Abstract
It is believed that engaging in public sphere of woman is the way to empower woman, however, it is little know about gender and public sphere in the Thai context. This study aims at exploring the gender equality in public sphere of wives who were at working age.
The study employed a series of nationally representative data from the Household Socio-Economic Survey during a period of 1992-2012 which was conducted by the National Statistical of Thailand. The sample was married women whose aged 18 to 59. Gender equality was measured by engaging in paid work and type of occupational of women.
It was found that the proportion of married women engaging in paid work had been increased from 37.8 percent in 1992 to 49.7 percent in 2002 and 57.9 percent in 2012. However, proportion of women engaging in professional careers was still far behind their male counterparts.
The results from the study suggested that there was an improvement in gender equality in public sphere during the past three decades, but there had been a slow progress in engaging in professional careers. Therefore, Thai women still need to continue their fight for gender equality in the public sphere.
Moderator: Dr. Dusita Phuengsamran
April 5, 2017
