The Asean rate for women at this level is 21 per cent, according the results of the survey, released by Grant Thornton International yesterday. Thailand’s rate of 33 per cent is more than double the global average of 15 per cent.

Outside of CEOs and managing directors, companies in Thailand also feature women in other key roles. The next highest percentages of women in senior positions are chief finance officers (26 per cent), chief operating officers (17 per cent) and chief marketing officers (16 per cent).

Melea Cruz, a partner at Grant Thornton in Thailand, put the survey results in perspective. “While these figures fall short of the equal outcomes that we all want to see, they continue to show that the business community is outperforming the political system here in Thailand.

“There are currently no female cabinet ministers at all, and women make up just 5 per cent of parliament. It will be interesting to see whether the recent cultural shift on this issue has an effect on the coming elections.”

The research also shows that the number of women in senior management positions is rising, both globally and within regions. Asean, in particular, has outperformed the global average in several indicators, with 94 per cent of companies across the region now reporting at least one woman in a senior management |role, compared to 87 per cent worldwide.

Based on a Grant Thornton International survey of nearly 5,000 CEOs, managing directors, chairs and other senior leaders worldwide, the data in this year’s survey offers a snapshot of the state of progress for women in the workforce. The survey also explores some of the actions taken by businesses to move towards a more even gender balance among their leadership teams.

The three most common actions taken by businesses in Thailand involved creating an inclusive culture (37 per cent), enabling flexible working (28 per cent), and reviewing recruitment approaches (22 per cent). Setting gender quotas, rewarding progress towards targets, and mentoring were among several other options pursued by respondents. Fully 13 per cent, however, reported taking no action to improve the gender balance within their organisations.

For women in leadership positions, several barriers to progress were commonly cited. These included 31 per cent of female respondents reporting that they were limited by their caring responsibilities outside work. Nearly 29 per cent had trouble finding enough time alongside core job responsibilities, and 24 per cent mentioned a lack of access to networking opportunities.

With women’s issues now discussed prominently in culture and media, due in large part to the MeToo movement, businesses in many countries are beginning to pay closer attention to addressing gender imbalances within the workplace. Beyond simply improving their company image, these equality initiatives can also redound to the benefit of the businesses themselves.

Melea explained some of these advantages.

“In addition to gender diversity being the right thing to do, it is right for business.

“There is compelling evidence of the relationship between diversity of thought and innovation, leading to enhanced business performance.” she said. “Moreover, women and men have different backgrounds and experiences, which lead to different perspectives on everything from strategy to execution.

“It isn’t just talent that increases when companies begin putting women in the boardroom. It’s the diversity of viewpoints and ideas that can show the way forward.”

The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) is a survey of listed and privately held businesses. Launched in 1992, the IBR now provides insight into the views of more than 10,000 businesses across 35 economies.

The innovation assists young people from different cultures in addressing three specific issues laid out by the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in the Borderless Youth Forum, conducted from March 2-3.

The issues are social reintegration for ex-prisoners, gender-based violence and access to justice for vulnerable peoples.

Prof Kittipong Kittayarak, executive director of TIJ, said: “TIJ is confident that youths are the hope of a better future for society. They are integral in building the rule of law and sustainable development. Which is why we’ve invited youths from many countries to join in solving social problems concerning the justice system through Design Thinking at the world’s first Borderless Youth Forum. Technology is allowing us to reach across borders and build a sustainable network.”

From 14 countries, 162 young members of the Design Across Borders programme developed by Stanford School to share experiences, brainstorm ideas, consult with experts and develop solutions for the three issues given, with regards to their national contexts.

The program is developed by Glen Fajardo of Stanford School, who led the discussions between the 162 young people from TIJ’s Bangkok headquarters. According to Fajado, the essence of Design Across Borders is “helping people be creative together when they are far apart and different cultural contexts”. In this, he stressed the importance of not just brainstorming ideas and finding solutions, but also to “build empathy and understanding”.

A Thai youth participated in the forum, Chanyanuch Butsayaturt, said: “Being a part of this seminar is one of the best experiences for me. To meet with people from so many countries who all share the same interests. Just looking into their eyes and it’s apparent how passionate they are about these issues. Talking to them, you can feel their energy, and that help to fire up our own energy. Also, the seminar enabled us to talk to the experts, which is a rare opportunity whether online or in person.”

The findings from the Borderless Youth Forum will be presented at the 6th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development organized by UNESCAP March 27-29 in Bangkok.

Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman of the organising committee for Adfest, was joined by the Asia Pacific Advertising Association, the Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, and the Advertising Association of Thailand in a press conference held recently to announce the concept.

A special Adfest Talk was also held under the same theme as a platform for the exchange of perspectives, experiences, and recommendations from veteran marketers and creators, all with outstanding track records in marketing communications on a national level, to shine a spotlight on current circumstances in the creative industries.

