Australia Lags Behind Thailand On Women Bosses

[LindsayBKK]

* Australia trails Thailand on women in top jobs

* Women 'hold 27pc of senior roles in Australia'

* More affordable childcare, nannies in Thailand news.com.au

AUSTRALIA has more women in senior management jobs than the global average, but it is still streets behind the world's forerunner, Thailand.

Research by business consultant Grant Thornton has found that the number of women holding senior management positions in Australian privately held businesses has grown 4 per cent since 2009.

It found that 27 per cent of senior positions are held by women, ahead of the global average of 20 per cent.

But the consultant says there is still significant work to be done.

Despite the improvement, Australia is still ranked 16th in the world, trailing Thailand where women hold 45 per cent of senior management roles.

"While Thailand's high ranking may come as a surprise to some, we believe that the availability and affordability of external assistance like extended family, nannies, nurseries and childcare has made it easier for women to move back to the workforce," Grant Thornton Australia director and leader of its Women's Initiative Nicole Bradley says.

She said making childcare more accessible and affordable in Australia would not only help Australian woman to rejoin the workforce, but increase the number of women holding senior positions.

"The Australian business community can only go so far to increasing the number of women in senior positions," she said releasing the research findings.

"It is also up to the government to support women returning to the workforce by addressing issues like childcare shortages and support."

Still, she said there were still a number of initiatives that businesses can pursue, such as 'family friendly' policies and offering flexible work practices.

The consultant also recommends implementing mentoring and sponsorship programs that focus on actively developing female employees' skills.

[harrycallahan]

So what's the right number? And why is there a right number?

[TheLaughingMan]

This is so foolish, the only reason Thailand has more women in these kinds of positions is because on average Thai women work harder then Thai men. For whatever reason, culturally, women here are way more responsible than men. Its certainly not because Thailand is somehow more enlightened and ahead of the game in equality.

[Kilgore Trout]

This is so foolish, the only reason Thailand has more women in these kinds of positions is because on average Thai women work harder then Thai men. For whatever reason, culturally, women here are way more responsible than men. Its certainly not because Thailand is somehow more enlightened and ahead of the game in equality.

Agreed, and also, management positions in thailand must be thought of with a grain of salt; the only person in most Thai business heirarchy that have any real power are the owners (ceo's), slap whatever title you want on someone, they have little decision or policy making power.

[GreenSnapper]

There is a simple answer if you want a higher job position:

Work more, study harder, moan less. Men do it for centuries.

It is hilarious that the most privileged and pampered women in the world, living in Western countries, are constantly moaning about some alleged "discrimination".

Do the same work as men do, and you can have the same respect. But if you believe that just being a woman does make you automatically superior, you are plain wrong.

[Berkshire]

This is so foolish, the only reason Thailand has more women in these kinds of positions is because on average Thai women work harder then Thai men. For whatever reason, culturally, women here are way more responsible than men. Its certainly not because Thailand is somehow more enlightened and ahead of the game in equality.

Agreed, and also, management positions in thailand must be thought of with a grain of salt; the only person in most Thai business heirarchy that have any real power are the owners (ceo's), slap whatever title you want on someone, they have little decision or policy making power.

You guys are amazing (note heavy sarcasm). Any study that might suggest something positive about Thailand, you guys have to sh*t on it. If the results had been the opposite, i.e., "Thailand lags behind Australia on Women Bosses," I'm sure you guys wouldn't be questioning the findings, but rather blasting Thailand for being discriminatory against women. How about give it a rest, why don't you.

[Kilgore Trout]

This is so foolish, the only reason Thailand has more women in these kinds of positions is because on average Thai women work harder then Thai men. For whatever reason, culturally, women here are way more responsible than men. Its certainly not because Thailand is somehow more enlightened and ahead of the game in equality.

Agreed, and also, management positions in thailand must be thought of with a grain of salt; the only person in most Thai business heirarchy that have any real power are the owners (ceo's), slap whatever title you want on someone, they have little decision or policy making power.

You guys are amazing (note heavy sarcasm). Any study that might suggest something positive about Thailand, you guys have to sh*t on it. If the results had been the opposite, i.e., "Thailand lags behind Australia on Women Bosses," I'm sure you guys wouldn't be questioning the findings, but rather blasting Thailand for being discriminatory against women. How about give it a rest, why don't you.

No, you are wrong. If I thought there was any merit to it I would be the first to applaud Thailand. I do, however have a bit of perspective seeing that I have worked for Thai companies for more than 10 years now. Thailand is all about show, dig a bit deeper and you might be surprised at the lack of substance you find.

I am also very dubious about these so called "studies." If you take them for face value I would suggest you take a college level statistics course

[TheLaughingMan]

This is so foolish, the only reason Thailand has more women in these kinds of positions is because on average Thai women work harder then Thai men. For whatever reason, culturally, women here are way more responsible than men. Its certainly not because Thailand is somehow more enlightened and ahead of the game in equality.

