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GEND489: Research Essay in Gender and
          Women's Studies.




“What Effect Does Colonisation and Western
Influences and Culture Have on Thai Society,
         Women and Organizations”




                    Win Singphatanakul
                        300066606




  Supervisors: Adjunct Professor Prue Hyman and Dr. Alison Laurie


                                                                    1
CONTENTS

1: INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
2: METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................................................5
        2.1). Purpose of the Study................................................................................................................5
        2.2). The Nature of the Study...........................................................................................................5
        2.3). What Theoretical Lens Will I Use?..........................................................................................6
3: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................................7
        3.1). Language Barriers and Western Literature............................................................................7
4: DISCUSSION OF MY FINDINGS..................................................................................................20
        4.1). Statistical Facts.....................................................................................................................20
        4.2). Thai Social Norms and the West Social Norms.....................................................................22
        4.3). Multinational Companies .....................................................................................................26
        4.4). Socio-Economic Status..........................................................................................................29
        4.5). Education...............................................................................................................................32
        4.6). Western Literature on Discrimination...................................................................................35
        4.7). Western Standard of Living (GDP) vs. Eastern Standard of Living (GNH).........................38
        4.8). Limitation...............................................................................................................................40
5: FUTURE RESEARCH.....................................................................................................................42
6: CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................43
APPENDIX 1..........................................................................................................................................45
        Table 1: Female Employment Rate................................................................................................45
        Table 2: Number and Percentage of Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over by Industry and
        Sex (in millions).............................................................................................................................46
        Table 3: Number of Employed Persons Over 15 Years of Age in a 1-Year Period by Sex (in
        millions)                                                                                                                                     .........47
        Table 4: Average Monthly Total Income and Current Income by Region: 2006..........................47
        Table 6: Number of Male and Female Students by Educational Level for Academic Year 2000
        ........................................................................................................................................................49
            Table 7: Number of Employees by Level of Wages/Salary and Sex...........................................49
APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................................................50
        Figure 1: Thai Woman Mahout (Elephant Driver). ......................................................................50
        Figure 2: Gender Statistics in “The Key Statistics of Thailand 2007”.........................................51
        Figure 3: The 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan for the years 2007-2011. 51
        Figure 4: The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy........................................................................52
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................53




                                                                                                                                                               2
1: Introduction

This study is about the position of women in Thailand. My research question

addresses whether Thai women can be regarded as ‘colonised’ and whether they can

legitimately be regarded as oppressed and subservient.

I will argue that Western feminist theory positions itself as a universal authority,

which is not always applicable to non-Western cultures and circumstances. In order to

address my research question, I have conducted a small study of published reports on

the economic position of Thai women, generalising from Western culture to Thai

culture. I argue that the differences of language and of interpretation can mislead

researchers into assuming it is a universal position for all women. My report also

debates on whether the socio-economic status is a greater indicator of inequality than

gender in the Thai environment.



In addition, I will also argue that equality can be achieved through the ‘Gross

National Happiness’ (GNH) policy. GNH is unlike the Gross Domestic Product

(GDP), which concentrates on capital value that does not reflect the quality and

happiness of individuals. Many countries use GDP as shorthand for the well-being of

a nation. However, GNH, unlike GDP, does not only consider economic growth but

also consider the general happiness of people (Mustafa, 2005; Rodsuthi, 2007). There

is substantial literature on the GHP policy, in particular regarding its application in

Bhuatan, but it is beyond the scope of this research to discuss the Bhutan situation.

Thus, I will focus my discussion on the situation in Thailand.

A research objective is to look at the effect colonisation has played in South-East

Asia. The culture, history and language of Thailand have been, over time, influenced



                                                                                     3
by neighbouring colonised countries. However, Thailand itself has escaped actual

colonisation by Western powers. Thai culture and history therefore remain traditional

with little influence from the West.



Nevertheless, the effect of colonisation has relatively affected Thai society and shaped

Thai women’s lives according to some postcolonial literature, which suggests that

Thailand developed a semi-colonial status. Since there is little literature written by

Thai scholars on Thailand, and with most of it written in English by Westerners, it is

difficult for Thai people to understand and translate. Therefore, the effect of the

English language as part of colonisation will be discussed below showing how it

shapes Thai society and women’s lives in Thailand.

In addition, since Western literature seems to portray Thailand as one of their

colonised countries, gender issues in Thailand are also being observed through the

Western theoretical lens. This research will explore the understanding of Thai women

and gender issues from the Western point of view and whether their analysis is

reliable or not.



Furthermore, this research will look at Thai women’s participation in the workforce

and analyse what causes gender discrimination in Thailand because literature on

gender studies from the West emphasise gender equality through economic

achievements. This research will also investigate the claim from Western scholars

about the effects of colonisation, whether there is input from the substantial influences

from Western culture and value in Thai society and organisations.




                                                                                       4
2: Methodology

This section looks at how data was obtained and includes questions related to

sampling, research design and data collection methods (Cavana, Delahaye, &

Sekaran, 2001).


2.1). Purpose of the Study

This research will be conducted as an exploratory study because there is limited

literature on the effect of colonisation on Thailand and the issue that the study is

examining has been the subject of very few research projects. In addition, I am

interested in exploring the situational factors so as to understand the characteristics of

colonisation in a non-colonial country. For this particular study, I am trying to

understand the relationship between colonisation and Thai women’s lives. I use

women’s participation in the workforce in Thailand as one of the examples to answer

my research question “What effect does colonisation and Western influences and

culture have on Thai society, women and organizations”


2.2). The Nature of the Study

The research question asks questions that involve human behaviour. Thus, I initially

wanted to collect the data through interviews but due to the inevitable limited scope of

an honours research paper I will not be conducting any interviews that involve human

subjects. Instead, this research will be exploratory only, consisting of a literature

review using secondary resources such as newspaper articles, academic articles and




                                                                                        5
statistical data, together with my discussion of these resources based on theoretical

readings and my own experience.

This material will be compared and contrasted to answer the research question. First,

and foremost, articles on Thai women written by Westerners and Thai people will be

discussed and compared. Statistical data will be obtained from the Thailand country

report to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW) available online and used as back-up evidence of the claim I will

be making in the Discussion chapter. Post-colonial theory will be used to help with

the analysis. The analysis and interpretation will be mainly based on my experiences

as a Thai person. Thus, it is, inevitably, a subjective interpretation of the situation and

literature. In order to develop my argument, it is important for me to differentiate fact

from opinion.




2.3). What Theoretical Lens Will I Use?

My aim is to understand the effects of colonisation in a non-colonised country. In this

research, my study will be focused on Thailand. How does colonisation affect Thai

women and their participation in the workforce? After gaining much information

though international databases and internet, I have found that most literature is

derived from European writers. Obviously, gender development and gender studies

are influenced by the West. Therefore, in this research I will turn the tables around

and look at how Western literature shape and influence Thai women at work and

home. Post-colonial theory will be used as an analysis tool to encounter the western

literature. In addition, it should be noted that in this study there are a few studies

which are written in the English language that look at gender issues in Thailand from

an Asian point of view.


                                                                                         6
3: Literature Review

3.1). Language Barriers and Western Literature

Thai is the predominant member of the Thai family of languages which includes

around 60 languages spoken throughout Southeast Asia. Thai languages are difficult

to place linguistically but are usually linked to either the Sino-Tibetan or Austronesian

language families (Wood, 1993). Standard Thai is written in the Thai alphabet which

is derived from the Indian Devanagari script, and characterized by the use of five

tones, whereas English is classified as an Indo-European language and is part of the

Germanic subfamily (Baugh & Cable, 2001). The English language is also believed to

be constructed by dominant males, for instance, the word God usually refers to a man

not a woman, because God is seen as a father figure with a strong personality, and

women are viewed as inferior to men who are passive, dependent and emotional. In

addition, English derogatory words used for women such as “whore” and “bitch” are

often more sexualised than derogatory words for men (Penelope, 1990; Spender,

1985).



English-related languages include Dutch, Flemish and the low German dialects and,

more distinctly, modern German. The English language is the primary language of the

majority of people who live in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada,

Australia, New Zealand and other former colonies of Britain, and in the United States.

It is also an official or semi-official language of many countries with a colonial past

such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa (Microsoft Encarta, 2007).


                                                                                       7
According to Said (1978) the English language in Western literature has played a

major role in influencing world intellectuals and their understanding about the world.

The fact is, that much feminist literature is derived from the West, and is written in

Western languages. Cameron’s work (1988) suggest that these writings would not be

applicable to the Thai situation - because to understand the Thai worldview on gender

and sex traditions and practices, and in order to understand any country’s culture, one

must first understand that country’s language (Cameron, 1998). Cameron’s research is

derived from the famous controversial hypothesis which was developed by Sapir

(1949) and Whorf (1976) back in the 19th century “our worldview is determined by

the structures of the particular language that we happen to speak”.



Authors, such as Jackson and Cook (1999), label Western feminist literature and ideas

as misleading because the terms sex and gender are not applicable in the Thai

language as Thai indigenous language does not differentiate between sex and gender

(Thanprasertsuka et al., 2005). However, feminist western theory and languages

distinguish sex and gender as a separate matter (Jackson & Cook, 1999). Professor

Jumnong Thongprasirt classified the terms sex and gender into a singular matter (The

Royal Institute, 2006). Discursive terms such as biological sex, gender, and sexual

expressions are referred to as a single term in the Thai language. He explains the word

‘phet’ as the most problematic loanword from the Sanskrit language and it is not a

clear single word that can be interpreted as either sex or gender. The official Thai

language institution describes the word ‘phet’ as either a physical look or behavioural

expression which distinguishes man and woman (The Royal Institute, 2006).

Scholars, such as Esterik (2000) and Jackson (1999) comment that the word ‘phet’ is

one of the most multivalent and polysemic words in the Thai language. In the official



                                                                                     8
Thai-English dictionary from the Thailand National Electronic and Computer

Technology Centre (2007), ‘phet’ is a single complex meaning of sex and gender

combined and quite often the word ‘phet’ usually simply means sex appearance.

As a result, the international terms and concepts ‘feminist’ and ‘gender’ are difficult

to translate and understood in Thai because the English term ‘gender’ is itself a

loanword from the Norman Conquest-era Middle French. This, in turn, originated

from Latin (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). In

the East, most of the languages are not influenced by Latin but instead by the Sanskrit

language where gender and sex are hard to distinguish (Muecke, 2004). This is

despite the fact that both Sanskrit and Latin are Indo-European languages as these

languages and cultures developed differently between the West and the East.



When comparing the literature, we can see the differences between the Thai

gender/sex system and the West gender/sex system. Esterik (2000) explains that there

is a clear-cut gender asymmetry and identity-based sexual polarities in Euro-

American but, in Thailand, the gender system is based upon shape of the body and

physiology that goes to make up the human form. Jackson and Cook (1999) believe

that applying the theories and literatures from the West might not be applicable in

evaluating Thai’s social phenomena because of its differences in values, beliefs, and

culture. This is supported by Spivak’s research (1988) which points out that the

West’s attempts at understanding the Orient from its own point of view places itself as

the subject of the study rather than the Orient. In this case, the literature is not an asset

but rather a deficit. As Menon (2006) explains, “the flow of books had always been

from west to east – mainly from the native English-speaking world to the rest of the

world, simply put, from the colonisers to the colonised”.



                                                                                           9
Jackson and Cook (1999) suggest that the difference between Thailand and the other

countries around the region is that there are no traditions of colonial scholarship in

Thailand that examine gender relations comparable to the rest of Southeast Asia.

Muecke (2004) proposed that there is hardly any well-known literature on sexuality in

Thailand that is inclusively authored by Thai scholars. Most of the literature is

conducted by non-Thai scholars, some of whom do not speak Thai at all. On this

matter, Hongladarom (1996) indicated that gender issues in Thailand cannot be

understood with indigenous meanings because without the Thai community, scholars,

and feminists reflecting upon themselves, Thai people would remain locked within its

self-imposed ‘prison of tradition’. This is due to the fact that the Thai language has

received little influence from the English language.



However, Esterik (2000) has developed the term “semi-colonised” in his famous book

“Materializing Thailand”. He argues that Thailand has been colonised economically

from the West. He states that Thailand has created two unique myths in the field of

gender studies. The first myth is that Thailand is culturally homogenous with a single

language and a single religion. The second myth being there is little involvement

from Western philosophers and scholars in Thailand on gender issues. On the other

hand, American scholars Jackson and Cook (1999), who reside in Thailand and teach

at Thai University, see Thailand as a non-colonised country.



3.2). Semi-Colonisation: Women’s Participation in the Workforce

Although Thailand has always been a male dominated country, traditionally Thai men

have respected women’s participation in the workforce and especially at war. As

evidence has shown in 1548, Queen Suriyothai tells the epic history of a Thai woman.



                                                                                   10
Queen Suriyothai, who valiantly died in a battle against Burmese invaders when

taking her elephant before the Burmese king. She sacrificed herself to save the life of

her husband, King Chakrapat, and his kingdom. This story was also made into a film

in 2001 to remind the Thai people of the Thai heroine. In comparison in the West,

there was a strong feeling against such feminine militancy and on many occasions

women volunteers were sent back to their homes during wars (Anonymous, 1914).

However, 300 years later, patriarchal perception evidently influenced Thai society.

There is evidence that King Vajiravud (1910-1926) travelled to France and brought

back with him ideas on how to develop Thailand - such as improving transportation

and bringing in western lifestyles. As a result, Thai women stopped chewing Betel

nuts because it was seen as a non-civilised and unacceptable thing for women to do

from a Western point of view. This may have been the first development of a semi-

colonial status in Thailand.



Scholars like Jackson (1999), Esterick (2000), and Iwananga (2005) have now resided

in Thailand for some years observing and absorbing Thai gender and sex culture (an

ethnographical approach). Their studies pointed out that the term ‘beauty’ has had an

influenced Thai women to wear their hair longer and to dress in stylish western

fashion because many countries in Europe saw Thailand as a non-civilised country

where Thai women had short hair, black teeth from Betel nut chewing, and wore

clothes that were not attractive according to Western standards. Although Siam was

not colonised, the country nevertheless selectively borrowed from Western gender

understanding.




                                                                                    11
Semi-colonial status was further developed in the early 1990s by a feminist movement

in Thailand when Thai women who were educated overseas began showing their

influence through political parties and education           (Esterick, 2000). Their

understanding of gender equality was largely due to the Western tertiary education

system (Somswasdi, 2003). During that time, the government began to pay more

attention to women’s rights issues. Thus, in 1994, the National Statistics Office in

Thailand released its first report on women’s participation in the workforce to raise

issues of gender differences in an aim to reduce gender and sex bias because of

mounting pressure arising from the movement. It was stated in the report that

women's contribution to the national socio-economic development is crucial for Thai

society (Thailand National Statistics Office, 1996-1998).



