How changing gender norms have both challenged and reinforced the perceived differences between men and women while also pointing toward a way forward

1. #BalanceforBetter
Event Proceedings
27, March 2019
Woof Pack
Lumphini, Bangkok

2. #BalanceforBetter
PANELISTS
| 2
Isabel Valle
Executive, Leadership
Coach, Founder of Global
Room
Pisate "Jett"
Virangkabutra
Lecturer at the School of
Global Studies and Social
Entrepreneurship,
Thammasat University,
Thailand
Laura Takenaka
Country Lead and Chief
Representative NEM
Foundation, Thailand
Richard Jackson
Co-Founder & General
Manager of RLC
Recruitment, Thailand

3. SCHEDULE
7:00-7:30PM Networking
7:30PM-8:20PM Research sharing & panel discussion
Project scope
Objectives
Sample group
Meaning of Gender Balance
Topics from research
1. Changing gender norms
2. Female and male role models
3. Perceptions of performance and ability
4. Career and family planning
8:20PM-8:30PM Conclusion & plan for a way forward
8:30PM-9:00PM Networking
#BalanceforBetter
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4. DISCLAIMER
The quotes presented here are verbatim quotes from participants.
The quotes have been anonymized for confidentiality.
None of the images presented are of the participants in the research.
The quotes presented do not reflect the views of the people featured in the images.
The quotes presented do not reflect the views of Teak Research Co., Ltd., AKIN ASIA, or Stonetech Ventures.
#BalanceforBetter
27, March 2019 | 4

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Stonetech Ventures, Event Sponsor
Xeniya Alexeyeva, Successive Executive Director, AKIN ASIA
Nicola Jones Crossley, Former Executive Director, AKIN ASIA
Sawyer Jordan Lahr, Partner and General Manager, Teak Research Co., Ltd.
#BalanceforBetter
27, March 2019 | 5

6. #BalanceforBetter Proposal
In 2013, a serial entrepreneur, Sawyer J. Lahr,
and a seasoned design researcher, Adisorn
Supawatanakul, decided to take a risk and move
their lives to Bangkok in order to establish a
design research consultancy in partnership with
Conifer Research in Chicago, USA.
Our name was chosen in the style of our USA
partner, Conifer Research, which named itself
after an evergreen tree native to the USA. We
chose Teak because it is a hardwood tree native
to the Southeast Asian region where we are
based and is one of the most valuable timbers in
the world. It is practical, durable, and beautiful
and is known for its longevity.
Sawyer J. Lahr (right) and Adisorn Supawatanakul (center)
ABOUT US
Private & Confidential | 6

7. #BalanceforBetter
Teak was approached by AKIN ASIA, Bangkok
about doing research to better understand its
membership and in particular how they perceive
gender equality as well as what can be done to
address gender inequality issues among this
group and among professionals in Southeast
Asia more broadly.
We proposed a sixth month qualitative research
project using an applied anthropological
approach, starting by intercepting members
attending AKIN ASIA’s events and conducting
in-depth interviews with members of AKIN
ASIA’S extended network.
Image from 2018 International Women’s Day Event hosted by AKIN ASIA
SCOPE
| 7

8. SAMPLE GROUP
#BalanceforBetter
Profile
Female and male members of AKIN
ASIA’s previous event attendees and
extended network who are working
professionals in Asia Pacific of
different nationalities (European &
Asian), ages, and family statuses.
Geography
19 participants were living in Bangkok
at the time of the interview while the
other two were living in Myanmar and
Japan, respectively.
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22
total participants
14
in-depth interviews
8
intercept interviews
17
female
5
male

9. The meaning of gender balance

10. | 10
Men and women work together for balance. Men
complement us in some ways. It’s about respect,
not dividing roles. Everyone is responsible for
supporting each other.
- Female music professional
“
#BalanceforBetter | Meaning of gender balance

