunity and political empowerment, yet when it comes to leadership, the male remains dominant. In the political sphere, the number of women who have become head of state has been a result of their legacy and dynastic connections and not because of greater gender equality. So why aren’t women rising to the top? 

The forum “Women Leaders and the New Asian Century” held last week at the initiative of Microsoft at Bangkok’s Anantara Hotel celebrated the importance of gender diversity and inclusion, and highlighted policies and practices that help or hinder women’s representation in leadership positions in the private, public and civil society sectors. 

Dr Juree Vichit-Vadakan, former president of the National Institute of Development Administration, notes that although women have risen to various leadership positions, they remain an exception rather than the norm. In the Thai public sector, only 10 per cent of women have reached the first level, 20 per cent are on the second level, and 30 per cent have made it to deputy secretary or the third level. 

“Women pass more exams, they grow, but don’t rise as high as they could. There are very few female board members and of those that are at that level, the majority is in the entertainment business. Most of the women in Asia are legacy cases. They didn’t achieve success alone but through their families,” she says. 

“At the entry level women go up the career ladder at the same pace as men, but after mid-level women get left behind. They get married and have kids and their priorities change. They are committed to their families and responsibilities. There are exceptions but women in Thai politics are mostly single or have grown-up children.”

Juree believes that leadership should be instilled at an early age. 

“The Thai educational system has to change. We should start from the very beginning to change perceptions and women’s roles. At the end of the day, it’s the values system that really determines everything,” she says, adding that the way women are portrayed in the media does nothing to help.

“We dig the gender gap unintentionally and without realising it. Men and women see problems differently. In local politics, male leaders might want to build more roads to the village, while women leaders see the need to install street lights for security because that is what women tend to be concerned about – the safety of family, the quality of life. That’s why it is very important that society has a good balance of both men and women in its leadership,” Juree says.

In the Thai government sector, women appear to have gone backwards. The country got its first female Cabinet member – the late Communications Minister Thanpuying Lersak Sombatsiri – in 1976, late by any standard. When caretaker prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a shining example of the family or legacy connection, came into power, she appointed two women ministers and one deputy minister only to drop all three in her first reshuffle. She has since not appointed any woman to a leading position. 

Dr Maytinee Bhongsvej, secretary general of Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women, says that while there are more women in the political arena than in the 1990s, the figure is still only 16 per cent.

“A female prime minister is more likely to put women’s issues in the spotlight but we need a greater number of women in decision-making positions to really progress. We are working on three fronts to increase these numbers. First of all we work with public to raise awareness towards the role of women in politics. Secondly, we work with institutions. We organise forums to push parties to adopt policies to empower women. We have also contributed to making amendments at the constitutional level. Lastly, we work with women themselves. We train, educate and support women at the national and local levels,” she says.

Caitlin Wiesen, regional manager of the United Nation’s Development Programme Regional Centre, laments the under-representation of women in Asian politics. 

“Only 18 per cent of parliament members in Asia are women, compared to 21.8 per cent worldwide. There are several social barriers here and these include stereotypes of the women’s role, high levels of poverty or illiteracy, male domination of the sector, lack of prioritisation by political parties and limited resources for campaigns,” she says. 

“The female presence in politics doesn’t depend on how developed a country is. For example the highest ratio of women in parliament is in Rwanda (50.3 per cent), while in a highly developed country like Japan, it’s just 8 per cent at both the local and regional decision-making level. Also it doesn’t depend on democracy. In communist China and Vietnam there are more women representatives in the parliament than in democratic states. Women have to break through multiple ‘glass ceilings’. If they are do that, they should be mentored and enjoy better financial funding while the men need to be educated.” 

Roberta Clarke, regional director of the UN Women’s regional office for Asia and the agency’s representative in Thailand is more upbeat about the international outlook. 

“Women have come a long way. There has been an uptick in women’s activism. Women at the board level are rising. But Asia is still lagging behind. There is an unconscious bias of privilege of men over women. We call it ‘social DNA’. Education has improved and women have good access to education on the same terms as men. The landscape is shifting. Feminists are changing the landscape. Men and women are becoming equal partners. How do we get more women? We don’t just want numbers but also men to become more empathetic. We want to break gender stereotypes. The classic gender roles are shifting and now it is okay for a woman to work, while a man can stay at home and look after the children.”

Microsoft Thailand managing director Haresh Khoobchandani is proud of the software giant’s record in hiring women to top posts. 

“Diversity and inclusion are the key factors in every sector,” he says. “We in Microsoft embrace our differences and want to become a part of ‘global revolution”. Fifty-five per cent of Microsoft Thailand’s leadership team is female. We fight for diversity at every level – from entry to senior. It takes deliberate action to ensure a diverse workspace. If you don’t intentionally, deliberately and proactively include, you will unintentionally exclude.”

And with political reform on Thailand’s agenda for the future, both Juree and Maytinee will be pushing hard for the inclusion of women in any committees with decision-making power.