The talk session was joined by four top-tier talents in the field, including Siwat Chawareewong, Chief Executive Officer of GroupM Thailand; Dr. Siraya Kongsompong, Senior Consultant for SEAC (Southeast Asia Center); Kittipong Veerataecha, Chief Branding and Communications Officer of True Corporation PCL; and Wanna Swuddigul, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Thai Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The 2019 festival has received 2,500 creative submissions across 19 categories from the entire region, and more than 1,300 participants from around Asia and the world are expected to arrive for the event at Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Chonburi on March 20-23, 2019.

Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman of the organising committee for Adfest, described the festival as the region’s most prestigious competition and a center of capability development for the creative industries. Now a pride of Thailand, Adfest highlights Thailand’s incredible talent, reputation, and stature in the region’s creative landscape while also serving as a driving force for the development of the Thai creative industries.

Adfest’s goal is to provide a space for knowledge exchange and a meeting of old friends and new while also elevating the standard of creativity across Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Through the expression of each country and region’s distinctive cultural identities, each creative work can stand out from the pack in today’s fast-moving world as modern creators strive to cope with ever-shifting communication channels and demanding competition on the international stage.

Vinit said: “Adfest will continue to promote creativity that breaks old boundaries and blaze a trail for innovation. This creative force is the element that makes ADFEST stand out from other advertising awards, allowing the festival to blossom into one of the strongest regional platforms for thinkers, creators, and media producers in the world.

“This year, ADFEST is taking things to another level with its ‘TMRRW.TDAY’ theme, which focuses on the connection between the present and the future. Changes in our world today have pushed every person, every person, and every industry forward to embrace change, develop new values, and tackle complex challenges with skills and technologies, and creativity in the workforce is now key to unlocking the capacity to innovate for the future. As I have said previously, creativity is the beating heart that every company in every industry needs to cope and thrive with change.”

Held in Pattaya, Adfest will feature a creative competition with 19 distinct categories – including new addition ‘eCommerce Lotus’ as a response to the growth of the online retail market. Creator talks, meanwhile, will continue to serve up valuable knowledge and sparks of inspiration from world-renowned marketers and advertisers. Last but not least, an awards ceremony will crown winners of the creative competition.

The office, which was opened late last year, is operated by the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT), which is responsible for the promoting tourism to Italy from around the world.

“The new Bangkok office plays a very important role, as the first the Italian hub in Southeast Asia with the task of promoting Italy and its destinations throughout this portion of the tourism market in this part of the world,” Giovanni Bastianelli, Enit executive director, told The Nation in an interview.

As Southeast Asia’s tourism demand for destinations worldwide is growing, it is a fundamental task for Italian regions to have a point of reference in such a growing market, said Bastianelli, who pointed to Italy’s status as a world-renowned top tourist destination.

Apart from Thailand, the Bangkok office is responsible for promoting tourism in the newer source markets of Vietnam and Myanmar, along with Malaysia, as visitors from these countries are increasingly heading to Europe, said Bastianelli.

“Since countries in this region make up an emerging market for the Italian tourism sector, it is still necessary to develop a correct and stronger brand positioning in order to reach the best target for Italian destinations, and namely the more affluent segment, as well as millennials and multi-generational family groups,” he added.

Enit’s marketing strategy is based on global campaigns to promote knowledge of Italy and its locations among travellers while providing information on tourism offerings and products.

Tourism promotion for Italy would be oriented towards “some strategic cross-cutting musts: sustainability, accessibility for all and digital implementation”, he said.

According to Bastianelli, tourism from Asia is increasing faster than that of the total tourism demand, because of the major increase in long-haul tourism markets in Italy with respect to its neighbours, he said.

Italy experienced a boom in tourism from Asian travellers in 2017, especially from Thailand.

The number of Thai arrivals in Italy increased almost 90 per cent over the past three years, from 18,000 in 2014 to 33,700 in 2017, according to Bastianelli.

In 2017, there were more than 254,400 nights spent in Italy by tourists from Thailand, he said.

Compared with 2016, these flows depict a growing trend regarding every variable of tourism. The number of nights spent increased 47.6 per cent, with a 7.4 per cent increase in expenditure that reached 21.7 million euros, Bastianelli said.

Alongside the increase in the number of Thai visitors to Italy, inflows from the rest of Asia also rose in 2017.

China is the biggest source market when it comes to Italian accommodation figures, with over 3 million arrivals for growth of 15 per cent; nights spent in accommodation touched 5 million, increasing 12.4 per cent.

Reaching 996,000, arrivals from South Korea increased by 14 per cent, and the nights spent totalled 1.8 million, up by 14.6 per cent.

The 933,000 tourist arrivals from Japan generated almost 2 per cent more nights than in 2016.

The other Asian countries totalled over 1 million arrivals and 2.4 million nights spent, an increase of 1.1 per cent.

As for this year, Enit expects the number of tourists from Asia to be relatively flat compared with last year, Bastianelli said.

“It means we are still growing from 2016 in international arrivals. Overall, there has been a 5 per cent increase in airport arrivals from foreign airports over the last two years (2018 and 2017),” he said.