At Going Global we like to support women’s empowerment and education and so a program encouraging women in STEM in Thailand recently caught our attention. The International Labor Organization has created a women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce readiness and development program in Thailand to provide women with critical soft and technical STEM related skills. We all know these are the important skills for women to succeed in the future.
Thailand’s innovative women in STEM program should serve as a blueprint for other countries across ASEAN.
This program is focused on helping women gain quality employment and supporting the career advancement of women in the Electrical and Electronics sector in the Kingdom.
Why This Matters
Over the next decade, technological advances including automation and robotics, will significantly change jobs and enterprises in Thailand. The ILO estimates that 44% of employment (over 17 million jobs) face a risk of automation in Thailand. Female are employed predominantly in jobs requiring low STEM skills, which are clearly at risk of automation. Women are 50% more likely than men to losing their job as a consequence of automation.
The Women in STEM Program aims to empower, connect and support career development of two groups of women in target sectors:
- Low-skilled women working in entry level STEM-related jobs.
- Mid-level skilled women working in STEM-related occupations.
Thailand’s innovative program encouraging women in STEM addresses a significant issue and creates real opportunities. We’d like to see this type of workplace education be utilized in more industries and across more countries in ASEAN. Helping women upgrade skills and get higher paying jobs is good for the economy, good for society and good for the world.