Agreed, and also, management positions in thailand must be thought of with a grain of salt; the only person in most Thai business heirarchy that have any real power are the owners (ceo's), slap whatever title you want on someone, they have little decision or policy making power.

You guys are amazing (note heavy sarcasm). Any study that might suggest something positive about Thailand, you guys have to sh*t on it. If the results had been the opposite, i.e., "Thailand lags behind Australia on Women Bosses," I'm sure you guys wouldn't be questioning the findings, but rather blasting Thailand for being discriminatory against women. How about give it a rest, why don't you.

This is a false "something positive about Thailand" so not sure what you want me to do about that. Lie? If you look at just statistics without examining the reason behind it Thailand looks great. For example, Thaksin fixed the poverty problem in Bangkok overnight. Looks great if you only look at the stats, but if you look deeper you realise the stats are based on the poverty levels of the "revised" map of Bangkok, one day they simply deleted the slums from the map and bingo bango presto Thanksin solved the poverty level problem.

[isanbirder]

The trouble with statistics like this is that they don't say what is meant by 'top jobs'. In Australia the Governor-General is a woman, the PM is a woman, the PM of Queensland is a woman... and how much higher can you go?

And what does it all mean? Nothing.

[Berkshire]

You guys are amazing (note heavy sarcasm). Any study that might suggest something positive about Thailand, you guys have to sh*t on it. If the results had been the opposite, i.e., "Thailand lags behind Australia on Women Bosses," I'm sure you guys wouldn't be questioning the findings, but rather blasting Thailand for being discriminatory against women. How about give it a rest, why don't you.

This is a false "something positive about Thailand" so not sure what you want me to do about that. Lie? If you look at just statistics without examining the reason behind it Thailand looks great. For example, Thaksin fixed the poverty problem in Bangkok overnight. Looks great if you only look at the stats, but if you look deeper you realise the stats are based on the poverty levels of the "revised" map of Bangkok, one day they simply deleted the slums from the map and bingo bango presto Thanksin solved the poverty level problem.

Be serious dude, you can find holes in ANY study. What I find laughable is that the TV readership can be so freakin predictable. You're just trying to find reasons to bash Thailand. Bad news about Thailand. Thais suck. Good news about Thailand. Well it's tainted and Thais still suck. Truth is, I can rip any country on just about any topic. But you guys are like a broken record. I'm guessing the news/study is not consistent with your Thai-bashing agenda. So the news has to be biased, or skewed, or defective in some way. Yada yada yada.....

[Berkshire]

And what does it all mean? Nothing.

It means that "AUSTRALIA has more women in senior management jobs than the global average, but it is still streets behind the world's forerunner, Thailand." I don't think it can be any clearer than that.

[nathanmorning]

I actually respect a lot of Thai girls (not including nightlife girls) and a lot work hard, most of the blokes are lazy bastards. If the Thai men get their act together and work as hard as the women here, Thailand might be a different place.

Maybe they need a woman running the country lol

[lannarebirth]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

[newsite12]

Is it something to do with Aussie women looking and acting like men... maybe a lot of these men are actually women in the Australian top jobs.

[TheLaughingMan]

You guys are amazing (note heavy sarcasm). Any study that might suggest something positive about Thailand, you guys have to sh*t on it. If the results had been the opposite, i.e., "Thailand lags behind Australia on Women Bosses," I'm sure you guys wouldn't be questioning the findings, but rather blasting Thailand for being discriminatory against women. How about give it a rest, why don't you.

This is a false "something positive about Thailand" so not sure what you want me to do about that. Lie? If you look at just statistics without examining the reason behind it Thailand looks great. For example, Thaksin fixed the poverty problem in Bangkok overnight. Looks great if you only look at the stats, but if you look deeper you realise the stats are based on the poverty levels of the "revised" map of Bangkok, one day they simply deleted the slums from the map and bingo bango presto Thanksin solved the poverty level problem.

Be serious dude, you can find holes in ANY study. What I find laughable is that the TV readership can be so freakin predictable. You're just trying to find reasons to bash Thailand. Bad news about Thailand. Thais suck. Good news about Thailand. Well it's tainted and Thais still suck. Truth is, I can rip any country on just about any topic. But you guys are like a broken record. I'm guessing the news/study is not consistent with your Thai-bashing agenda. So the news has to be biased, or skewed, or defective in some way. Yada yada yada.....

What are you talking about? There's plenty of good things to say about Thailand but this is not one of them! FULL STOP. Are you telling me you honestly believe an extremely sexist society like Thailands is the leading forerunner of equality and allowing women to get ahead and be the most successful women in the world? You be serious lol.

Thailand IS lacking in so many ways, pointing it out will help make change, ignoring it and pretending it doesnt exist to save face is exactly why Thailand is in the shape its in! More criticism! More pointing out the glaring problems! MORE! MORE! Not less you foolish man.