However, the latest report from Social Statistics Division (2000) describes the failure

of women’s participation in the workforce from 1994 to 1998 as ineffective and a

waste of money, because people are not aware of gender issues in Thailand. The

feminist movement in Europe and America in the late twentieth century had created a

significant change in Western society. Second-wave feminists were concerned with

gaining full social and economic equality, having already gained some of the

important legal equality (voting, for example) in most western nations in the late

twentieth century (Smith, 1999).



Somswasdi (2003), a Thai woman scholar who graduated from Yale University,

stated that the movement was ineffective in Thailand because self-directed assertive

Thai women did not see the value of gender equality or women’s equality and did not

associate themselves with the movement. Muechke (2004) explains that Thai women



                                                                                    12
found feminist movements from the West overly academic and obsessed with

Western views and image. Iwanaga (2005) states that the most explicit feminist

movement occurred when Thailand reformed its constitution and called it “The

People’s Constitution”. It provided a significant enabling framework for gender

rights. This constitution aimed to bring equal employment opportunities to men and

women, as well as enhance women’s equality and equity in the workforce. The

positive outcome of this constitution is evident in the The Globalist (2006) research

which highlights Thailand has one of the highest rates of female labour force

participation in East Asia at 65.1 percent. The country ranks are well ahead of any

other Asian nations such as the Philippines (50.2 percent), South Korea (49.9

percent), and Japan (48.2 percent).



Nevertheless, the number of women participants in the workforce should not be the

only gender equality measurement per se. As Siengthai and Leelakulthanit (1994)

pointed out, by considering only the rate of participation by women in the workforce,

it would be suggested that Thailand does not discriminate against women. Nor is it

suggested that managerial denial of gender discrimination does not exist, for indeed it

does. This is supported by Somswasdi’s (2003) research which indicates Thai women

might be able to enjoy equal opportunities in entering the workforce but still find it

hard to gain equal access to a good salary as do men in Thailand, and women’s

sexuality continues to be under the control of men. This is confirmed by statistical

data from Thailand National Statistics Office (1996-1998) which show that women

are largely employed in subordinate roles such as administration, reception, and

accountancy.




                                                                                    13
Furthermore, there are more Thai women working in rural areas due to high seasonal

demand in agriculture who still account for a very small part of the total employment

in the areas of administrative, executive, or managerial positions (Thailand National

Statistics Office, 1996-1998). Thus, serious gender-based inequalities persist in

Thailand and the role of women participation in the labour force should be

accountable in gender equity and equality issues.



The gender equality issues become much clearer in the late twentieth century, when

more Western multinational companies began to trade goods and invest in Thailand,

and specific research by Tzeng (2006) points out that Western companies have played

a major role in creating gender inequality in the country offices. They create labour

positioning and a pay gap between men and women. Several studies (Cheng & Liao,

1993; International Labour Organization, 1998; Jacobs, 1995) note that statistics for

female managers in most countries have inflated and, in Asia, gender inequality

appears to be a much greater issue than in most other Western countries. This is

because Asian women are seen as indirect, unable to cope with pressure, and inferior

to European women. These suggestions are confirmed by Thailand National Statistics

Office (2007) showed that Thai women are still seen as inferior especially in the

labour force in both the public and private sectors.



Tzeng’s (2006) and Iwanaga’s research (2005) explain that gender inequality happens

in multinational companies’ offices, because multinational companies overlook the

power of Asian women, as they judge Asian women according to local norms, that is,

as weak and unprofessional in female behaviour. In addition, Korabik’s research

(1993) in “Managerial Women in the PRC" and Giacobbe-Miller, Miller and Zhang



                                                                                  14
(1997) in “Equity, Equality and Need as Determinant of Pay Allocations” show that

international organizations are advantaged by employing young, highly-replaceable

female labour in short-term positions with few opportunities, and has often used the

observance of cultural and social norms for its defence. For instance, businesses may

argue that they are unable to provide promotional prospects for women because, to do

so, would require women completing after-hours training which, in turn, would

impinge on social expectations of the women’s primary responsibility to family and

community (Stockman, Banney, & Xuemen, 1995).



A substantial amount of Western literature also refers to women’s primary

responsibility as non-paid work. They show that gender-based inequalities happen

because married women or women with partners are being encouraged to enter into

non-economic characteristics such as participating in housework and childrearing (G.-

S. Lim & Ng, 1998; Torr, 2005). A similar suggestion is expressed in the Women’s

Empowerment and Reproductive Health Research (1999) throughout the world

women continue to bear primary responsibility for childcare and housework. This

unpaid work remains economically invisible. Furthermore, apart from being a

housewife completing household chores, married women are constrained by the

mothering role (Hock, Morgan, & Hock, 1985).



This is supported by the Inglehart and Norris research (2002) which shows that

throughout history, women, in virtually all societies, have had their life options

restricted to the roles of wife and mother. The impact of the mothering role,

pregnancy and care for young children also impede women’s opportunities for

employment (Women’s empowerment and reproductive health, 1999). Appelbaum



                                                                                  15
(1981) and Sorensen (1983) identified patterns of difficulty in women’s labour force

participation. Both agreed that married women tend to quit their jobs because they

have no time outside the house as they are obliged to manage the household and look

after children. Dex (1987) concurs that women experience different work patterns

from men and have less time to complete their work and less energy. The latest

research also suggests that it is common in many societies for the proportion of

women participants in the workforce to be lower than men, especially married

women, even though the married women labour force has increased over the last 50

years (Engemann & Owyang, 2005).



3.3). Post Colonial Theory

Back in 1978, Edward W. Said suggested that the Orient’s way of life had been

influenced by Europe where materialism is central to the way of life. Colonisers did

not try to understand the Orient and integrated their education, language, colonial

bureaucracies and colonial styles explicitly into the Oriental way of life. A similar

perspective is expressed by Slemon (1994), suggesting that the Western theories

created the Eastern culture and continue to create complexity into the society in a

subjective way. Alan Bishop (1995) describes the Orient culture as a Western

construction, like mathematical ideas that are humanly constructed. He further

explains that mathematical ideas from the West have become universal and superior

over any indigenous mathematical systems and culture. As well as the English

language, the production of the West and colonialism has overpowered many

indigenous languages around the world (Smith, 1999). Pennycook (1999) explains in

his book, “English and the Discourses of Colonialism”, that Europeans use the

English language as a force to promote and exercise its power and culture in colonised



                                                                                   16
countries, meaning the language helps to spread European knowledge to the colonial

creating an obedient workforce for colonial capitalism.



Similarly, Smith (1999) further describes colonialism as not only meant for the

imposition of Western authority over indigenous lands, law, government and

indigenous modes of production, but for the imposition of Western authority over all

aspects of indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultures. Bushra Shahid (2005)

expresses that not only colonial countries are forced to learn and use English, but

countries in Asia require the English language as an important tool for social mobility.

Many scholars such as Penelope (1990) and Spender (1985) believe that languages

such as English, not only represent the Western worldview but, more significantly, a

male worldview. It also renders women invisible. The famous studies on the Subaltern

by Spivek (1988) revealed that the white male worldview is seen as a production of

colonization where the white European male has power in politics, sciences, and

education. She suggests that the colonised subaltern has no history and cannot speak,

and, of course, the Subaltern as female is even more deeply embedded in shadow.



Annette Hamilton (2002), professor of Anthropology at Macquarie University,

stresses there is a need to develop different types of theories underpinning sexuality

and gender studies for the West because post-colonial theory is created through a

referential world rooted outside Thailand which does not represent indigenous Thai

society (Jackson & Cook, 1999; Muecke, 2004). The West aims at creating a greater

awareness of one’s own culture (Bishop, 1995)and the only way that they can

implement it is through their power, domination, and varying degrees of a complex

hegemony (Said, 1978, p. 89). Besides, contemporary feminist research concentrates



                                                                                     17
on women, not gender, and that creates an assumption that fails to promote feminists’

intellectual, political agenda and employment opportunities, because it falls short in

examining women’s experiences and contrasting them with those of men (Peletz,

1995).



In addition, the idea of gender equality from the West is to achieve through economic

opportunity (capitalism). According to Said (1978, p.87), “the Orient is an integral

part of European material civilisation and culture.” Said’s suggestion is supported by

Slemon (1994) who expressed that the Occident sees materialism as important,

because the nature of the Occident, or the West, is an economy of cross-cultural

domination.



The idea of gender equality as linked only to capitalist achievement and the

possession of money can clearly be seen in today’s world where post-industrial

society has given, primarily, opportunities to women to compete in the economic race

(Inglehart & Norris, 2002). Materialism and money transforms women’s lives

dramatically and it is argued, will move them from narrow subordination towards full

equality.



This contradicts the Buddhism philosophy where materialism is seen as sin. This

argument is supported by Inglehart and Norris (2002) saying that “during the late

twentieth century, the shift from survival to self-expression values, and from religious

to secular values, has accelerated throughout advanced industrial societies” (chapter 7,

p.3), and that includes Thailand.




                                                                                     18
Although Thailand has never been colonised, it has undoubtedly been affected by

what Semali and Kincheloe (1999) refers to as Western cultural diseases.

       “Regardless of what area of the world it is found in, indigenous knowledge has

       been produced by people facing diseases brought by European cultures,

       attempts at genocide, cultural assimilation and education as a colonial tool”

       (p.32).




                                                                                  19
4: Discussion of my Findings


The literature suggest that few studies on gender development in Thailand have been

conducted. Very few scholars pay attention to researching gender issues in Thailand.

As Yukongdi (2005) points out, there is a scarcity of empirical research examining

women in management in Thailand, and as much of the literature was conducted in

the 1980s and 1990s, it is now out of date.

Nevertheless, some literature states that European influences have affected all Asian

countries to some extent. This is because European colonialism covered a large

portion of Southeast Asian history, and for a long time dominated economic relations

in the South East Asia region (Constance, 2007). Thus, though Thailand has never

been colonised, economic relationships from the West have influenced Thai society.

In this chapter, I will apply the framework from Fagenson (1993) which suggests that

in order to understand the experiences, actions, and the status of women, several

analysis levels are mandatory, such as individual, organizational, and social norms.

Therefore, I will explore the nature of Thai women’s employment conditions, the

relationship between multinational companies and female workers, the quality of

women’s lives between women who work in multinational companies and women

who work in rural areas, and the expected appropriate behaviours of women and men

in Thailand.


4.1). Statistical Facts

A significant part of the success of Thailand's economic development can be

attributed to work completed by women according to UNIFEM (2000). The Thai

National Statistics Office (2007) has revealed that 63.2% of Thai women participated




                                                                                  20
in the workforce in 2006 (see Table 1). Out of 35.4 million people in the labour force

in 2007, based on the January survey, 16.7 million or 47 percent were women, with

5.5 million women or around 34 percent of women’s employment in agriculture, and

10.7 million women employed outside the agriculture field in manufacturing and

services (see Table 2).

Participation rates of 63.2% may be the highest in South-East Asia and it may be

legitimate to say that the equality issue in Thailand is well developed. Yet, there is no

indication from the latest survey from the National Statistics Office Thailand (2007)

that, out of 63% of women, how many of them have senior or management jobs in the

              1
workforce . This type of statistic is extremely critical because the proportion of

women in higher status positions is a key indicator of equity (Appold, Siengthai, &

D.Kasarda, 1998).



Research conducted by Lim (1990) and Salaff (1990) in South-East Asia has shown

that Thailand’s economic growth is due, to a large extent, on its ability to mobilise

women’s labour into low skills tasks, with women’s status possibly even declining

with development. This is supported by the recent report from The World Bank

(2007) in “Thailand Economic Monitor: April 2007” which indicates that total exports

topped US$130 billion in 2006, with exports of agriculture and machinery

manufacturers growing robustly. This evidence has shown that two-thirds of

Thailand’s GDP comes from agriculture where low-skill employment, manufacturing,

wholesale and retail trade are combined. Unfortunately, agricultural work is largely

                                                                2
done by women according to UNIFEM studies (2000) and have gone unnoticed,

1
    http://web.nso.go.th/eng/en/stat/lfs_e/lfse.htm
2
    http://www.unifem-eseasia.org/resources/others/gendev/sectionb2.htm


                                                                                      21
because people who make up this large economic section of the population still live

sub-standardly with little money.

It is quite common that women in rural Thailand work hard on the farm to raise

money for the family. Statistics from UNIFEM Asian Regional office in Gender and

Development in Thailand (2000) show that there are very high rates of approximately

75 percent workforce participation by women who work in rural areas in Thailand due

to high seasonal demands in agriculture.



                                      3
On the other hand, the Synovate research has shown that 22.2 percent out of 100% of

women’s participation in the workforce of Thai women are employed in

administrative and management occupations. Only 6.38% of women are in senior

management positions and, unsurprisingly, 8.8% are in middle-management roles (see

Table 3), (Siripunyawit, 2007). Despite the low percentage of women’s participation

in high status employment in Thailand which are due to social and cultural conditions,

it would seem to be against such achievements. Katherine Hutchings, a lecturer at

Queensland University of Technology, disagrees. She indicates that Thailand has

developed a system through its traditional culture allowing women to receive the

same employment levels, promotion prospects and a share of economic wealth as

their male counterparts (Hutchings, 2000).




4.2). Thai Social Norms and the West Social Norms

Some studies suggest that Thai women have fared much better in opportunities in the

workforce than other countries in the South East Asia region. In Malaysia and the

3
 Synovate Co has been established in Thailand for 16 years as a research consulting specialist and
employ 138 staff. It has offices worldwide, in 52 countries




                                                                                                     22
Philippines, the women’s main responsibility is to stay at home due to their religious

beliefs and social norms (Horton, 1996). In addition, in Indonesia, women are

protected by law so they do not have to work at night or in positions that are

dangerous to their ethics (Batubara, 1991; Stockman et al., 1995). Such constraints do

not affect Thailand, which means that Thai women have the freedom to receive

training, work at night, and do much the same work as men (Batubara, 1991;

Stockman et al., 1995).



Although Thailand does not have a law to promote gender equality similar to laws in

the West, substantial literature suggest that its either because there is little awareness

of gender discrimination issues in Thailand in the mindset of Thai people (Hutchings,

2000) or it may be the case that such regulations exist in those countries because

gender discrimination exists there to a high degree (Jackson & Cook, 1999).

I am not arguing that gender discrimination does not exist at all in Thailand, but it is

interesting to consider why Thailand does not have any regulations of this kind to

prevent discrimination. Moreover, it appears that the majority of Thai people do not

seem overly concerned about discrimination issues, at least as is evidenced in the

focus of official records and statistics. There is a lack of organised campaigns to raise

the awareness of gender discrimination which may suggest that Thai women perhaps

feel content with the laws and social norms that exist in the society and do not

consider it to be discrimination (Yukongdi, 2005).



