In this research, the dependent variables refer to the role of Thai women in politics which was reviewed from the early twentieth century to the present day and divided into two parts. First, the number and/or percentage of female voters and female candidates at different time periods were compared using data from general elections in Thailand. All the information was obtained from the Office of the Election Commission of Thailand.
Second, the number and/or percentage of female representatives at both national and local levels were considered: 1) the national legislatures included the National House of Representatives, Senators, Ministers and Prime Minister(s). All data was accessed through/via websites of the Office of the Election Commission of Thailand and the Royal Thai Government, 2) The local levels included members of Provincial Councils, members of Municipal Councils, members of Sub-district Organization Administrations, Sub-district Heads, and Village Heads. All information was accessed through the websites of the Department of Local Administration Promotion, Ministry of Interior. All formal political data were described using a top-to-bottom approach.
Research Methodology
Figure 1.2: Research Methodology Independent Variables
(IV)
1. Obligations to International Conventions National Economic and Social Development Plans of female representatives at national level (House of Representatives, Senators, Minister and Prime Minister) b) The numbers/percentage of female representatives at local level (members of Provincial Council, Members of Municipal Council, and members of
Data Resource and Research Process
This research applied both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, background information was gathered from academic papers, previous research, official documents and reports, official statistics, electoral law and constitution from Thai official websites and academic libraries. Second, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 Thai female politicians, government officers and NGO officers. Third, 1,500 copies of a questionnaire were randomly distributed to investigate the different attitudes of Thai citizens toward women’s political participation.
In-depth Interview
The interviews preceded smoothly by following the interview questions. Based on the literature review in Chapter two, the acceptance of the role and status of women in political participation was identified following the institutional and non-institutional factors.
Marshall and Rossman (2011) stated that interpretation and perceptions based upon individual experiences were best analyzed through participation in in-depth interviews. According to this research, the original version of the interview questions was in English (see Appendix A), and this was translated into the Thai language (see Appendix B) to avoid a language barrier and possible misunderstandings. To ensure accuracy and minimize language issues, the Thai version was then back-translated into English. Then, a comparison between the original English version and the back-translated version was conducted to compare the accuracy of the intended meanings of the questions.
The interview instrument was divided into three sections. The first was an overview of gender, age, status, education, work experiences, religion, native habitat and political experiences of the participants. The second section contained questions relating to attitudes and opinions regarding the role of women in political participation, and the acceptance of women in higher political positions in both national and local governments. Finally, the third section contained suggestions which expressed the open-mindedness of the respondents.
Data were collected from November 2016 to September 2017. To ensure that the respondents were willing to participate; their answers to the interview questions were recorded and remained confidential. At the beginning of each interview, ‘pride’ was explained and defined as
“women’s political participation”. Semi-structured interviews are often the sole data source for a qualitative plan and are mostly designed around a framework of predetermined open-ended questions, with other questions developing from the dialogue between the interviewer and interviewees (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree. 2006: 314-321).
Face-to-face interviews were conducted with six Thai women political representatives at national and/or local levels, including four specialists from the Gender and Development Research Institute (GDRI), the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women, Office of Women’s Affairs and Family Development, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Thammasat University (see Appendix C). Each interview lasted an average of 45 to 60 minutes and all interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim in the Thai language.
Survey questionnaires
The questionnaire is a supporting data collection instrument for quantitative and deductive research. It is a suitable tool for measuring attitudes or characteristics of a large population (Barbie, 2010).
The initial scale items were affirmed and all the items for different attitudes about women’s political participation in Thailand were measured using a five-point Likert-type scale from
“strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5)”. The original questionnaire was in English (see Appendix D). The questionnaire was translated into Thai (see Appendix E).
The survey questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section asked for demographics including gender, age, and status. The socioeconomic indicators were occupation, education, and income factors. Cultural index was tested by questions regarding religion and hometown. Level of political participation is an important factor to determine the political interests of Thai female citizens. The second section investigated attitudes concerning women’s political participation and the acceptance of the role of women in higher political positions at national and local levels. The third section contained suggestions for participants to freely express their attitudes and opinions concerning the status of women in Thai politics.
