Global Summit of Women focused on child protection


More than 650 women business leaders from 52 countries pledged to work for greater protections for children against trafficking and cybercrimes as they concluded the 32nd Global Summit of Women in Bangkok last week.
 
The three-day event offered “a lifetime experience for everybody to hear and learn from global women influencers and opinion leaders,” said Irene Natividad, President of this year’s gathering, which was the first carbon-neutral summit in the organization’s history.
 
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha vowed that Thailand would spare no effort to promote gender equality during his opening ceremony speech, noting that women play key roles in economic and social development. The summit was the first of two major global events the Kingdom is hosting in 2022, with the other being the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
 
The Global Summit of Women is a Washington-based nongovernmental organization founded in 1990 as a forum for all sectors to gather under the common vision of expanding opportunities for women.
 
The majority of participants were female corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, but women political leaders from several governments were also in attendance, as were representatives of civil society. With the global pandemic gradually recovered, part of the focus was on reviving women’s economic progress, which was affected adversely during COVID-19.
 
The Global Women’s Leadership Award was presented to Thailand’s Dr. Krisana Kraisintu, known as “The Pharmacist of the Poor,” who developed a generic antiretroviral drug that treats HIV at a lower cost, helping victims in many countries, especially in Africa.
 
On its website, the Global Summit of Women praised Thailand for the following accomplishments:
 
• Thailand ranks in the top tier in the 2021 Women Economic Global Gender Gap Index for Economic Participation and Opportunity.
• Thai women make up 40 percent of chief executives and 34 percent of chief financial officers within Thai companies.
• Thailand ranks first in the world for enrollment of women in higher education with 1.41 women attending post-secondary institution for every man (2021 WEF Global Gender Gap Report).
• Thai Women were among the first women in Asia who were granted the right to vote in 1932.
• Thai women comprise 47 percent of the workforce, the highest percentage of women in Asia-Pacific.