One possible explanation is that men and women appear to treat each other with

consideration and respect in Thailand which is probably due to the strong relationship

between Buddhism and Thai society. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population practice



                                                                                       23
4
and believe in Buddhism . There is no doubting the influence of religion on

understanding the present position of women in Thailand according to Yukongdi

(2005). Buddhism teaches that all people should be treated as equals, in other words,

to walk the middle line. Kohn (1991) indicates that Thai people tend to follow the

                                      5
“middle way or middle path ” which effectively prevents most extremism. This is

unlike other religions such as Islam and Christianity where the status of women is

suppressed by men. Although a study of the Bible and Koran are beyond the scope of

this essay, there are some statements made in the Judeo-Christian Bible and the Koran

which distinguish men and women explicitly and unfavourably, such as the Adam and

Eve creation story and the proscriptions on women’s dress.



This is the difference between Thailand and other countries where feminism seems

focused on individual pursuits and confrontation. Influence in Thailand from

colonisation is not as strong as in other colonised countries because of this very

important aspect, religion. Influence from the West, such as other religious beliefs and

gender values, clearly distinguish men and women, for example, religions of the

Middle East, Judeo-Christianity, and Islam. This appears to have had little popular

effect in Thailand.

This view is supported by Boon (2003), who is a Managing Director at Global TMC

International Management Training and Consulting. She points out that Thai society

is not a male dominated preserve society, rather it’s an equal society, unlike the

dominant prevalent male in European countries who create obvious inequality.


4
    https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html
5
  In Theravada Buddhism, the Middle Way crystallizes the Buddha's Nirvana-bound path of
moderation away from the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification and towards the
practice of wisdom, morality and mental cultivation (Kohn, 1991).


                                                                                                 24
Historic evidence has shown that Thai women performed what could be regarded as

exclusively male tasks, such as women elephant drivers (see Figure 1) and women

managers. Alec Gordon and Napat Sirisambhand (2002) point out that Thai women

were in charge of time management and the recruiting process on a painting in a

temple during 1770-1780. This shows that Thai women were performing male tasks at

least since the 1770s. However, some literature on Thai women does not offer any

insightful evidence. Much of the Western literature and European people appear to

believe that Thai woman are primarily responsible for non-paid work such as being a

housewife compared to Western practices (G.-S. Lim & Ng, 1998; Torr, 2005). They

based their analysis on their generic and universal understanding of gender

development based on Western culture.



Gender discrimination appears to have existed in the West for many centuries. The

word “feminist” or “feminism” was used in France in 1880s, Great Britain in the

1890s, and the United States in 1910. The feminist movement arose in the 19th century

to remedy the worst excesses of this discrimination. The first feminist movement, the

Suffragettes, (the first wave), happened during early 19th century through to the early

20th century. During the 1970s and 1980s, second wave feminism dealt with the

inequality of laws, as well as cultural inequalities. The third wave of feminism

(1990s-current) is seen as both a continuation and a response to the perceived failures

of the second-wave (Charlotte, 2000).



In addition, evidence from Western literature emphasises equal employment

opportunities, gender equity and equality and has argued that European women are




                                                                                    25
under the suppression of men. However, I do not think that this assumption can be

extended to Thailand due to the differences in religious values and lifestyle.

For this reason, the Western concept and meaning of discrimination from the West

can be argued as irrelevant in Thailand (Yukongdi, 2005). The word “discrimination”

itself does not have an equivalent to the Thai language and currently there is no legal

definition of discrimination. Substantial literature (Jackson & Cook, 1999;

Thanprasertsuka et al., 2005) also agrees that the gender concept in Thailand is hard

to define.



This may partly explain why there is little involvement in the feminist movement and

gender development in Thailand, because in the mindset of many Thai people there is

no discrimination in society and organisational practices. Perhaps that is the reason

why there are few studies on Thai gender development, especially from domestic

scholars.




4.3). Multinational Companies

I have revealed that some of the research has indicated that within Thai firms, 30% of

Thai women are employed in a senior management role without having any anti-

discrimination regulations (Appold et al., 1998). On the other hand, in Europe and the

U.S., there are several programmes designed to help women compete with men in

organisations, such as positive assertiveness and management trainee programmes to

encourage women to stand up for themselves. One of the main factors could be that

European women are more likely to be stereotyped in organisations, thus they make

themselves “invisible” by allowing men to see them as a non-potential leader (Boon,

2003; Goffee & Jones, 2001).


                                                                                    26
From this, one can deduce that gender discrimination in the workforce in Europe is

clearly defined and in need of attention. The term “Glass Ceiling” is commonly used

in Western literature and government reports when women experience a barrier from

promotion and recognition (International Labour Office, 2004). Anti-discrimination

programmes and support groups for women is, therefore, essential because it creates

an awareness of discrimination in Western society. It creates and provides positive

policies and benefits to women such as paid maternity leave, equal employment

opportunities, childcare and so forth.



When multinational companies invest in South East Asia, literature suggests that they

usually bring with them their own set of values and impose their equity policies to

promote the recruitment and promotion of women in the South East Asia Region

(Boon, 2003). However, the findings from Coyle and Kwong (2000) contradicts some

of the literature’s suggestions. The findings state that multinational organisations

based in Thailand do not provide training for women or adopt the equal employment

opportunity practice. Many of them do not have formal policies relating to equal

employment opportunities and anti-discrimination programmes. One might ask why

that is?



The answer, based on Thai culture, history, and literature, is that Thai society and

gender discrimination does not co-exist. As I have discussed before in the previous

chapters, the word discrimination is relatively new or does not exist in Thai society.

Gender and sex have the same definition in the Thai language, and social class seems

to be far more important than gender differences (Hutchings, 2000). All these factors

affect multinational organisational structures and operations that are based in



                                                                                   27
Thailand. They need to apply different methods to fit in with Thai society. For

example, research from Manusphaibool (1993) indicates that multinational

organisations in Thailand do not employ men just because they are men; rather they

base their selection on seniority, experience, education, knowledge, hard work and

reliability. According to this research, if women show less interest in gaining a

promotion they will be treated differently. Researchers have argued that this is,

therefore, not discrimination, rather it is a rational judgement based on the quality

and usefulness of that person to the organisation (Susan & Leonard, 2001).



What happens when women have children in the workforce? The laws do not make

their life any easier like the West laws do for their women. Multinational

organisations in Thailand expect women to have support at home during the time of

raising children. This is because it is common for married women with children to

seek assistance from parents and relatives in Thailand, thus having children is not the

key determinant of a woman’s career prospects (Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994).

Social networks are therefore vital in Thai society. If they would receive support from

family and relatives, Thai women are more likely to be successful in an organisation

in Thailand. If not, they will need to take full-time leave, leaving them with little

promotion opportunity, thus showing she cannot fully commit herself to the company

(Boon, 2003).



The situation is different in New Zealand. New Zealand society does not expect new

parents to receive as much help from family networks as working people in Thailand.

Therefore, there are needs for substantial benefits such as longer maternity leave

period for new mothers to be able to take care of their own children by themselves.



                                                                                    28
From my point of view, those regulations are there to reduce the sense of inequality

and are there to help women enter the workforce. For that reason, gender

discrimination in the West can be categorised by looking at the legal system and its

regulations. Evidently, influence from Western organisations does not have a

significant impact on the social norms and overall organisational structure in

Thailand.




4.4). Socio-Economic Status

In the previous chapter, I discussed the fact that gender discrimination ideas and

concepts are hard to define in Thai society and how international companies comply

with Thai culture. So what is it that stops Thai women from achieving the same

economic success as men if it is not the gender issue?



Literature during the 1970s to the 1990s describes Thai women as supportive and

subservient to men (Sukumolnant, 1989) and became the stereotype of Thai women.

However, when there was a rapid expansion due to an economic boom in the early

1990s, there was a high demand in the job market. Thai women have experienced

better opportunities in employment since then. Research by Appold, Siengthai and

Kasarda (1998) showed that women accounted for 30 percent in senior management

roles within Thai firms which had two or three times as many women in upper

management than in Japan and the U.S. This research indicates that either Thai

women are not oppressed in employment as are Japanese or American women, or that

they are better educated than many Thai men and therefore recruited into managerial

positions.




                                                                                 29
Many scholars argue that gender does not determine opportunities of individuals in

Thai society - what does determine opportunities in Thailand is class (Boon, 2003;

Dunn & Sheehan, 1993; Hutchings, 2000). Women who have a higher socio-

economic status and are close to family members are believed to experience a much

better opportunity in pursuing their careers and achieving high status occupations.

Furthermore, the close relationship within a Thai family household is one of the

factors that help Thai women compete in the workforce. However, this only applies to

women who have middle to high socio-economic status. For example, a family that

has some money put aside are able to give their children a good education. These

women usually leave their children with their grandparents to look after. This is quite

common for women who are from a middle socio-economic class.



In addition, women who come from a high socio-economic or a middle socio-

economic status tend to receive more support than a woman from a low socio-

economic class and usually employ babysitters to help out with their children and a

housecleaner (Hutchings, 2000). This, in return, allows them to compete in the

workforce the same as their male counterparts (Sheehan, 1995). This is largely due to

expectations from their husbands and families, in that it is expected that women will

go back to work and remain in the workforce after having children (Boon, 2003) and

the affordable babysitting cost in Thailand. A recent survey from Synovate Company

shows that today, only 17% of Thai women are housewives while more than half of

them are employed in full-time jobs. Only 4% hold part-time positions (Siripunyawit,

2007).




                                                                                      30
In Thailand, there are at least a million illegal immigrants from its poorer neighbours

Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. These people do not receive a good education and have

no professional skills. They are mostly employed in the service sector, caregivers,

babysitters, and in manufacturing with little salary. The report from the Thai labour

campaign in 2001 showed that immigrant workers get paid around 60-80 baths

(NZ$3) per day which is 50% less than the minimum wage (Yimprasert & Hummel,

2001). This is an example of the cheapness of immigrant labour, and how Thai society

exploits people for the benefit of Thai citizens.



Since an average income in New Zealand is relatively high, the cost for a babysitter

and housecleaner is not cheap. Therefore, it is not possible for New Zealanders to find

cheap housecleaners or babysitters because the minimum wage makes it quite

expensive for many people to pay for such help. That being the case, it forces many

New Zealand women to look after their house and children on their own. It constrains

New Zealand women from having a life outside the house.



My experience with my own child in New Zealand forces me to extend my studies for

a longer period of time and the need for my partner to work part-time. This is mainly

due to the high cost of a babysitter. I have tried to search for a housecleaner and

babysitter here in New Zealand. Not surprisingly, I have not been able to find

academic articles on this topic. It may be possible that there are illegal immigrants

doing this type of work, as is the case in the United States and Thailand, for low

salaries. However, since New Zealand is an island, it is more difficult for illegal

immigrants from poor countries such as Burma, Laos, Philippines, and Cambodian to

work in New Zealand. On the other hand, whether there are illegal migrants in New



                                                                                    31
Zealand from the Pacific Islands working as babysitters and housekeepers is beyond

this paper to examine.



Socio-economic status is perhaps a more important factor than gender in Thailand. It

determines opportunities in education and work prospects for both Thai men and

women. This is because people in a low socio-economic status in Thailand still face

difficulties in employment and promotion because of their work at home and the

responsibility of looking after their children. Unfortunately, the gap between the rich

and the poor in Thailand is relatively large (see Table 4) due to the starting salary

(Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994). For clerical staff it is 10 times less than a

manager’s salary compared to other countries such as South Korea, Australia and

New Zealand where managers are paid three times more the earnings of their clerical

staff (Anonymous, 2007). The majority of Thai women are in a socio-economic status

where household chores can clearly be seen as women’s main responsibility

(Yukongdi, 2005) due to their economic status, not their gender.



Nevertheless, although I propose that socio-economic class is more important than

gender, there is a relationship between the two factors which needs to be examined in

future research. This is because I cannot deny the fact that both gender and class are

factors in discrimination.




4.5). Education

In the previous chapter, I explored the significance of social class which plays a role

in employment opportunities. This, in turn, gives access to education which is not

available for the majority of Thai people. A study from Cruz-Siy (1989) showed that


                                                                                    32
women who receive an education from overseas, especially from the U.S. and

England are often employed in senior management positions in Thailand. However,

many Thai women do not have such access. This is purely based on socio-economic

status not gender because, after 1997 when the CEDAW report came out, Thailand

allowed women and men to have equal opportunities in every institution including the

military and police that used to be exclusive to men. This also enhanced women’s

opportunities to study the subjects that used to be only within the male domain. The

recent report shows that Thai women are interested in studying computing and

management (see Table 5) more than their male counterparts. Subjects that used to be

male orientated no longer reflect huge differences.



The public tertiary education system in Thailand is relatively cheap with a wide range

of scholarships and allowances, as about 25% of national budget goes towards the

education system (Ziderman, 2003); compared to a relatively high cost of tertiary

education in New Zealand where student debt is over NS$7 billion dollars

(Fitzsimons, 2004). This indicates that the Thailand public universities and the

government aid both Thai men and women to experience equal opportunities to gain

the education that they want (Asian Development Bank, 1998).

Thai women who are lower down on the economic scale can still find themselves

studying in higher education at the University and in vocational education. Statistics

also show there is a higher rate of female graduates than male graduates except in

Doctoral degrees (see Table 6). Furthermore, in CEDAW’s (2007) report it indicates

that there are more women receiving scholarships than men, which goes to show the

equality of access in Thai education.




                                                                                   33
After completing their studies in Thailand people will have very little debt and

interest to pay off, because the payback system is spread over 15 years after

graduation with 1 percent interest (Ziderman, 2003), which means people can begin

saving straight away. Although the New Zealand student loan system allows interest-

free for students while they study, they have to start paying this amount off when they

begin earning over a certain amount in their place of employment. However, the

relatively high tertiary educational fees force students to work more years to pay off

their debt. One of the researcher’s friends has a debt of NZ$40,000 dollars and that it

will take him at least 5-8 years to clear. The Green Party Education’s spokesperson,

Metiria Turei (2007), indicated that



       “We cannot have a sustainable economy when young people enter into the

       workforce with a collective debt of $9 billion. The long term impacts are

       beginning to be felt, with many graduates unable to purchase a house till much

       later in their working careers. Many are even avoiding having families because

       they start their adult lives with such an enormous debt burden.”



As a Thai person, I think that the education system in Thailand has not yet been

influenced by capitalist ideas from the West, at least for now, and it is open to

everyone. Furthermore, close family networks in Thailand help young women to

enjoy the opportunity to concentrate on their study and work, for example, the parents

usually pay for their children tuition fees and according to the loan system, it does not

matter if your parents’ income is high, Thai people can still apply for the loan

(Ziderman, 2003), whereas many women in the West do not have the same social

support networks (Hutchings, 2000).



                                                                                      34
Nevertheless, as mentioned above, women who gain a higher education from overseas

tend to enjoy a better occupation overall. This may be because multinational

companies and Thai firms highly value Western education and the English language

and it becomes an important aspect for an executive position. Therefore, many of the

private universities in Thailand offer international tertiary curriculum using English as

the main teaching language. This allows women who are from a middle socio-

economic status to be able to achieve an education which is equivalent to overseas.

