Regions and Countries

	Table of Contents
p. 16 of 23 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies A. Agriculture B. Infrastructure C. Social Infrastructure and Environment D. Governance Dimensions of ADB Operations E. Gender Dimensions of ADB Operations F. Private Sector Operations IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Thailand : III. Sector Strategies

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E. Gender Dimensions of ADB Operations

111. Recent Developments. Although women in Thailand enjoy equal rights and protections with men under the new constitution, some inequalities in Thai law remain. For example, the 1998 Labor Protection Law made sexual harassment illegal for the first time, but covers only persons working in the private sector. Moreover, NGOs claim the term is vague, making it difficult for women to pursue cases through the legal system. The Women and Constitution Network, a league of 35 women's organizations, lobbied for legal reforms to address legal inequities in the treatment of women. It continues to play an important role in securing the inclusion of gender equality clauses in legislation creating new government organizations mandated by the 1997 Constitution, including an article that specifies that one-third of the members of the new National Human Rights Commission be women (see para. 12 for additional information on gender issues).

112. Government Strategy. Considerable importance is attached in Thailand to gender issues, as reflected in Thailand’s high ranking in terms of the UNDP’s Gender Development Index. Gender strategy in Thailand is to promote the sustained movement of women workers from unskilled, low paid sectors, to higher skilled, more remunerative economic sectors. Legislation for equal rights and opportunities is already in place. The Government aims to reduce the gender gap in employment profiles through measures to improve the competitiveness of women in the job market, particularly in Government service or managerial positions, and as entrepreneurs/ employers.

• equal opportunities for women will be emphasized in every program of assistance supported by the ADB in Thailand;
• strategies for upgrading the education and skills of the Thai workforce will emphasize the need for gender analysis and targeted components to improve the position of women in the labor market;
• ADB strategies in the financial sector will include programs to improve women's access to credit and to enable NGOs to provide financial services and small-enterprise training for women in poor rural and urban communities;
• women will be included in the mainstream of all ADB-supported activities for rural and area development. These could include targeted credit mechanisms, training in new skills for self-employment, new systems of agricultural production and processing, and labor force skills; and
• although women generally have access to higher education in Thailand, and more than half of university graduates each year are women, ADB support for education and training will include components designed to improve the status of women in the workforce (i.e., to develop their skills profiles to better match existing requirements for more remunerative employment in the private sector and Government service).

114. Policy Dialogue. The best means of reducing the gender gap in employment profiles is through measures to provide women with improved opportunities to upgrade their skills so that they can compete evenly in the job market, particularly in Government service or managerial positions, and as entrepreneurs/employers. In ADB’s operations in Thailand this can best be achieved by bringing gender equity concerns into the mainstream of our ongoing and planned TA and loan operations.

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