A report on gender equality and development shows that, despite significant progress in education equality, the disparity still exists. The literacy rate of Thailand’s adult females in 2022 was 92.4%, which was lower than most other ASEAN countries, according to The Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The ADB states that the Philippines had a rate of 98.2%, Brunei 96.3%, Singapore 95.9%, Indonesia 94.0%, Vietnam 93.6% and Malaysia 93.5%. ASEAN countries with a lower literacy rate than Thailand are Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Women in the Asia-Pacific region still face gender disparities, not only in education but also in employment opportunities and compensation, as well as additional obstacles in accessing certain business sectors currently dominated by men.

According to the ADB’s analysis, regarding the labour force participation rate in the 25+ age group in 2022, the female labour force participation rate in East and Southeast Asia stood at 59.4%, compared to 85.1% for males.

In South Asia, the female labour force participation rate was 62.3%, compared to 76.3% for males. In Southeast Asia, it was as low as 28.0% while, for males, it was 84.1%.