International universities are clearly the result of multinational companies that require

an employee to be able to communicate in English.




4.6). Western Literature on Discrimination

I have used a Thai theoretical lens to analyse the gender issues in Thailand from the

beginning of this report and, in order to understand gender difficulties in Thailand, I

will use a Western theoretical approach in this chapter to analyse gender issues in

Thailand. By using the Western approach and finding the number of regulations that

promote women, women’s employment rates, and the salary gap approaching on Thai

gender issues, this would indicate that there is a high rate of gender discrimination in

Thailand.

New Zealand is considered a Western country as it was colonised by the British and

many European immigrants arrived in the country centuries ago. If we take a look at

New Zealand laws and regulations, we will notice that gender equality issues are very

sensitive. For example, there are several laws that strive to promote gender equality

such as Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO), the Civil Union Bill, and anti-

discrimination laws.




                                                                                      35
Statistics are also important, because statistics are the most reliable hard data that are

                                                                           6
tangible and legitimate to make a claim. According to Bascand (2007) , statistics are

collected and studied because they are an indicator of people’s well-being and

whether or not there should be a change in policy to make a better society.

Statistics New Zealand (2005) has a specific report on women called “Focusing on

Women” which looks at the demographic, social and economic characteristics of

women in New Zealand. The report provides an overview of the changing status of

New Zealand women. This report is comprehensive, ranging from how much time

goes into unpaid work, the type of unpaid work that people do and how this varies for

different groups.



In contrast, the Thailand statistics department only issued a particular gender statistic

report during the period of 1996-1998 which can be retrieved from their official

                                                     7
website (Social Statistics Division, 2001) . The lack of information on important

statistics such as how many women work at home, what type of work they do, and

what type of unpaid jobs they are doing are not included in the Key

Statistics of Thailand in 2007. The report is created by the Thailand National Statistics

Office (2007) and aims to collect important statistical data which are related to

economics, society and environment. One section is dedicated to gender statistics.

However, there are only three statistical tables (see Figure 2). They are a percentage

of population by labour force status, population of migrants by sex, and population of

people 15 years and over who desire to develop by education. Some of the statistics

that should have been under the Gender Statistics section are randomly allocated in
6
 Statistics New Zealand (2005). Focusing on Women 2005. Wellington.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/about-us/who-we-are/government-statistician.htm
7
    http://web.nso.go.th/eng/en/stat/gender/gender.htm


                                                                                       36
the report. If I simply compare Thai statistics to New Zealand statistics, one can argue

that Thailand does not place much emphasis on women; therefore, gender

discrimination is obvious. Seen from the Western point of view, I would agree.



Said (1978) argues that materialism is integrated into Western society where everyone

is trying to dominate through economic wealth. Therefore, when women earn less

than men, discrimination issues in the workforce can be targeted. It should be noted

that women tend to earn less than men around the globe, on average about three-

fourths of wages received by males for the same work in both developed and

developing countries (Boon, 2003). This also applies to Thailand where the

proportion of women earning high wages is less than men, about three-fourths of the

pay, while the proportion of women earning low salary is higher than that of men (see

Table 7) (The Government of Thailand, 2006). In this case, Thailand can be seen as a

gender discriminated country because women earn less than men, but where in the

world do women earn more than men?



There is no doubt that there is high concern for gender inequality issues in Thailand if

we base it on the Western theoretical approach. However, it is not applicable to base

the analysis on whether there is gender discrimination or not on numbers, especially

the employment rate and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate. Employment rate could

be one of the indicators of gender discrimination in the West because of its

materialism and capitalism culture. Although capitalism stabilises the economy in

many developed countries, there are various side-effects such as instability, income

disparity, economic inequality and environmental impacts, with the most critical one,

economic inequality in poor countries (Tanomsup, 2006). The 1996 economic crisis



                                                                                     37
in South-East Asia, especially in Thailand, is a prime example of how capitalism

creates instability and chaos in society (Hewison, 1999). Wealth became a priority.

Thai people became selfish and their main purpose in life contradicted Buddhism

philosophy (Bangprapa, 2005).




4.7). Western Standard of Living (GDP) vs. Eastern Standard of Living (GNH)

While capitalism takes over Thai people’s lives, Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

measurement becomes the indicator of how well the country is doing so the previous

Thai Government took the GDP onboard to measure the standard of living in the

country (Kittiampon, 2007). GDP was widely used in Europe in the early 1950s but

was not recognised internationally until 1993 when it was first introduced in the

System of National Accounts to the International Monetary Fund, European Union,

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations and

World Bank (United Nations Statistics Division, 1993) to set an international standard

on GDP.



These organisations are mainly organized by the developed countries mainly from the

West. GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of standard of living in an

economy when it was first introduced. GDP is being used in almost every country in

the world allowing for simple comparisons between the standard of living giving the

world confidence that comparisons are being measured in each country (Hicks, 1997).

However, the major disadvantage of using GDP as an indicator of the standard of

living is that it is not a measure of the standard of living and does not reflect the

happiness of the people, the equality amongst its people, and the quality in society due

to its assumption that the standard of living tends to increase when GDP per capita


                                                                                     38
increases (Bergh, 2007). Nothing about the definition of GDP suggests that it is

necessarily a measure of the standard of living. For instance, in an extreme example, a

country which exported 100 per cent of its production and imported nothing would

still have a high GDP, but a very poor standard of living (Summers & Heston, 1995).

Feminist sociologists such as Marilyn Waring criticise GDP because there is no

imputation made in the accounts for the economic value of unpaid housework or for

unpaid voluntary labour (Marilyn, 1988). This obscures the reality that market

production depends, to a large extent, on non-market labour being performed.

In contrast, the ‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH) was first introduced in Bhutan by

His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It is largely influenced by Buddhist

philosophy that the ultimate purpose of life is inner happiness (The Centre of Bhutan

Studies, 2004).



Thailand took the GNH idea from Bhutan and included it in The 10th National

Economic and Social Development Plan for the years 2007-2011 (see Figure 3) of

Thailand. The plan aimed to encounter capitalism and GDP measurement, create

social harmony or “a green and happy society” (Thailand Investment Review, 2007)

and to define quality of life in more holistic terms than Gross National Product

(Kittiampon, 2007). Five strategies were developed. The first strategy looked at social

conditions and human development through improved education and health care,

morals and ethics, as well as the safety of the individual and of property. The second

strategy was to develop a strong community. The third strategy dealt with the national

economy. The fourth strategy focused on environmental issues, and the last strategy

aimed to develop good governance (Thailand Investment Review, 2007).




                                                                                    39
Evidently, national economic development is not the main priority of this national

plan. Happiness of the people of Thailand is not based on how much money they

have. Richard Easterlin, economics professor at the University of Southern California

also agreed that people have been misled to believe that if they are consuming more

apples and buying more cars they will be happier than someone who does not

consume as many apples or have as many cars as they have (Mustafa, 2005). This is

also a Buddhist psyche which teaches people that happiness is contentment. People

should be happy with what they have. As a little Bhutanese girl explained, “If you

know you are happy with your own limitations, that is basic happiness” (Sherr, 2005).

The first two strategies deal directly with happiness in a family unit, the happiness

within society, the quality of lives, good social networks, good education, the sense of

happiness in society, harmony in society, satisfaction with personal relationships,

employment, and meaning and purpose in life. These factors have a weak relationship

to capitalism and materialistic values (Thailand Investment Review, 2007). The GNH

policy aims to eliminate ego, corruption, depression, and competition that create

tension within society, by promoting what is called the “sufficient economy” (see

Figure 4) to solve inequalities and unhappiness and ways to combat new forms of

inequality (Tanomsup, 2006).




4.8). Limitation

This research only uses secondary resources to conduct the analysis, thus there is a

need for further research to conduct an intensive interview to prove the research

findings. In addition, the literature on Thai gender is limited and mainly written by

foreign scholars who do not understand the sensitive and unique culture in Thailand.

As a result, several theories and findings from Western literature cannot be applied in


                                                                                     40
Thai settings. The statistics data from the recent Thailand National Statistics report

(2007) are not comprehensive enough nor up-to-date to generate reliable findings and

results. Significantly, there is a limited time to conduct this study, which may have

influenced the result. Furthermore, I am Thai, it is my understanding that gender

discrimination does not exist in Thailand in the same way as in the West. Based on

my experience as a scholar studying in New Zealand, I am not able to express the

meaning of gender and gender discrimination in the Thai language. I found that ideas

about gender are easier to explain in English.




                                                                                   41
5: Future Research

I cannot deny the fact that Western literature is the first step of understanding Thai

gender studies because without this it might not be possible to understand gender

issues in Thailand. However, it is important to take a look at Thai culture and history

as part of the analysis. There is a need for the local researchers to conduct their

research in Thailand due to the fact that Thai people are the people who best

understand their traditional culture and language. In addition, I believe that research

on the relationship between socio-economic status and gender should take place. The

effect of colonisation is still a new concept as some of the books refer to Thailand as

having a semi-colonial status. Therefore, future research would benefit from

observing Thailand’s history and the relationship between the West and Thailand.

However, this, I feel, should be completed by Thai scholars mainly because most of

the historical literature is written in traditional Thai language which can be hard to

understand and translate.



Finally, this research finding can be beneficial to both Thai and Western scholars in

developing a further study on a non-colonised country and its culture and lifestyle that

play a major role in gender development. My future research will be on the “Gross

National Happiness” or GNH. How GNH can raise the efficiency within an

organisation. This principle will argue that, for all workers, happiness and enjoyment

should come first.




                                                                                     42
6: Conclusion

This study is therefore interpreted from a Western stance, which may be considered

inappropriate when applied in the Thai society. From the perspective of the GNH are

Thai men and women happier than Western men and women? Many Thai men and

women may own less commodities than Western people, but Thai social lifestyle may

bring them far more peace and contentment.

The effect of colonisation has influenced South-East Asia in many ways. Research

has shown that the culture and social norms from the West have shaped the Asian

people’s lifestyle and way of thinking. Traditional values are being distorted and have

more or less disappeared. Their history is being written by scholars from the West and

interpreted by Western understanding. Gender development is one of the studies that

is largely influenced by Western scholars.

Concepts such as gender and discrimination might be understood by the people who

understand the Western culture and language to some extent. However, Thailand itself

has never been colonised and has found difficulty in understanding Western literature

and concepts on gender and discrimination. Some of the Western scholars conducted

their gender studies in Thailand, a country that has never been colonised.

Nevertheless, their understanding is limited, as they do not fully understand Thai

culture and its unique Thai language, especially when the literature is in English. The

meanings and interpretations can be confusing for Thai people as some of the words

such as gender and discrimination cannot be translated with a proper understanding

into Thai language.     Therefore, Western literature might not be applicable in

understanding Thai culture and gender. Although the West might influence Thailand

economically, research findings show that multinational companies highly respect



                                                                                    43
Thai culture. They do not impose their culture in Thailand, rather they are accepting

and applying Thai culture in their organisational practices.



Buddhism is part of Thai people’s everyday lives. A practice which is strongly

embodied within Thai culture, has made Thailand one of the most unique countries in

the world that has its own distinct culture and customs. The middle path culture, a

phenomenon in Thailand, has shown that Thai people do not like conflict, which is the

reason why we have never been colonised, never had a major conflict between men

and women, and has also allowed gay men and women to express themselves freely in

the country. Nevertheless, I am not saying that there is no feminist movement,

actually, there is. However, there is only a small proportion of Thai women who raise

gender issues because they have received an education from overseas and are aware

of the issues. In other words, they are influenced by the West’s culture and education

on gender issues.



In conclusion, gender might not be a major problem in Thailand because the majority

of Thai people still do not understand the meaning of gender, and people appear to be

happy living their lives. However, socio-economic status is important to Thai

women’s lives and social networks are part of the Thai society that aids women and

men to experience opportunities when pursuing their careers and dreams. Gender

discrimination is less influenced by individuals than by the system and social norms,

which undoubtedly discriminate against women implicitly.




                                                                                   44
Appendix 1
Table 1: Female Employment Rate

                         Table Labour Force
                                              Seaso
        Round                                  nally   People       Particip   Unemplo
          /                                   Inacti    not in       ation      yment
Year                       Empl     Unemp
        Quart    Total                          ve     Labour        Rate        Rate
          er               oyed      loyed              Force        (%)         (%)
                                              Labou
                                                 r
                                              Force
        Quart
                           14,583                             9,4                    3
         er 1
                15,297.2   .9       457.5     255.9    41.6         61.8       .0
        Quart
                           14,991                             9,2                    2
         er 2
                15,699.0   .7       402.9     304.4    12.0         63.0       .6
2004
        Quart
                           16,012                             8,6                    1
         er 3
                16,251.1   .6       224.7     13.8     99.1         65.1       .4
        Quart
                           15,972                             8,6                    1
         er 4
                16,288.9   .9       241.1     74.9     84.2         65.2       .5
        Quart
                           15,029                             9,3                    2
         er 1
                15,603.1   .6       373.1     200.5    94.2         62.4       .4
        Quart
                           15,313                             9,1                    2
         er 2
                15,878.9   .4       311.4     254.1    42.6         63.5       .0
2005
        Quart
                           16,795                             8,6                    1
         er 3
                17,030.3   .2       205.5     29.7     52.5         66.3       .2
        Quart
                           16,515                             9,0                    1
         er 4
                16,780.8   .0       226.1     39.7     28.2         65.0       .4
        Quart
                           15,647                             9,7                    1
         er 1
                16,126.3   .6       303.2     175.5    48.5         62.3       .9
        Quart
                           16,068                             9,4                    1
         er 2
                16,536.9   .8       276.0     192.1    12.0         63.7       .7
2006
        Quart
                           16,706                             9,0                    1
         er 3
                16,943.1   .3       190.2     46.7     80.7         65.1       .1
        Quart
                           16,653                             9,1                    1
         er 4
                16,907.9   .7       187.8     66.4     89.7         64.8       .1
        Quart
                           15,909                             9,8                    1
         er 1
                16,291.8   .5       215.3     167.0    81.6         62.3       .3
2007
                                                                               45    1
        Quart
                           16,137                             9,6              .5
         er 2
                16,582.9   .1       244.1     201.6    68.4         63.2
Source:   Report of the Labour Force Survey, National Statistical Office, Ministry of

      Information and Communication Technology




Table 2: Number and Percentage of Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over
by Industry and Sex (in millions)




                                                                                        46
Table 3: Number of Employed Persons Over 15 Years of Age in a 1-Year Period
by Sex (in millions)




Table 4: Average Monthly Total Income and Current Income by Region: 2006




                                                                           47
Table 5: Population 15 Years and Over who Desire to Develop by Course and
Sex: 2006-2007




                                                                            48
Table 6: Number of Male and Female Students by Educational Level for
Academic Year 2000




  Table 7: Number of Employees by Level of Wages/Salary and Sex




                                                                       49
Appendix 2
Figure 1: Thai Woman Mahout (Elephant Driver).




      Source: Gordon, A., & Sirisambhand, N. (2002). Evidence for Thailand's Missing Social
      History: Thai Women in Old Mutal Paintings




                                                                                              50
Figure 2: Gender Statistics in “The Key Statistics of Thailand 2007”.




        Source: The Key Statistics of Thailand (2007)


Figure 3: The 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan for the
years 2007-2011
                                      Goals of the 10th plan

Quality of life        •   Increase average years of education from 8.5 to 10 years
                       •   Increase skilled labor as a percent of workforce from 39.8% to 60%
                       •   Increase number of researchers from 6.7/10,000 to 10/10,000
                       •   Increase life expectancy to 80 years
                       •   Reduce the rate of illness for the top 5 diseases
                       •   Reduce crime by 10%




Community              • Reduce incidence of poverty from 16.3% in 2005 to 4% by 2011
development and        • Implement participatory community plan for all communities
poverty reduction

Economic               • Ratio of SME/GDP to increase from
restructuring          39.4% in 2005 to no less than 40%
for balance and        • Inflation of 3.0-3.5%
competitiveness        • Total Factory Productivity Growth (TFPG) of 3%
                       • Energy Elasticity of 1:1
                       • Q5/Q1 not to exceed 10 times
                       • Ratio of public debt/GDP of less than 50%
                       • Ratio of domestic economy/external
                       sector to 75% from 71.3% in 2001-2005

        Source: Thailand Investment Review. (2007)

.




