A recent survey has revealed that more than half of Thai women over the age of 35 were interested to start their own business, with the majority of women in Southeast Asia’s workforce keen to complete further courses to advance their careers.
87% of female employees in the area are looking forward to enrolling in professional courses this year, according to a poll by the Singapore-based nonprofit She Loves Data (SLD), with IT, computing, and programming (33%) being the top three choices.
According to more than half of respondents in two age categories of workers (those between the ages of 16 and 34 and those between the ages of 35 and older), social media marketing is the most sought-after course among Thai female employees.
The statistics showed that 46% of female employees between the ages of 16 and 34 and 58% of women over the age of 35 were interested in the second-most popular course, marketing and advertising technology.
The poll, performed in conjunction with Milieu Insight the global research and data analytics organisation, revealed that over 80% of the region’s female employees prefer professional courses to be held online.
Jana Marle-Zizkova, co-founder of SLD and chief executive of volunteering, commented: “As businesses across all industries embrace digital transformation, corporations and employers struggle to fill roles across all digital skills domains.”
The study cited improving job performance (52%), starting a business (43%) and improving employment prospects or employability (41%) as Thai women’s top reasons for taking a professional course this year.
34% of respondents in the region said they wanted to make the most of their leisure time, while 28% said they wanted to improve their abilities in order to get a raise in income.
Antarika Sen, a senior researcher at Milieu Insight, said: “This highlights the importance placed on personal and professional development.”
She added that around 5 out of 10 women in Singapore listed industry-recognized credentials as a major determining factor, highlighting the necessity for businesses to set up effective pathways for women’s professional advancement.
Gender equality won’t likely be achieved by 2030, the most recent UN statistics has forecast. According to the “Gender Snapshot 2022” study, women’s labour force participation is expected to be 50.8% in 169 nations and territories in 2022, down from 51.8% in 2019.
In 114 nations and regions, gender disparity is anticipated to increase in comparison to 2019. The research observed that the gender disparity in hours worked increased significantly, posing a danger to the female wage gap.