This work was conducted with the direct support from organizations using purposive sampling. The respondents were Thai citizens (male and female), over 18 years old and resident in Thailand. All data collection followed a top-to-bottom approach to women’s political
involvement. The sampling areas were diversified similar to central authority administration as the capital, semi-urban and local areas by following the criteria of density of population, occupation, environment, size of community and system of interaction, including to social differentiation and stratification (Figure 1.3).After discarding invalid questionnaires, a total of 1,500 were collected and used as the random sample. Due to the cross-area comparisons, the sample population was diversified equally in each region of Thailand.
Figure1.3: Survey questionnaire stratified by geographic strata in Thailand
Capital
•Bangkok and outskirts, Central region
• Sampling Population: Thai Citizen(male and female) over 18 years old (approximately 500 persons)
Semi-urban
•Northern : Chiang Mai and others
•Sampling Population: Thai Citizen(male and female) over 18 years old (approximately 200 persons)
•Eastern and Western : Chonburi, Kanchanaburi and others
•Sampling Population: Thai Citizen(male and female) over 18 years old (approximately 200 persons)
Rural
•Northeastern (E-san) : Mahasarakham and others
•Sampling Population: Thai Citizen(male and female) over 18 years old (approximately 450 persons)
•Southern: Prachuap Khirikhan and others
•Sampling Population: Thai Citizen(male and female) over 18 years old (approximately 150 persons)
Research Process
Figure 1.4: Research process Research Background
Design, Content Validity & Pilot Study and Survey Questionnaire
Comparison and Discussion Conclusion, Further Findings and
Policy Implementation
Quantitative Method Data Collection & Descriptive
Analysis Content Analysis & Qualitative
Research Result Design& Interview Survey
Literature Review Research Question
Qualitative Method
Significance and Contribution of the Research
This research reviewed women’s political participation in Thailand. Information was gained from multiple sources through observations and interviews of Thai citizens. The study results were dependent on reliable information collection. Most of the data sources were publications about gender politics in both the Thai and English languages. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was conducted to clarify the opinions and perspectives of Thai citizens regarding current aspects of Thai women’s participation in politics.
The contributions of this research are two-fold. In the short-term, the results will contribute to public knowledge regarding the current role and status of women in political participation in Thailand. Many scholars understand and appreciate the obstacles and the benefits which influence the number of Thai women representatives at both national and local levels. Similarly, results from this study will provide directions for further research concerning gender issues in Thailand. In the long-term, the Thai Government must formulate and implement national gender strategies and policies. The Thai Government has focused efforts on creating awareness regarding women’s rights and gender equality assurance according to the framework of the Constitution and the Organic Laws and/or the other Acts. These must be fully enforced through using gender responsive information, active research, positive thinking and networking systems as implementing instruments to ensure that gender equality in the political arena is achieved.
Research Chapter
This dissertation is divided into six chapters. The first explains the overviews of the research: objectives, questions, assumptions, methodology, process, and contribution of this study.
Not only aim to the general concept of gender and states, the second chapter also examines either the historical background or a literature review regarding Thai women’s political participation.
The next chapter illustrates the influencing factors of women’s political participation in Thailand.
These constraints are categorized two aspects: the institutional factors; for instance, International Conventions, the Constitutions, national mechanisms, political parties and national development plans. Furthermore, the non-institutional constraints also include the societal values and attitudes, economic development, socioeconomic status, family and marriage, education, religion and mass
media. The fourth chapter presents the results of in-depth interviews of 10 Thai females working in the political sphere in Thailand as government officers, national and local representatives, including to NGO officers. Furthermore, the next chapter explores the survey results analyzed from questionnaires distributed nationwide to 1,500 respondents as Thai citizens over 18 years old. The final chapter discusses the research findings and suggests policy implementation and recommendation for women’s political empowerment in Thailand.
CHAPTER II