                                                                                            51
Figure 4: The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy




      Source: Kittiampon, A. (2007)




                                                  52
References




             53

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Final Research Sample

  • 1. GEND489: Research Essay in Gender and Women's Studies. “What Effect Does Colonisation and Western Influences and Culture Have on Thai Society, Women and Organizations” Win Singphatanakul 300066606 Supervisors: Adjunct Professor Prue Hyman and Dr. Alison Laurie 1
  • 2. CONTENTS 1: INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3 2: METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................................................5 2.1). Purpose of the Study................................................................................................................5 2.2). The Nature of the Study...........................................................................................................5 2.3). What Theoretical Lens Will I Use?..........................................................................................6 3: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................................7 3.1). Language Barriers and Western Literature............................................................................7 4: DISCUSSION OF MY FINDINGS..................................................................................................20 4.1). Statistical Facts.....................................................................................................................20 4.2). Thai Social Norms and the West Social Norms.....................................................................22 4.3). Multinational Companies .....................................................................................................26 4.4). Socio-Economic Status..........................................................................................................29 4.5). Education...............................................................................................................................32 4.6). Western Literature on Discrimination...................................................................................35 4.7). Western Standard of Living (GDP) vs. Eastern Standard of Living (GNH).........................38 4.8). Limitation...............................................................................................................................40 5: FUTURE RESEARCH.....................................................................................................................42 6: CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................43 APPENDIX 1..........................................................................................................................................45 Table 1: Female Employment Rate................................................................................................45 Table 2: Number and Percentage of Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over by Industry and Sex (in millions).............................................................................................................................46 Table 3: Number of Employed Persons Over 15 Years of Age in a 1-Year Period by Sex (in millions) .........47 Table 4: Average Monthly Total Income and Current Income by Region: 2006..........................47 Table 6: Number of Male and Female Students by Educational Level for Academic Year 2000 ........................................................................................................................................................49 Table 7: Number of Employees by Level of Wages/Salary and Sex...........................................49 APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................................................50 Figure 1: Thai Woman Mahout (Elephant Driver). ......................................................................50 Figure 2: Gender Statistics in “The Key Statistics of Thailand 2007”.........................................51 Figure 3: The 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan for the years 2007-2011. 51 Figure 4: The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy........................................................................52 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................53 2
  • 3. 1: Introduction This study is about the position of women in Thailand. My research question addresses whether Thai women can be regarded as ‘colonised’ and whether they can legitimately be regarded as oppressed and subservient. I will argue that Western feminist theory positions itself as a universal authority, which is not always applicable to non-Western cultures and circumstances. In order to address my research question, I have conducted a small study of published reports on the economic position of Thai women, generalising from Western culture to Thai culture. I argue that the differences of language and of interpretation can mislead researchers into assuming it is a universal position for all women. My report also debates on whether the socio-economic status is a greater indicator of inequality than gender in the Thai environment. In addition, I will also argue that equality can be achieved through the ‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH) policy. GNH is unlike the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which concentrates on capital value that does not reflect the quality and happiness of individuals. Many countries use GDP as shorthand for the well-being of a nation. However, GNH, unlike GDP, does not only consider economic growth but also consider the general happiness of people (Mustafa, 2005; Rodsuthi, 2007). There is substantial literature on the GHP policy, in particular regarding its application in Bhuatan, but it is beyond the scope of this research to discuss the Bhutan situation. Thus, I will focus my discussion on the situation in Thailand. A research objective is to look at the effect colonisation has played in South-East Asia. The culture, history and language of Thailand have been, over time, influenced 3
  • 4. by neighbouring colonised countries. However, Thailand itself has escaped actual colonisation by Western powers. Thai culture and history therefore remain traditional with little influence from the West. Nevertheless, the effect of colonisation has relatively affected Thai society and shaped Thai women’s lives according to some postcolonial literature, which suggests that Thailand developed a semi-colonial status. Since there is little literature written by Thai scholars on Thailand, and with most of it written in English by Westerners, it is difficult for Thai people to understand and translate. Therefore, the effect of the English language as part of colonisation will be discussed below showing how it shapes Thai society and women’s lives in Thailand. In addition, since Western literature seems to portray Thailand as one of their colonised countries, gender issues in Thailand are also being observed through the Western theoretical lens. This research will explore the understanding of Thai women and gender issues from the Western point of view and whether their analysis is reliable or not. Furthermore, this research will look at Thai women’s participation in the workforce and analyse what causes gender discrimination in Thailand because literature on gender studies from the West emphasise gender equality through economic achievements. This research will also investigate the claim from Western scholars about the effects of colonisation, whether there is input from the substantial influences from Western culture and value in Thai society and organisations. 4
  • 5. 2: Methodology This section looks at how data was obtained and includes questions related to sampling, research design and data collection methods (Cavana, Delahaye, & Sekaran, 2001). 2.1). Purpose of the Study This research will be conducted as an exploratory study because there is limited literature on the effect of colonisation on Thailand and the issue that the study is examining has been the subject of very few research projects. In addition, I am interested in exploring the situational factors so as to understand the characteristics of colonisation in a non-colonial country. For this particular study, I am trying to understand the relationship between colonisation and Thai women’s lives. I use women’s participation in the workforce in Thailand as one of the examples to answer my research question “What effect does colonisation and Western influences and culture have on Thai society, women and organizations” 2.2). The Nature of the Study The research question asks questions that involve human behaviour. Thus, I initially wanted to collect the data through interviews but due to the inevitable limited scope of an honours research paper I will not be conducting any interviews that involve human subjects. Instead, this research will be exploratory only, consisting of a literature review using secondary resources such as newspaper articles, academic articles and 5
  • 6. statistical data, together with my discussion of these resources based on theoretical readings and my own experience. This material will be compared and contrasted to answer the research question. First, and foremost, articles on Thai women written by Westerners and Thai people will be discussed and compared. Statistical data will be obtained from the Thailand country report to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) available online and used as back-up evidence of the claim I will be making in the Discussion chapter. Post-colonial theory will be used to help with the analysis. The analysis and interpretation will be mainly based on my experiences as a Thai person. Thus, it is, inevitably, a subjective interpretation of the situation and literature. In order to develop my argument, it is important for me to differentiate fact from opinion. 2.3). What Theoretical Lens Will I Use? My aim is to understand the effects of colonisation in a non-colonised country. In this research, my study will be focused on Thailand. How does colonisation affect Thai women and their participation in the workforce? After gaining much information though international databases and internet, I have found that most literature is derived from European writers. Obviously, gender development and gender studies are influenced by the West. Therefore, in this research I will turn the tables around and look at how Western literature shape and influence Thai women at work and home. Post-colonial theory will be used as an analysis tool to encounter the western literature. In addition, it should be noted that in this study there are a few studies which are written in the English language that look at gender issues in Thailand from an Asian point of view. 6
  • 7. 3: Literature Review 3.1). Language Barriers and Western Literature Thai is the predominant member of the Thai family of languages which includes around 60 languages spoken throughout Southeast Asia. Thai languages are difficult to place linguistically but are usually linked to either the Sino-Tibetan or Austronesian language families (Wood, 1993). Standard Thai is written in the Thai alphabet which is derived from the Indian Devanagari script, and characterized by the use of five tones, whereas English is classified as an Indo-European language and is part of the Germanic subfamily (Baugh & Cable, 2001). The English language is also believed to be constructed by dominant males, for instance, the word God usually refers to a man not a woman, because God is seen as a father figure with a strong personality, and women are viewed as inferior to men who are passive, dependent and emotional. In addition, English derogatory words used for women such as “whore” and “bitch” are often more sexualised than derogatory words for men (Penelope, 1990; Spender, 1985). English-related languages include Dutch, Flemish and the low German dialects and, more distinctly, modern German. The English language is the primary language of the majority of people who live in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other former colonies of Britain, and in the United States. It is also an official or semi-official language of many countries with a colonial past such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa (Microsoft Encarta, 2007). 7
  • 8. According to Said (1978) the English language in Western literature has played a major role in influencing world intellectuals and their understanding about the world. The fact is, that much feminist literature is derived from the West, and is written in Western languages. Cameron’s work (1988) suggest that these writings would not be applicable to the Thai situation - because to understand the Thai worldview on gender and sex traditions and practices, and in order to understand any country’s culture, one must first understand that country’s language (Cameron, 1998). Cameron’s research is derived from the famous controversial hypothesis which was developed by Sapir (1949) and Whorf (1976) back in the 19th century “our worldview is determined by the structures of the particular language that we happen to speak”. Authors, such as Jackson and Cook (1999), label Western feminist literature and ideas as misleading because the terms sex and gender are not applicable in the Thai language as Thai indigenous language does not differentiate between sex and gender (Thanprasertsuka et al., 2005). However, feminist western theory and languages distinguish sex and gender as a separate matter (Jackson & Cook, 1999). Professor Jumnong Thongprasirt classified the terms sex and gender into a singular matter (The Royal Institute, 2006). Discursive terms such as biological sex, gender, and sexual expressions are referred to as a single term in the Thai language. He explains the word ‘phet’ as the most problematic loanword from the Sanskrit language and it is not a clear single word that can be interpreted as either sex or gender. The official Thai language institution describes the word ‘phet’ as either a physical look or behavioural expression which distinguishes man and woman (The Royal Institute, 2006). Scholars, such as Esterik (2000) and Jackson (1999) comment that the word ‘phet’ is one of the most multivalent and polysemic words in the Thai language. In the official 8
  • 9. Thai-English dictionary from the Thailand National Electronic and Computer Technology Centre (2007), ‘phet’ is a single complex meaning of sex and gender combined and quite often the word ‘phet’ usually simply means sex appearance. As a result, the international terms and concepts ‘feminist’ and ‘gender’ are difficult to translate and understood in Thai because the English term ‘gender’ is itself a loanword from the Norman Conquest-era Middle French. This, in turn, originated from Latin (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). In the East, most of the languages are not influenced by Latin but instead by the Sanskrit language where gender and sex are hard to distinguish (Muecke, 2004). This is despite the fact that both Sanskrit and Latin are Indo-European languages as these languages and cultures developed differently between the West and the East. When comparing the literature, we can see the differences between the Thai gender/sex system and the West gender/sex system. Esterik (2000) explains that there is a clear-cut gender asymmetry and identity-based sexual polarities in Euro- American but, in Thailand, the gender system is based upon shape of the body and physiology that goes to make up the human form. Jackson and Cook (1999) believe that applying the theories and literatures from the West might not be applicable in evaluating Thai’s social phenomena because of its differences in values, beliefs, and culture. This is supported by Spivak’s research (1988) which points out that the West’s attempts at understanding the Orient from its own point of view places itself as the subject of the study rather than the Orient. In this case, the literature is not an asset but rather a deficit. As Menon (2006) explains, “the flow of books had always been from west to east – mainly from the native English-speaking world to the rest of the world, simply put, from the colonisers to the colonised”. 9
  • 10. Jackson and Cook (1999) suggest that the difference between Thailand and the other countries around the region is that there are no traditions of colonial scholarship in Thailand that examine gender relations comparable to the rest of Southeast Asia. Muecke (2004) proposed that there is hardly any well-known literature on sexuality in Thailand that is inclusively authored by Thai scholars. Most of the literature is conducted by non-Thai scholars, some of whom do not speak Thai at all. On this matter, Hongladarom (1996) indicated that gender issues in Thailand cannot be understood with indigenous meanings because without the Thai community, scholars, and feminists reflecting upon themselves, Thai people would remain locked within its self-imposed ‘prison of tradition’. This is due to the fact that the Thai language has received little influence from the English language. However, Esterik (2000) has developed the term “semi-colonised” in his famous book “Materializing Thailand”. He argues that Thailand has been colonised economically from the West. He states that Thailand has created two unique myths in the field of gender studies. The first myth is that Thailand is culturally homogenous with a single language and a single religion. The second myth being there is little involvement from Western philosophers and scholars in Thailand on gender issues. On the other hand, American scholars Jackson and Cook (1999), who reside in Thailand and teach at Thai University, see Thailand as a non-colonised country. 3.2). Semi-Colonisation: Women’s Participation in the Workforce Although Thailand has always been a male dominated country, traditionally Thai men have respected women’s participation in the workforce and especially at war. As evidence has shown in 1548, Queen Suriyothai tells the epic history of a Thai woman. 10
  • 11. Queen Suriyothai, who valiantly died in a battle against Burmese invaders when taking her elephant before the Burmese king. She sacrificed herself to save the life of her husband, King Chakrapat, and his kingdom. This story was also made into a film in 2001 to remind the Thai people of the Thai heroine. In comparison in the West, there was a strong feeling against such feminine militancy and on many occasions women volunteers were sent back to their homes during wars (Anonymous, 1914). However, 300 years later, patriarchal perception evidently influenced Thai society. There is evidence that King Vajiravud (1910-1926) travelled to France and brought back with him ideas on how to develop Thailand - such as improving transportation and bringing in western lifestyles. As a result, Thai women stopped chewing Betel nuts because it was seen as a non-civilised and unacceptable thing for women to do from a Western point of view. This may have been the first development of a semi- colonial status in Thailand. Scholars like Jackson (1999), Esterick (2000), and Iwananga (2005) have now resided in Thailand for some years observing and absorbing Thai gender and sex culture (an ethnographical approach). Their studies pointed out that the term ‘beauty’ has had an influenced Thai women to wear their hair longer and to dress in stylish western fashion because many countries in Europe saw Thailand as a non-civilised country where Thai women had short hair, black teeth from Betel nut chewing, and wore clothes that were not attractive according to Western standards. Although Siam was not colonised, the country nevertheless selectively borrowed from Western gender understanding. 11
