Yingluck promises gender equality in employment opportunities

The government of Thailand's first female prime minister has vowed to do away with sexual inequality in employment, announcing the move as a key strategy to develop the country.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to promote better employment opportunities for women in her speech to mark International Women's Day. The transcript of the speech was published on www.thaigov.go.th.

In her speech, the prime minister congratulated all women and noted that women have not until now played prominent roles as leaders of governments and business organisations. She cited South Korea President Park Geun-hye as an example of a successful national leader.

Yingluck said that women constituted more than half of the Thai population but still faced inequality when it comes to employment opportunities. Worse still, a lot of women have become victims of violence in several forms, including human trafficking, she said.

"The chance for women to rise to high positions is still restricted. Thus, the government has set the creation of sexual equality as a strategy for the country's development," Yingluck said.

"Sexual equality will not only be a development goal but will reduce poverty and lead to sustainable development. And development of the female population is an important step towards creating a development base for the country."