[Berkshire]

What are you talking about? There's plenty of good things to say about Thailand but this is not one of them! FULL STOP. Are you telling me you honestly believe an extremely sexist society like Thailands is the leading forerunner of equality and allowing women to get ahead and be the most successful women in the world? You be serious lol.

Thailand IS lacking in so many ways, pointing it out will help make change, ignoring it and pretending it doesnt exist to save face is exactly why Thailand is in the shape its in! More criticism! More pointing out the glaring problems! MORE! MORE! Not less you foolish man.

For a "Laughing Man," you seem to get bent pretty quick. Have you ever had a real job in Thailand? I'm telling you dude, women ARE in fact employed in high level positions and in large numbers all over Thailand. In terms of gender equality, Thailand is much better off than most places and yes, that would surprise people. But that alone does not equate to wealth and prosperity. Do you think Japan provides opportunities for their women? Heck no. Japan is much, MUCH worse than almost any country (non-Muslim) in terms of gender equality, yet, they're among the wealthiest, most advanced, safest, educated etc., etc. What gives? Well, gender equality doesn't explain everything. But it does say that Thailand is on the right track...at least some of you can give them that.

[Wallaby]

Perhaps mamasans are included as 'management'.

[tw25rw]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Can you back that up please.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Ok, Captain Obvious to the rescue: The family oriented (or nepotistic, if you will ) nature of many medium sized businesses in Thailand leads to family members ending up in management positions. Not skill, not hard work: family. They can just as easily be female. That's why you get a good number of women in management.

Edited March 7, 2011 by WinnieTheKhwai

[mark45y]

From what I have read most Aussies posting on Thai Visa are very intelligent men. I also think that most of the Aussie men posters here have Thai wives or significant others. So I guess it stands to reason that when Aussies have a choice they pick Thai women for management positions. Unless there are many Aussie men here who think they as opposed to their wives manage the marriage.

[gburns57au]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Not quite right....we sit just behind the UK amd US

[lannarebirth]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Can you back that up please.

What do you mean? You want my travel itineraries?

Have you not been there, and if so, for the past how many years?

[lannarebirth]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Not quite right....we sit just behind the UK amd US

An ignorant statement. It's a tossup which is the least racist (of western countries) country, the UK or the US. Your confusion probably lies in the fact that both countries have such a huge dialougue about racism which maybe you confuse with racist speech.

Anyhow, I've only been to Australia a half a dozen times, starting in the 70's. All I ever heard from the women was about drunken <deleted> beating them, (hopefully not your mum) . Possibly the Aborigines fared better, but I doubt it.

Edited March 7, 2011 by lannarebirth

[kkerry]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Can you back that up please.

What do you mean? You want my travel itineraries?

Have you not been there, and if so, for the past how many years?

So nothing to back it up with. Glad we got that cleared up.

[lannarebirth]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Can you back that up please.

What do you mean? You want my travel itineraries?

Have you not been there, and if so, for the past how many years?

So nothing to back it up with. Glad we got that cleared up.

Back it up how? You want some 3rd party link to who knows what, or might it not be better to talk about actual real experiences.

[kkerry]

So still nothing to back it up with. Thanks for confirming.

[lannarebirth]

So still nothing to back it up with. Thanks for confirming.

What would satisfy you as far as "backing up" is concerned? Are you looking for a CNN article or should we join each other on a Melbourne Saturday night?

edit: Anyhow, here's what 10 seconds of Googling could come up up with. Maybe a 30 second search could come up with more.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/stalked-by-a-culture-of-misogyny/2006/05/21/1148150120229.html

http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/3aw-generic-blog/wake-up-australia-we-are-racist/20100104-lpmr.html

Edited March 7, 2011 by lannarebirth

[tw25rw]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Can you back that up please.

What do you mean? You want my travel itineraries?

Have you not been there, and if so, for the past how many years?

I'm from there and lived most of my life there so naturally took exception to your slurs.

[Deeral]

THe report seems to overlook the hold that the govt elite has on business in Thailand. The prevailing culture will often appoint women to top business positions.however when it comes to real democratic power, Thailand is second to bottom in a survey of women in local government.

[Deeral]

I don't think it's a secret that Australia is the most mysoganistic and racist of all "western" countries. Tell us something we don't know.

Can you back that up please.

What do you mean? You want my travel itineraries?

Have you not been there, and if so, for the past how many years?

I'm from there and lived most of my life there so naturally took exception to your slurs.

Australia certainly has an appalling history itself of oppression of women, race and minorities.

over the last few decades they have done a lot to redress this - most hampered by the old Howard govt - but it is still a country where in certain areas the genders still lead almost completely separate lives.

There was a famous comment made I think in the 1970s by a commentator who failed to see how Australians could procreate as she had observed that the sexes appeared to live totally separate lives.