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In today’s competitive business landscape, achieving gender equity in the workplace is not just a moral imperative – it’s a strategic necessity.
Our Michael Page Talent Trends 2024: The Expectation Gap Report sheds light on the current state of gender equity in Thailand’s workplaces, revealing both progress and persistent challenges.
Understanding these insights for hiring managers and leadership teams is crucial for creating more inclusive and equitable work environments that attract top talent and retain top performers.
The pandemic catalysed a significant shift in workplace dynamics across APAC, with flexibility emerging as a new norm.
Our talent trends 2024 report shows that professionals in Thailand now consider flexible work arrangements as the fourth most important factor after salary when job hunting.
This change, born out of necessity during lockdowns, has become a permanent feature of the work landscape in Thailand’s compact urban environment and tech-savvy workforce.
While offering potential benefits for work-life balance, this shift also presents new challenges for gender equity in the workplace.
Gender equity focuses on fairness by providing support based on individual needs, recognising that different genders may have different starting points. In contrast, workplace gender equality means giving everyone the same rights and opportunities. Both approaches foster gender diversity, with equity ensuring individuals get what they need to succeed.
Gender stereotypes can hinder progress by reinforcing traditional roles and expectations, limiting opportunities for all genders to thrive equally in diverse environments.
Also, gender discrimination, which involves treating individuals unfairly based on their gender, creates further barriers to equal opportunities and undermines efforts to achieve both gender equity and diversity.
Together, these challenges highlight the importance of breaking down gender bias to foster a more equitable environment. As organisations in Thailand adapt to these evolving expectations, the impact on gender equity remains a critical consideration in fostering inclusive work environments.
Our data reveals a nuanced picture of how women feel about workplace gender equity efforts in Thailand:
In Thailand, while more than half of women (58%) are satisfied with their employers’ efforts to address the gender pay gap, a significant portion remain either neutral (26%) or dissatisfied (16%). This mixed response suggests that while progress is being made, there’s still opportunity for organisations to demonstrate more concrete commitment to pay equity and perhaps better communicate their efforts in this area.
Related: The role of salary transparency in reducing workplace inequality
Organisations in Thailand appear to be making significant strides in promoting women’s equity and inclusion, with 75% of women expressing satisfaction with current initiatives. The low levels of dissatisfaction (25%) suggest that organisations are generally meeting women’s expectations effectively.
When it comes to female leadership representation, organisations appear to be facing notable challenges. While 58% of women report satisfaction, the substantial dissatisfaction rate (28%) signals a clear need for more focused efforts in this area. With only 14% remaining neutral and more than a quarter explicitly dissatisfied, the data suggests that women are taking strong positions on this issue, likely based on direct observation of leadership opportunities and advancement patterns.
These figures indicate that despite some progress, there remains significant room for improvement in creating and supporting pathways for women to advance into leadership roles.
Related: Asia's female leaders: How to be more confident at work
Our report also highlights significant differences in how men and women prioritise various Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives:
The data reveals intriguing gender differences in DE&I priorities, with men showing strong support for women’s advancement initiatives, while women focus more broadly on racial, ethnic, and disability inclusion. Age discrimination emerges as the top concern for both genders, suggesting this is a universal priority.
The lower ranking of gender equity in women's priorities, compared to men’s, might indicate either progress in gender initiatives or women’s desire to champion broader aspects of workplace inclusion.
Related: How HR needs to evolve to support the future of work
Three of men’s top four priorities directly address women’s advancement: promoting workplace equity (#2), increasing leadership representation (#3), and closing the gender pay gap (#4). This high prioritisation suggests that male professionals in Thailand, particularly those in leadership positions, recognise their crucial role in driving gender equity initiatives.
This alignment between men’s and women’s priorities is particularly significant, as men often hold positions of influence that can drive meaningful change in organisational policies and workplace culture. The data suggests that men are actively engaged in supporting gender equity, which is essential for creating lasting institutional change.
While age discrimination remains the top concern and racial/ethnic inclusion rounds out the top five, the strong focus on gender equity in men’s priorities indicates a workplace culture where men are increasingly becoming active allies in advancing women’s workplace equality.
Related: How leaders can gain better engagement with their teams
These findings have several important implications for hiring managers and leadership teams:
Bridging the gender gap in Thailand’s workplaces is an ongoing process that requires sustained effort and commitment. While progress has been made, our Talent Trends 2024 report clearly shows that there’s still work to be done.
By understanding and addressing women’s perspectives on workplace equity, organisations can create more inclusive environments that attract and retain female talent, foster innovation, and improve overall performance.
The message for hiring managers and leadership teams is clear: prioritising gender equity is not just about meeting DE&I targets but creating a workplace where all employees can thrive, contribute their best, and drive the organisation forward.
Discover the latest in workforce trends in our latest Michael Page Thailand Talent Trends 2024 report: The Expectation Gap. This survey report findings are based on responses from 12,940 job seekers, employees and employers across Asia Pacific, of which 464 are from Thailand.
It covers career insights that talent leaders and hiring professionals need to know to attract and retain talent. Also, download our report or use our interactive online tool to gain deeper, up-to-date insights into the current talent market.
Read more:Why should someone be led by you?5 ways to use negative feedback to your advantage9 common mistakes hiring managers should avoid in job interviews
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