  • 12. Semi-colonial status was further developed in the early 1990s by a feminist movement in Thailand when Thai women who were educated overseas began showing their influence through political parties and education (Esterick, 2000). Their understanding of gender equality was largely due to the Western tertiary education system (Somswasdi, 2003). During that time, the government began to pay more attention to women’s rights issues. Thus, in 1994, the National Statistics Office in Thailand released its first report on women’s participation in the workforce to raise issues of gender differences in an aim to reduce gender and sex bias because of mounting pressure arising from the movement. It was stated in the report that women's contribution to the national socio-economic development is crucial for Thai society (Thailand National Statistics Office, 1996-1998). However, the latest report from Social Statistics Division (2000) describes the failure of women’s participation in the workforce from 1994 to 1998 as ineffective and a waste of money, because people are not aware of gender issues in Thailand. The feminist movement in Europe and America in the late twentieth century had created a significant change in Western society. Second-wave feminists were concerned with gaining full social and economic equality, having already gained some of the important legal equality (voting, for example) in most western nations in the late twentieth century (Smith, 1999). Somswasdi (2003), a Thai woman scholar who graduated from Yale University, stated that the movement was ineffective in Thailand because self-directed assertive Thai women did not see the value of gender equality or women’s equality and did not associate themselves with the movement. Muechke (2004) explains that Thai women 12
  • 13. found feminist movements from the West overly academic and obsessed with Western views and image. Iwanaga (2005) states that the most explicit feminist movement occurred when Thailand reformed its constitution and called it “The People’s Constitution”. It provided a significant enabling framework for gender rights. This constitution aimed to bring equal employment opportunities to men and women, as well as enhance women’s equality and equity in the workforce. The positive outcome of this constitution is evident in the The Globalist (2006) research which highlights Thailand has one of the highest rates of female labour force participation in East Asia at 65.1 percent. The country ranks are well ahead of any other Asian nations such as the Philippines (50.2 percent), South Korea (49.9 percent), and Japan (48.2 percent). Nevertheless, the number of women participants in the workforce should not be the only gender equality measurement per se. As Siengthai and Leelakulthanit (1994) pointed out, by considering only the rate of participation by women in the workforce, it would be suggested that Thailand does not discriminate against women. Nor is it suggested that managerial denial of gender discrimination does not exist, for indeed it does. This is supported by Somswasdi’s (2003) research which indicates Thai women might be able to enjoy equal opportunities in entering the workforce but still find it hard to gain equal access to a good salary as do men in Thailand, and women’s sexuality continues to be under the control of men. This is confirmed by statistical data from Thailand National Statistics Office (1996-1998) which show that women are largely employed in subordinate roles such as administration, reception, and accountancy. 13
  • 14. Furthermore, there are more Thai women working in rural areas due to high seasonal demand in agriculture who still account for a very small part of the total employment in the areas of administrative, executive, or managerial positions (Thailand National Statistics Office, 1996-1998). Thus, serious gender-based inequalities persist in Thailand and the role of women participation in the labour force should be accountable in gender equity and equality issues. The gender equality issues become much clearer in the late twentieth century, when more Western multinational companies began to trade goods and invest in Thailand, and specific research by Tzeng (2006) points out that Western companies have played a major role in creating gender inequality in the country offices. They create labour positioning and a pay gap between men and women. Several studies (Cheng & Liao, 1993; International Labour Organization, 1998; Jacobs, 1995) note that statistics for female managers in most countries have inflated and, in Asia, gender inequality appears to be a much greater issue than in most other Western countries. This is because Asian women are seen as indirect, unable to cope with pressure, and inferior to European women. These suggestions are confirmed by Thailand National Statistics Office (2007) showed that Thai women are still seen as inferior especially in the labour force in both the public and private sectors. Tzeng’s (2006) and Iwanaga’s research (2005) explain that gender inequality happens in multinational companies’ offices, because multinational companies overlook the power of Asian women, as they judge Asian women according to local norms, that is, as weak and unprofessional in female behaviour. In addition, Korabik’s research (1993) in “Managerial Women in the PRC" and Giacobbe-Miller, Miller and Zhang 14
  • 15. (1997) in “Equity, Equality and Need as Determinant of Pay Allocations” show that international organizations are advantaged by employing young, highly-replaceable female labour in short-term positions with few opportunities, and has often used the observance of cultural and social norms for its defence. For instance, businesses may argue that they are unable to provide promotional prospects for women because, to do so, would require women completing after-hours training which, in turn, would impinge on social expectations of the women’s primary responsibility to family and community (Stockman, Banney, & Xuemen, 1995). A substantial amount of Western literature also refers to women’s primary responsibility as non-paid work. They show that gender-based inequalities happen because married women or women with partners are being encouraged to enter into non-economic characteristics such as participating in housework and childrearing (G.- S. Lim & Ng, 1998; Torr, 2005). A similar suggestion is expressed in the Women’s Empowerment and Reproductive Health Research (1999) throughout the world women continue to bear primary responsibility for childcare and housework. This unpaid work remains economically invisible. Furthermore, apart from being a housewife completing household chores, married women are constrained by the mothering role (Hock, Morgan, & Hock, 1985). This is supported by the Inglehart and Norris research (2002) which shows that throughout history, women, in virtually all societies, have had their life options restricted to the roles of wife and mother. The impact of the mothering role, pregnancy and care for young children also impede women’s opportunities for employment (Women’s empowerment and reproductive health, 1999). Appelbaum 15
  • 16. (1981) and Sorensen (1983) identified patterns of difficulty in women’s labour force participation. Both agreed that married women tend to quit their jobs because they have no time outside the house as they are obliged to manage the household and look after children. Dex (1987) concurs that women experience different work patterns from men and have less time to complete their work and less energy. The latest research also suggests that it is common in many societies for the proportion of women participants in the workforce to be lower than men, especially married women, even though the married women labour force has increased over the last 50 years (Engemann & Owyang, 2005). 3.3). Post Colonial Theory Back in 1978, Edward W. Said suggested that the Orient’s way of life had been influenced by Europe where materialism is central to the way of life. Colonisers did not try to understand the Orient and integrated their education, language, colonial bureaucracies and colonial styles explicitly into the Oriental way of life. A similar perspective is expressed by Slemon (1994), suggesting that the Western theories created the Eastern culture and continue to create complexity into the society in a subjective way. Alan Bishop (1995) describes the Orient culture as a Western construction, like mathematical ideas that are humanly constructed. He further explains that mathematical ideas from the West have become universal and superior over any indigenous mathematical systems and culture. As well as the English language, the production of the West and colonialism has overpowered many indigenous languages around the world (Smith, 1999). Pennycook (1999) explains in his book, “English and the Discourses of Colonialism”, that Europeans use the English language as a force to promote and exercise its power and culture in colonised 16
  • 17. countries, meaning the language helps to spread European knowledge to the colonial creating an obedient workforce for colonial capitalism. Similarly, Smith (1999) further describes colonialism as not only meant for the imposition of Western authority over indigenous lands, law, government and indigenous modes of production, but for the imposition of Western authority over all aspects of indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultures. Bushra Shahid (2005) expresses that not only colonial countries are forced to learn and use English, but countries in Asia require the English language as an important tool for social mobility. Many scholars such as Penelope (1990) and Spender (1985) believe that languages such as English, not only represent the Western worldview but, more significantly, a male worldview. It also renders women invisible. The famous studies on the Subaltern by Spivek (1988) revealed that the white male worldview is seen as a production of colonization where the white European male has power in politics, sciences, and education. She suggests that the colonised subaltern has no history and cannot speak, and, of course, the Subaltern as female is even more deeply embedded in shadow. Annette Hamilton (2002), professor of Anthropology at Macquarie University, stresses there is a need to develop different types of theories underpinning sexuality and gender studies for the West because post-colonial theory is created through a referential world rooted outside Thailand which does not represent indigenous Thai society (Jackson & Cook, 1999; Muecke, 2004). The West aims at creating a greater awareness of one’s own culture (Bishop, 1995)and the only way that they can implement it is through their power, domination, and varying degrees of a complex hegemony (Said, 1978, p. 89). Besides, contemporary feminist research concentrates 17
  • 18. on women, not gender, and that creates an assumption that fails to promote feminists’ intellectual, political agenda and employment opportunities, because it falls short in examining women’s experiences and contrasting them with those of men (Peletz, 1995). In addition, the idea of gender equality from the West is to achieve through economic opportunity (capitalism). According to Said (1978, p.87), “the Orient is an integral part of European material civilisation and culture.” Said’s suggestion is supported by Slemon (1994) who expressed that the Occident sees materialism as important, because the nature of the Occident, or the West, is an economy of cross-cultural domination. The idea of gender equality as linked only to capitalist achievement and the possession of money can clearly be seen in today’s world where post-industrial society has given, primarily, opportunities to women to compete in the economic race (Inglehart & Norris, 2002). Materialism and money transforms women’s lives dramatically and it is argued, will move them from narrow subordination towards full equality. This contradicts the Buddhism philosophy where materialism is seen as sin. This argument is supported by Inglehart and Norris (2002) saying that “during the late twentieth century, the shift from survival to self-expression values, and from religious to secular values, has accelerated throughout advanced industrial societies” (chapter 7, p.3), and that includes Thailand. 18
  • 19. Although Thailand has never been colonised, it has undoubtedly been affected by what Semali and Kincheloe (1999) refers to as Western cultural diseases. “Regardless of what area of the world it is found in, indigenous knowledge has been produced by people facing diseases brought by European cultures, attempts at genocide, cultural assimilation and education as a colonial tool” (p.32). 19
  • 20. 4: Discussion of my Findings The literature suggest that few studies on gender development in Thailand have been conducted. Very few scholars pay attention to researching gender issues in Thailand. As Yukongdi (2005) points out, there is a scarcity of empirical research examining women in management in Thailand, and as much of the literature was conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, it is now out of date. Nevertheless, some literature states that European influences have affected all Asian countries to some extent. This is because European colonialism covered a large portion of Southeast Asian history, and for a long time dominated economic relations in the South East Asia region (Constance, 2007). Thus, though Thailand has never been colonised, economic relationships from the West have influenced Thai society. In this chapter, I will apply the framework from Fagenson (1993) which suggests that in order to understand the experiences, actions, and the status of women, several analysis levels are mandatory, such as individual, organizational, and social norms. Therefore, I will explore the nature of Thai women’s employment conditions, the relationship between multinational companies and female workers, the quality of women’s lives between women who work in multinational companies and women who work in rural areas, and the expected appropriate behaviours of women and men in Thailand. 4.1). Statistical Facts A significant part of the success of Thailand's economic development can be attributed to work completed by women according to UNIFEM (2000). The Thai National Statistics Office (2007) has revealed that 63.2% of Thai women participated 20
  • 21. in the workforce in 2006 (see Table 1). Out of 35.4 million people in the labour force in 2007, based on the January survey, 16.7 million or 47 percent were women, with 5.5 million women or around 34 percent of women’s employment in agriculture, and 10.7 million women employed outside the agriculture field in manufacturing and services (see Table 2). Participation rates of 63.2% may be the highest in South-East Asia and it may be legitimate to say that the equality issue in Thailand is well developed. Yet, there is no indication from the latest survey from the National Statistics Office Thailand (2007) that, out of 63% of women, how many of them have senior or management jobs in the 1 workforce . This type of statistic is extremely critical because the proportion of women in higher status positions is a key indicator of equity (Appold, Siengthai, & D.Kasarda, 1998). Research conducted by Lim (1990) and Salaff (1990) in South-East Asia has shown that Thailand’s economic growth is due, to a large extent, on its ability to mobilise women’s labour into low skills tasks, with women’s status possibly even declining with development. This is supported by the recent report from The World Bank (2007) in “Thailand Economic Monitor: April 2007” which indicates that total exports topped US$130 billion in 2006, with exports of agriculture and machinery manufacturers growing robustly. This evidence has shown that two-thirds of Thailand’s GDP comes from agriculture where low-skill employment, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade are combined. Unfortunately, agricultural work is largely 2 done by women according to UNIFEM studies (2000) and have gone unnoticed, 1 http://web.nso.go.th/eng/en/stat/lfs_e/lfse.htm 2 http://www.unifem-eseasia.org/resources/others/gendev/sectionb2.htm 21
  • 22. because people who make up this large economic section of the population still live sub-standardly with little money. It is quite common that women in rural Thailand work hard on the farm to raise money for the family. Statistics from UNIFEM Asian Regional office in Gender and Development in Thailand (2000) show that there are very high rates of approximately 75 percent workforce participation by women who work in rural areas in Thailand due to high seasonal demands in agriculture. 3 On the other hand, the Synovate research has shown that 22.2 percent out of 100% of women’s participation in the workforce of Thai women are employed in administrative and management occupations. Only 6.38% of women are in senior management positions and, unsurprisingly, 8.8% are in middle-management roles (see Table 3), (Siripunyawit, 2007). Despite the low percentage of women’s participation in high status employment in Thailand which are due to social and cultural conditions, it would seem to be against such achievements. Katherine Hutchings, a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology, disagrees. She indicates that Thailand has developed a system through its traditional culture allowing women to receive the same employment levels, promotion prospects and a share of economic wealth as their male counterparts (Hutchings, 2000). 4.2). Thai Social Norms and the West Social Norms Some studies suggest that Thai women have fared much better in opportunities in the workforce than other countries in the South East Asia region. In Malaysia and the 3 Synovate Co has been established in Thailand for 16 years as a research consulting specialist and employ 138 staff. It has offices worldwide, in 52 countries 22
  • 23. Philippines, the women’s main responsibility is to stay at home due to their religious beliefs and social norms (Horton, 1996). In addition, in Indonesia, women are protected by law so they do not have to work at night or in positions that are dangerous to their ethics (Batubara, 1991; Stockman et al., 1995). Such constraints do not affect Thailand, which means that Thai women have the freedom to receive training, work at night, and do much the same work as men (Batubara, 1991; Stockman et al., 1995). Although Thailand does not have a law to promote gender equality similar to laws in the West, substantial literature suggest that its either because there is little awareness of gender discrimination issues in Thailand in the mindset of Thai people (Hutchings, 2000) or it may be the case that such regulations exist in those countries because gender discrimination exists there to a high degree (Jackson & Cook, 1999). I am not arguing that gender discrimination does not exist at all in Thailand, but it is interesting to consider why Thailand does not have any regulations of this kind to prevent discrimination. Moreover, it appears that the majority of Thai people do not seem overly concerned about discrimination issues, at least as is evidenced in the focus of official records and statistics. There is a lack of organised campaigns to raise the awareness of gender discrimination which may suggest that Thai women perhaps feel content with the laws and social norms that exist in the society and do not consider it to be discrimination (Yukongdi, 2005). One possible explanation is that men and women appear to treat each other with consideration and respect in Thailand which is probably due to the strong relationship between Buddhism and Thai society. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population practice 23
