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More women hold top business posts

By THE NATION

Published on March 8, 2011

Another proof that Thai women are gaining power in business circles was provided by the 2011 Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) survey, which showed that the Kingdom boasts the highest percentage of women holding senior management titles (45 per cent) in privately owned businesses.

The survey showed Thailand at the top of the list with 45 per cent, followed by Georgia, Russia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Countries with the lowest percentages are India, United Arab Emirates and Japan where women hold less than 10 per cent of the senior management positions.

On a global level, women now hold 20 per cent of senior management positions, down from 24 per cent in 2009, and up just 1 per cent from 2004. The percentage of private businesses that have no women in the senior management level has risen to 38 per cent compared to 35 per cent in 2009.

"The Thai working culture provides equal opportunities to both men and women to reach senior management levels. Companies committed to diversifying their leadership mostly ensure that women have an equal shot at 'stretch' assignments such as serving on company-wide task forces, being part of start-up or turnaround operations, and gaining international experience. Top women executives emphasise their love for their jobs and the hard work it took to get there. They ask for challenging assignments and are totally committed," Achara Boonyahansa, business development director of Grant Thornton Thailand, said.

The study revealed that G-7 countries lagged behind the global average with only 16 per cent of women holding senior roles, while regionally, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) scored highest with 27 per cent. Women have become most successful in boosting their share in the senior management level in Thailand, Hong Kong, Greece, Belgium and Botswana, where the percentage of women in these roles has risen by at least 7 per cent since 2009.

IBR showed that globally just 8 per cent of companies with women in senior managerial positions have a female chief executive officer (CEO). However the story is different in Asian economies, with Thailand leading the way with 30 per cent of companies employing female CEOs, followed by China (19 per cent), Taiwan (18 per cent) and Vietnam (16 per cent).

This survey was unveiled to commemorate the International Women's Day today. Also marking the day was a study by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which showed that more women in the Asia-Pacific region were involved in the political field.

Though participation in the national level remains low, the UNDP found that women played a greater role in the rural, urban, district and provincial levels, and that they can have a greater direct impact on people's lives and their livelihood.

As of October last year, the percentage of Thai female representatives at the overall sub-national politics level stood at about 10 per cent, bringing it down to the 15th ranking, while India's percentage was the highest at nearly 40 per cent. In a sub-segment, the percentage of Thai women representatives and heads/chairs of urban councils stood as fifth highest, after China, Australia, Bangladesh and South Korea.

"Women's representation in local councils is critical. Bold steps are needed to significantly increase the numbers," said Nicholas Rosellini, UNDP's deputy regional director for Asia-Pacific. "For most poor people in Asia-Pacific, local governments are the most important political arena. They also have an important role in encouraging women's political participation."

This trend is rising with a slight progress in women representation at the national level. Global representation of women in Parliament in 2009 was 18.4 per cent, against 11 per cent in 1995. In Asia and the Pacific the picture was worse, with Asia at 18.2 per cent and the Pacific at 15.2 per cent ranking as the second and third worst regions in the world in relation to women's representation in parliament.

-- The Nation 2011-03-08