  • 24. 4 and believe in Buddhism . There is no doubting the influence of religion on understanding the present position of women in Thailand according to Yukongdi (2005). Buddhism teaches that all people should be treated as equals, in other words, to walk the middle line. Kohn (1991) indicates that Thai people tend to follow the 5 “middle way or middle path ” which effectively prevents most extremism. This is unlike other religions such as Islam and Christianity where the status of women is suppressed by men. Although a study of the Bible and Koran are beyond the scope of this essay, there are some statements made in the Judeo-Christian Bible and the Koran which distinguish men and women explicitly and unfavourably, such as the Adam and Eve creation story and the proscriptions on women’s dress. This is the difference between Thailand and other countries where feminism seems focused on individual pursuits and confrontation. Influence in Thailand from colonisation is not as strong as in other colonised countries because of this very important aspect, religion. Influence from the West, such as other religious beliefs and gender values, clearly distinguish men and women, for example, religions of the Middle East, Judeo-Christianity, and Islam. This appears to have had little popular effect in Thailand. This view is supported by Boon (2003), who is a Managing Director at Global TMC International Management Training and Consulting. She points out that Thai society is not a male dominated preserve society, rather it’s an equal society, unlike the dominant prevalent male in European countries who create obvious inequality. 4 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html 5 In Theravada Buddhism, the Middle Way crystallizes the Buddha's Nirvana-bound path of moderation away from the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification and towards the practice of wisdom, morality and mental cultivation (Kohn, 1991). 24
  • 25. Historic evidence has shown that Thai women performed what could be regarded as exclusively male tasks, such as women elephant drivers (see Figure 1) and women managers. Alec Gordon and Napat Sirisambhand (2002) point out that Thai women were in charge of time management and the recruiting process on a painting in a temple during 1770-1780. This shows that Thai women were performing male tasks at least since the 1770s. However, some literature on Thai women does not offer any insightful evidence. Much of the Western literature and European people appear to believe that Thai woman are primarily responsible for non-paid work such as being a housewife compared to Western practices (G.-S. Lim & Ng, 1998; Torr, 2005). They based their analysis on their generic and universal understanding of gender development based on Western culture. Gender discrimination appears to have existed in the West for many centuries. The word “feminist” or “feminism” was used in France in 1880s, Great Britain in the 1890s, and the United States in 1910. The feminist movement arose in the 19th century to remedy the worst excesses of this discrimination. The first feminist movement, the Suffragettes, (the first wave), happened during early 19th century through to the early 20th century. During the 1970s and 1980s, second wave feminism dealt with the inequality of laws, as well as cultural inequalities. The third wave of feminism (1990s-current) is seen as both a continuation and a response to the perceived failures of the second-wave (Charlotte, 2000). In addition, evidence from Western literature emphasises equal employment opportunities, gender equity and equality and has argued that European women are 25
  • 26. under the suppression of men. However, I do not think that this assumption can be extended to Thailand due to the differences in religious values and lifestyle. For this reason, the Western concept and meaning of discrimination from the West can be argued as irrelevant in Thailand (Yukongdi, 2005). The word “discrimination” itself does not have an equivalent to the Thai language and currently there is no legal definition of discrimination. Substantial literature (Jackson & Cook, 1999; Thanprasertsuka et al., 2005) also agrees that the gender concept in Thailand is hard to define. This may partly explain why there is little involvement in the feminist movement and gender development in Thailand, because in the mindset of many Thai people there is no discrimination in society and organisational practices. Perhaps that is the reason why there are few studies on Thai gender development, especially from domestic scholars. 4.3). Multinational Companies I have revealed that some of the research has indicated that within Thai firms, 30% of Thai women are employed in a senior management role without having any anti- discrimination regulations (Appold et al., 1998). On the other hand, in Europe and the U.S., there are several programmes designed to help women compete with men in organisations, such as positive assertiveness and management trainee programmes to encourage women to stand up for themselves. One of the main factors could be that European women are more likely to be stereotyped in organisations, thus they make themselves “invisible” by allowing men to see them as a non-potential leader (Boon, 2003; Goffee & Jones, 2001). 26
  • 27. From this, one can deduce that gender discrimination in the workforce in Europe is clearly defined and in need of attention. The term “Glass Ceiling” is commonly used in Western literature and government reports when women experience a barrier from promotion and recognition (International Labour Office, 2004). Anti-discrimination programmes and support groups for women is, therefore, essential because it creates an awareness of discrimination in Western society. It creates and provides positive policies and benefits to women such as paid maternity leave, equal employment opportunities, childcare and so forth. When multinational companies invest in South East Asia, literature suggests that they usually bring with them their own set of values and impose their equity policies to promote the recruitment and promotion of women in the South East Asia Region (Boon, 2003). However, the findings from Coyle and Kwong (2000) contradicts some of the literature’s suggestions. The findings state that multinational organisations based in Thailand do not provide training for women or adopt the equal employment opportunity practice. Many of them do not have formal policies relating to equal employment opportunities and anti-discrimination programmes. One might ask why that is? The answer, based on Thai culture, history, and literature, is that Thai society and gender discrimination does not co-exist. As I have discussed before in the previous chapters, the word discrimination is relatively new or does not exist in Thai society. Gender and sex have the same definition in the Thai language, and social class seems to be far more important than gender differences (Hutchings, 2000). All these factors affect multinational organisational structures and operations that are based in 27
  • 28. Thailand. They need to apply different methods to fit in with Thai society. For example, research from Manusphaibool (1993) indicates that multinational organisations in Thailand do not employ men just because they are men; rather they base their selection on seniority, experience, education, knowledge, hard work and reliability. According to this research, if women show less interest in gaining a promotion they will be treated differently. Researchers have argued that this is, therefore, not discrimination, rather it is a rational judgement based on the quality and usefulness of that person to the organisation (Susan & Leonard, 2001). What happens when women have children in the workforce? The laws do not make their life any easier like the West laws do for their women. Multinational organisations in Thailand expect women to have support at home during the time of raising children. This is because it is common for married women with children to seek assistance from parents and relatives in Thailand, thus having children is not the key determinant of a woman’s career prospects (Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994). Social networks are therefore vital in Thai society. If they would receive support from family and relatives, Thai women are more likely to be successful in an organisation in Thailand. If not, they will need to take full-time leave, leaving them with little promotion opportunity, thus showing she cannot fully commit herself to the company (Boon, 2003). The situation is different in New Zealand. New Zealand society does not expect new parents to receive as much help from family networks as working people in Thailand. Therefore, there are needs for substantial benefits such as longer maternity leave period for new mothers to be able to take care of their own children by themselves. 28
  • 29. From my point of view, those regulations are there to reduce the sense of inequality and are there to help women enter the workforce. For that reason, gender discrimination in the West can be categorised by looking at the legal system and its regulations. Evidently, influence from Western organisations does not have a significant impact on the social norms and overall organisational structure in Thailand. 4.4). Socio-Economic Status In the previous chapter, I discussed the fact that gender discrimination ideas and concepts are hard to define in Thai society and how international companies comply with Thai culture. So what is it that stops Thai women from achieving the same economic success as men if it is not the gender issue? Literature during the 1970s to the 1990s describes Thai women as supportive and subservient to men (Sukumolnant, 1989) and became the stereotype of Thai women. However, when there was a rapid expansion due to an economic boom in the early 1990s, there was a high demand in the job market. Thai women have experienced better opportunities in employment since then. Research by Appold, Siengthai and Kasarda (1998) showed that women accounted for 30 percent in senior management roles within Thai firms which had two or three times as many women in upper management than in Japan and the U.S. This research indicates that either Thai women are not oppressed in employment as are Japanese or American women, or that they are better educated than many Thai men and therefore recruited into managerial positions. 29
  • 30. Many scholars argue that gender does not determine opportunities of individuals in Thai society - what does determine opportunities in Thailand is class (Boon, 2003; Dunn & Sheehan, 1993; Hutchings, 2000). Women who have a higher socio- economic status and are close to family members are believed to experience a much better opportunity in pursuing their careers and achieving high status occupations. Furthermore, the close relationship within a Thai family household is one of the factors that help Thai women compete in the workforce. However, this only applies to women who have middle to high socio-economic status. For example, a family that has some money put aside are able to give their children a good education. These women usually leave their children with their grandparents to look after. This is quite common for women who are from a middle socio-economic class. In addition, women who come from a high socio-economic or a middle socio- economic status tend to receive more support than a woman from a low socio- economic class and usually employ babysitters to help out with their children and a housecleaner (Hutchings, 2000). This, in return, allows them to compete in the workforce the same as their male counterparts (Sheehan, 1995). This is largely due to expectations from their husbands and families, in that it is expected that women will go back to work and remain in the workforce after having children (Boon, 2003) and the affordable babysitting cost in Thailand. A recent survey from Synovate Company shows that today, only 17% of Thai women are housewives while more than half of them are employed in full-time jobs. Only 4% hold part-time positions (Siripunyawit, 2007). 30
  • 31. In Thailand, there are at least a million illegal immigrants from its poorer neighbours Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. These people do not receive a good education and have no professional skills. They are mostly employed in the service sector, caregivers, babysitters, and in manufacturing with little salary. The report from the Thai labour campaign in 2001 showed that immigrant workers get paid around 60-80 baths (NZ$3) per day which is 50% less than the minimum wage (Yimprasert & Hummel, 2001). This is an example of the cheapness of immigrant labour, and how Thai society exploits people for the benefit of Thai citizens. Since an average income in New Zealand is relatively high, the cost for a babysitter and housecleaner is not cheap. Therefore, it is not possible for New Zealanders to find cheap housecleaners or babysitters because the minimum wage makes it quite expensive for many people to pay for such help. That being the case, it forces many New Zealand women to look after their house and children on their own. It constrains New Zealand women from having a life outside the house. My experience with my own child in New Zealand forces me to extend my studies for a longer period of time and the need for my partner to work part-time. This is mainly due to the high cost of a babysitter. I have tried to search for a housecleaner and babysitter here in New Zealand. Not surprisingly, I have not been able to find academic articles on this topic. It may be possible that there are illegal immigrants doing this type of work, as is the case in the United States and Thailand, for low salaries. However, since New Zealand is an island, it is more difficult for illegal immigrants from poor countries such as Burma, Laos, Philippines, and Cambodian to work in New Zealand. On the other hand, whether there are illegal migrants in New 31
  • 32. Zealand from the Pacific Islands working as babysitters and housekeepers is beyond this paper to examine. Socio-economic status is perhaps a more important factor than gender in Thailand. It determines opportunities in education and work prospects for both Thai men and women. This is because people in a low socio-economic status in Thailand still face difficulties in employment and promotion because of their work at home and the responsibility of looking after their children. Unfortunately, the gap between the rich and the poor in Thailand is relatively large (see Table 4) due to the starting salary (Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994). For clerical staff it is 10 times less than a manager’s salary compared to other countries such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand where managers are paid three times more the earnings of their clerical staff (Anonymous, 2007). The majority of Thai women are in a socio-economic status where household chores can clearly be seen as women’s main responsibility (Yukongdi, 2005) due to their economic status, not their gender. Nevertheless, although I propose that socio-economic class is more important than gender, there is a relationship between the two factors which needs to be examined in future research. This is because I cannot deny the fact that both gender and class are factors in discrimination. 4.5). Education In the previous chapter, I explored the significance of social class which plays a role in employment opportunities. This, in turn, gives access to education which is not available for the majority of Thai people. A study from Cruz-Siy (1989) showed that 32
  • 33. women who receive an education from overseas, especially from the U.S. and England are often employed in senior management positions in Thailand. However, many Thai women do not have such access. This is purely based on socio-economic status not gender because, after 1997 when the CEDAW report came out, Thailand allowed women and men to have equal opportunities in every institution including the military and police that used to be exclusive to men. This also enhanced women’s opportunities to study the subjects that used to be only within the male domain. The recent report shows that Thai women are interested in studying computing and management (see Table 5) more than their male counterparts. Subjects that used to be male orientated no longer reflect huge differences. The public tertiary education system in Thailand is relatively cheap with a wide range of scholarships and allowances, as about 25% of national budget goes towards the education system (Ziderman, 2003); compared to a relatively high cost of tertiary education in New Zealand where student debt is over NS$7 billion dollars (Fitzsimons, 2004). This indicates that the Thailand public universities and the government aid both Thai men and women to experience equal opportunities to gain the education that they want (Asian Development Bank, 1998). Thai women who are lower down on the economic scale can still find themselves studying in higher education at the University and in vocational education. Statistics also show there is a higher rate of female graduates than male graduates except in Doctoral degrees (see Table 6). Furthermore, in CEDAW’s (2007) report it indicates that there are more women receiving scholarships than men, which goes to show the equality of access in Thai education. 33
  • 34. After completing their studies in Thailand people will have very little debt and interest to pay off, because the payback system is spread over 15 years after graduation with 1 percent interest (Ziderman, 2003), which means people can begin saving straight away. Although the New Zealand student loan system allows interest- free for students while they study, they have to start paying this amount off when they begin earning over a certain amount in their place of employment. However, the relatively high tertiary educational fees force students to work more years to pay off their debt. One of the researcher’s friends has a debt of NZ$40,000 dollars and that it will take him at least 5-8 years to clear. The Green Party Education’s spokesperson, Metiria Turei (2007), indicated that “We cannot have a sustainable economy when young people enter into the workforce with a collective debt of $9 billion. The long term impacts are beginning to be felt, with many graduates unable to purchase a house till much later in their working careers. Many are even avoiding having families because they start their adult lives with such an enormous debt burden.” As a Thai person, I think that the education system in Thailand has not yet been influenced by capitalist ideas from the West, at least for now, and it is open to everyone. Furthermore, close family networks in Thailand help young women to enjoy the opportunity to concentrate on their study and work, for example, the parents usually pay for their children tuition fees and according to the loan system, it does not matter if your parents’ income is high, Thai people can still apply for the loan (Ziderman, 2003), whereas many women in the West do not have the same social support networks (Hutchings, 2000). 34
  • 35. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, women who gain a higher education from overseas tend to enjoy a better occupation overall. This may be because multinational companies and Thai firms highly value Western education and the English language and it becomes an important aspect for an executive position. Therefore, many of the private universities in Thailand offer international tertiary curriculum using English as the main teaching language. This allows women who are from a middle socio- economic status to be able to achieve an education which is equivalent to overseas. International universities are clearly the result of multinational companies that require an employee to be able to communicate in English. 4.6). Western Literature on Discrimination I have used a Thai theoretical lens to analyse the gender issues in Thailand from the beginning of this report and, in order to understand gender difficulties in Thailand, I will use a Western theoretical approach in this chapter to analyse gender issues in Thailand. By using the Western approach and finding the number of regulations that promote women, women’s employment rates, and the salary gap approaching on Thai gender issues, this would indicate that there is a high rate of gender discrimination in Thailand. New Zealand is considered a Western country as it was colonised by the British and many European immigrants arrived in the country centuries ago. If we take a look at New Zealand laws and regulations, we will notice that gender equality issues are very sensitive. For example, there are several laws that strive to promote gender equality such as Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO), the Civil Union Bill, and anti- discrimination laws. 35
  • 36. Statistics are also important, because statistics are the most reliable hard data that are 6 tangible and legitimate to make a claim. According to Bascand (2007) , statistics are collected and studied because they are an indicator of people’s well-being and whether or not there should be a change in policy to make a better society. Statistics New Zealand (2005) has a specific report on women called “Focusing on Women” which looks at the demographic, social and economic characteristics of women in New Zealand. The report provides an overview of the changing status of New Zealand women. This report is comprehensive, ranging from how much time goes into unpaid work, the type of unpaid work that people do and how this varies for different groups. In contrast, the Thailand statistics department only issued a particular gender statistic report during the period of 1996-1998 which can be retrieved from their official 7 website (Social Statistics Division, 2001) . The lack of information on important statistics such as how many women work at home, what type of work they do, and what type of unpaid jobs they are doing are not included in the Key Statistics of Thailand in 2007. The report is created by the Thailand National Statistics Office (2007) and aims to collect important statistical data which are related to economics, society and environment. One section is dedicated to gender statistics. However, there are only three statistical tables (see Figure 2). They are a percentage of population by labour force status, population of migrants by sex, and population of people 15 years and over who desire to develop by education. Some of the statistics that should have been under the Gender Statistics section are randomly allocated in 6 Statistics New Zealand (2005). Focusing on Women 2005. Wellington. http://www.stats.govt.nz/about-us/who-we-are/government-statistician.htm 7 http://web.nso.go.th/eng/en/stat/gender/gender.htm 36
  • 37. the report. If I simply compare Thai statistics to New Zealand statistics, one can argue that Thailand does not place much emphasis on women; therefore, gender discrimination is obvious. Seen from the Western point of view, I would agree. Said (1978) argues that materialism is integrated into Western society where everyone is trying to dominate through economic wealth. Therefore, when women earn less than men, discrimination issues in the workforce can be targeted. It should be noted that women tend to earn less than men around the globe, on average about three- fourths of wages received by males for the same work in both developed and developing countries (Boon, 2003). This also applies to Thailand where the proportion of women earning high wages is less than men, about three-fourths of the pay, while the proportion of women earning low salary is higher than that of men (see Table 7) (The Government of Thailand, 2006). In this case, Thailand can be seen as a gender discriminated country because women earn less than men, but where in the world do women earn more than men? There is no doubt that there is high concern for gender inequality issues in Thailand if we base it on the Western theoretical approach. However, it is not applicable to base the analysis on whether there is gender discrimination or not on numbers, especially the employment rate and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate. Employment rate could be one of the indicators of gender discrimination in the West because of its materialism and capitalism culture. Although capitalism stabilises the economy in many developed countries, there are various side-effects such as instability, income disparity, economic inequality and environmental impacts, with the most critical one, economic inequality in poor countries (Tanomsup, 2006). The 1996 economic crisis 37
  • 38. in South-East Asia, especially in Thailand, is a prime example of how capitalism creates instability and chaos in society (Hewison, 1999). Wealth became a priority. Thai people became selfish and their main purpose in life contradicted Buddhism philosophy (Bangprapa, 2005). 4.7). Western Standard of Living (GDP) vs. Eastern Standard of Living (GNH) While capitalism takes over Thai people’s lives, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measurement becomes the indicator of how well the country is doing so the previous Thai Government took the GDP onboard to measure the standard of living in the country (Kittiampon, 2007). GDP was widely used in Europe in the early 1950s but was not recognised internationally until 1993 when it was first introduced in the System of National Accounts to the International Monetary Fund, European Union, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations and World Bank (United Nations Statistics Division, 1993) to set an international standard on GDP. These organisations are mainly organized by the developed countries mainly from the West. GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of standard of living in an economy when it was first introduced. GDP is being used in almost every country in the world allowing for simple comparisons between the standard of living giving the world confidence that comparisons are being measured in each country (Hicks, 1997). However, the major disadvantage of using GDP as an indicator of the standard of living is that it is not a measure of the standard of living and does not reflect the happiness of the people, the equality amongst its people, and the quality in society due to its assumption that the standard of living tends to increase when GDP per capita 38
  • 39. increases (Bergh, 2007). Nothing about the definition of GDP suggests that it is necessarily a measure of the standard of living. For instance, in an extreme example, a country which exported 100 per cent of its production and imported nothing would still have a high GDP, but a very poor standard of living (Summers & Heston, 1995). Feminist sociologists such as Marilyn Waring criticise GDP because there is no imputation made in the accounts for the economic value of unpaid housework or for unpaid voluntary labour (Marilyn, 1988). This obscures the reality that market production depends, to a large extent, on non-market labour being performed. In contrast, the ‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH) was first introduced in Bhutan by His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It is largely influenced by Buddhist philosophy that the ultimate purpose of life is inner happiness (The Centre of Bhutan Studies, 2004). Thailand took the GNH idea from Bhutan and included it in The 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan for the years 2007-2011 (see Figure 3) of Thailand. The plan aimed to encounter capitalism and GDP measurement, create social harmony or “a green and happy society” (Thailand Investment Review, 2007) and to define quality of life in more holistic terms than Gross National Product (Kittiampon, 2007). Five strategies were developed. The first strategy looked at social conditions and human development through improved education and health care, morals and ethics, as well as the safety of the individual and of property. The second strategy was to develop a strong community. The third strategy dealt with the national economy. The fourth strategy focused on environmental issues, and the last strategy aimed to develop good governance (Thailand Investment Review, 2007). 39
  • 40. Evidently, national economic development is not the main priority of this national plan. Happiness of the people of Thailand is not based on how much money they have. Richard Easterlin, economics professor at the University of Southern California also agreed that people have been misled to believe that if they are consuming more apples and buying more cars they will be happier than someone who does not consume as many apples or have as many cars as they have (Mustafa, 2005). This is also a Buddhist psyche which teaches people that happiness is contentment. People should be happy with what they have. As a little Bhutanese girl explained, “If you know you are happy with your own limitations, that is basic happiness” (Sherr, 2005). The first two strategies deal directly with happiness in a family unit, the happiness within society, the quality of lives, good social networks, good education, the sense of happiness in society, harmony in society, satisfaction with personal relationships, employment, and meaning and purpose in life. These factors have a weak relationship to capitalism and materialistic values (Thailand Investment Review, 2007). The GNH policy aims to eliminate ego, corruption, depression, and competition that create tension within society, by promoting what is called the “sufficient economy” (see Figure 4) to solve inequalities and unhappiness and ways to combat new forms of inequality (Tanomsup, 2006). 4.8). Limitation This research only uses secondary resources to conduct the analysis, thus there is a need for further research to conduct an intensive interview to prove the research findings. In addition, the literature on Thai gender is limited and mainly written by foreign scholars who do not understand the sensitive and unique culture in Thailand. As a result, several theories and findings from Western literature cannot be applied in 40
  • 41. Thai settings. The statistics data from the recent Thailand National Statistics report (2007) are not comprehensive enough nor up-to-date to generate reliable findings and results. Significantly, there is a limited time to conduct this study, which may have influenced the result. Furthermore, I am Thai, it is my understanding that gender discrimination does not exist in Thailand in the same way as in the West. Based on my experience as a scholar studying in New Zealand, I am not able to express the meaning of gender and gender discrimination in the Thai language. I found that ideas about gender are easier to explain in English. 41
  • 42. 5: Future Research I cannot deny the fact that Western literature is the first step of understanding Thai gender studies because without this it might not be possible to understand gender issues in Thailand. However, it is important to take a look at Thai culture and history as part of the analysis. There is a need for the local researchers to conduct their research in Thailand due to the fact that Thai people are the people who best understand their traditional culture and language. In addition, I believe that research on the relationship between socio-economic status and gender should take place. The effect of colonisation is still a new concept as some of the books refer to Thailand as having a semi-colonial status. Therefore, future research would benefit from observing Thailand’s history and the relationship between the West and Thailand. However, this, I feel, should be completed by Thai scholars mainly because most of the historical literature is written in traditional Thai language which can be hard to understand and translate. Finally, this research finding can be beneficial to both Thai and Western scholars in developing a further study on a non-colonised country and its culture and lifestyle that play a major role in gender development. My future research will be on the “Gross National Happiness” or GNH. How GNH can raise the efficiency within an organisation. This principle will argue that, for all workers, happiness and enjoyment should come first. 42
  • 43. 6: Conclusion This study is therefore interpreted from a Western stance, which may be considered inappropriate when applied in the Thai society. From the perspective of the GNH are Thai men and women happier than Western men and women? Many Thai men and women may own less commodities than Western people, but Thai social lifestyle may bring them far more peace and contentment. The effect of colonisation has influenced South-East Asia in many ways. Research has shown that the culture and social norms from the West have shaped the Asian people’s lifestyle and way of thinking. Traditional values are being distorted and have more or less disappeared. Their history is being written by scholars from the West and interpreted by Western understanding. Gender development is one of the studies that is largely influenced by Western scholars. Concepts such as gender and discrimination might be understood by the people who understand the Western culture and language to some extent. However, Thailand itself has never been colonised and has found difficulty in understanding Western literature and concepts on gender and discrimination. Some of the Western scholars conducted their gender studies in Thailand, a country that has never been colonised. Nevertheless, their understanding is limited, as they do not fully understand Thai culture and its unique Thai language, especially when the literature is in English. The meanings and interpretations can be confusing for Thai people as some of the words such as gender and discrimination cannot be translated with a proper understanding into Thai language. Therefore, Western literature might not be applicable in understanding Thai culture and gender. Although the West might influence Thailand economically, research findings show that multinational companies highly respect 43
  • 44. Thai culture. They do not impose their culture in Thailand, rather they are accepting and applying Thai culture in their organisational practices. Buddhism is part of Thai people’s everyday lives. A practice which is strongly embodied within Thai culture, has made Thailand one of the most unique countries in the world that has its own distinct culture and customs. The middle path culture, a phenomenon in Thailand, has shown that Thai people do not like conflict, which is the reason why we have never been colonised, never had a major conflict between men and women, and has also allowed gay men and women to express themselves freely in the country. Nevertheless, I am not saying that there is no feminist movement, actually, there is. However, there is only a small proportion of Thai women who raise gender issues because they have received an education from overseas and are aware of the issues. In other words, they are influenced by the West’s culture and education on gender issues. In conclusion, gender might not be a major problem in Thailand because the majority of Thai people still do not understand the meaning of gender, and people appear to be happy living their lives. However, socio-economic status is important to Thai women’s lives and social networks are part of the Thai society that aids women and men to experience opportunities when pursuing their careers and dreams. Gender discrimination is less influenced by individuals than by the system and social norms, which undoubtedly discriminate against women implicitly. 44
  • 45. Appendix 1 Table 1: Female Employment Rate Table Labour Force Seaso Round nally People Particip Unemplo / Inacti not in ation yment Year Empl Unemp Quart Total ve Labour Rate Rate er oyed loyed Force (%) (%) Labou r Force Quart 14,583 9,4 3 er 1 15,297.2 .9 457.5 255.9 41.6 61.8 .0 Quart 14,991 9,2 2 er 2 15,699.0 .7 402.9 304.4 12.0 63.0 .6 2004 Quart 16,012 8,6 1 er 3 16,251.1 .6 224.7 13.8 99.1 65.1 .4 Quart 15,972 8,6 1 er 4 16,288.9 .9 241.1 74.9 84.2 65.2 .5 Quart 15,029 9,3 2 er 1 15,603.1 .6 373.1 200.5 94.2 62.4 .4 Quart 15,313 9,1 2 er 2 15,878.9 .4 311.4 254.1 42.6 63.5 .0 2005 Quart 16,795 8,6 1 er 3 17,030.3 .2 205.5 29.7 52.5 66.3 .2 Quart 16,515 9,0 1 er 4 16,780.8 .0 226.1 39.7 28.2 65.0 .4 Quart 15,647 9,7 1 er 1 16,126.3 .6 303.2 175.5 48.5 62.3 .9 Quart 16,068 9,4 1 er 2 16,536.9 .8 276.0 192.1 12.0 63.7 .7 2006 Quart 16,706 9,0 1 er 3 16,943.1 .3 190.2 46.7 80.7 65.1 .1 Quart 16,653 9,1 1 er 4 16,907.9 .7 187.8 66.4 89.7 64.8 .1 Quart 15,909 9,8 1 er 1 16,291.8 .5 215.3 167.0 81.6 62.3 .3 2007 45 1 Quart 16,137 9,6 .5 er 2 16,582.9 .1 244.1 201.6 68.4 63.2
  • 46. Source: Report of the Labour Force Survey, National Statistical Office, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology Table 2: Number and Percentage of Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over by Industry and Sex (in millions) 46
  • 47. Table 3: Number of Employed Persons Over 15 Years of Age in a 1-Year Period by Sex (in millions) Table 4: Average Monthly Total Income and Current Income by Region: 2006 47
  • 48. Table 5: Population 15 Years and Over who Desire to Develop by Course and Sex: 2006-2007 48
  • 49. Table 6: Number of Male and Female Students by Educational Level for Academic Year 2000 Table 7: Number of Employees by Level of Wages/Salary and Sex 49
  • 50. Appendix 2 Figure 1: Thai Woman Mahout (Elephant Driver). Source: Gordon, A., & Sirisambhand, N. (2002). Evidence for Thailand's Missing Social History: Thai Women in Old Mutal Paintings 50
  • 51. Figure 2: Gender Statistics in “The Key Statistics of Thailand 2007”. Source: The Key Statistics of Thailand (2007) Figure 3: The 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan for the years 2007-2011 Goals of the 10th plan Quality of life • Increase average years of education from 8.5 to 10 years • Increase skilled labor as a percent of workforce from 39.8% to 60% • Increase number of researchers from 6.7/10,000 to 10/10,000 • Increase life expectancy to 80 years • Reduce the rate of illness for the top 5 diseases • Reduce crime by 10% Community • Reduce incidence of poverty from 16.3% in 2005 to 4% by 2011 development and • Implement participatory community plan for all communities poverty reduction Economic • Ratio of SME/GDP to increase from restructuring 39.4% in 2005 to no less than 40% for balance and • Inflation of 3.0-3.5% competitiveness • Total Factory Productivity Growth (TFPG) of 3% • Energy Elasticity of 1:1 • Q5/Q1 not to exceed 10 times • Ratio of public debt/GDP of less than 50% • Ratio of domestic economy/external sector to 75% from 71.3% in 2001-2005 Source: Thailand Investment Review. (2007) . 51
  • 52. Figure 4: The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Source: Kittiampon, A. (2007) 52