11. MAIN FINDINGS
● Gender balance can be defined as equitable
and fair treatment of female and male
professionals relative to each individual’s
unique circumstances and abilities.
● Men who have seen women’s progress in their
families, their workplace, and their industry,
question whether women and men are
inherently different or not (other than biological
differences).
● While the female and male working
professionals we interviewed were not born
equal in terms of class, race, or opportunity,
they are trying to achieve “gender balance” in
their respective workplaces or industries.
Private & Confidential | 11
#BalanceforBetter | Meaning of gender balance
Private & Confidential | 11
I always like the balance.
You know when there
are too many women it’s
not good either. We learn
from our differences. We
have different
sensibilities.
- Male law professional
“

12. 01
Changing gender norms
Image from 2018 International Women’s Day Event hosted by AKIN ASIA

13. | 13
Our husbands are educated so there is also
some expectation from us as well. Educated,
working women, they do not want to have
more children so they have more time to
work in the public sphere.
- Female NGO professional
“
#BalanceforBetter | 01| Changing gender norms

14. MAIN FINDINGS
● Our research defines new gender norms as the
double standard of women to fulfill two roles at
once, both in the private and public spheres,
the breadwinner and the householder.
● Our research found that although some women
in Asia Pacific have successfully entered the
workforce and are pursuing similar professional
goals as men, they struggle to balance
traditional gender norms and new gender
norms.
● While the research participants in our sample
still cite the existence of traditional gender
norms, especially in rural societies, they have
seen a change in major cities where women
have entered the public sphere and began
doing skilled labor.
#BalanceforBetter | 01| Changing gender norms
I don’t look at gender for
salary. I look at skills. If
someone is good, they
are the same as anyone
else.
- Male tech professional
“
| 14

15. 02
Female and male role models
Image from 2018 International Women’s Day Event hosted by AKIN ASIA

16. | 16
My role model is actually my grandfather. My
grandpa really wanted to be successful. When I
was in elementary school and junior high, he
would force me to spend weekends studying
math.
- Female event management professional
“
#BalanceforBetter | 02 | Female and male role models

17. MAIN FINDINGS
● Coincidentally, all of our male participants grew
up with a very strong female figure - their
mother or their female bosses. They consider
their mothers or female bosses as their role
models or mentors.
● Their mothers did not always fit into traditional
gender roles, and, in some cases, took on roles
in the domestic sphere and professional sphere
that have been traditionally associated with
men like physical labor or business
management.
● This upbringing has conditioned the men in our
sample to believe that women are as capable
as men in every aspect and has caused some
men to expect their female partners and co-
workers to be capable in both the domestic and
public sphere.
#BalanceforBetter | 02 | Female and male role models
I’ve been very close to
my mom. The man you
see today is the output
of her mentoring that
has given me life
lessons like you should
never give up, never
lose hope, great things
take time.
- Male tech professional
“
| 17

18. 03
Perceptions of performance & ability
Image from 2018 International Women’s Day Event hosted by AKIN ASIA

19. | 19
You cannot show your emotion, if you show your
emotion you will be considered as weak…. So you
learn to create a facade, you know like control, and
like leadership or stuff like that to show your
masculinity.
- Male tech professional
“
#BalanceforBetter | 03 | Perceptions of performance & ability

20. MAIN FINDINGS
● This research shows that female and male
professionals working in Asia Pacific associate
so called “soft skills” with the archetypal woman
and “hard skills” with the archetypal man
despite themselves having the same skills they
associate with the opposite sex.
● Both female and male participants in our
sample talked about women being better at
nurturing, caregiving, and communication vs
men being more outspoken, dominant, and
decisive. Yet when speaking about specific
women and men in their lives, they identified
the same qualities in women as expressed by
men.
● Female professionals in our sample also feel
that they have to step up their performance and
appearance in order to assert their dominance
in the workplace.
#BalanceforBetter | 03 | Perceptions of performance & ability
It can be a majority of
women but you can also be
dominant in a way that you
are the boss of everything
and you don’t let anyone
speak or contribute to the
work and that can be
negative in both women
and men.
- Female science professional
“
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21. 04
Career & family planning
Image from 2018 International Women’s Day Event hosted by AKIN ASIA

22. | 22
We’re a family. I’m more the breadwinner. My
husband is there to support me. He’s okay with
it. If I didn’t have him, I wouldn’t be as
successful as I am today. We divide the
responsibility of taking care of the children.
- Female entertainment professional
“
#BalanceforBetter | 04 | Career & family planning

23. MAIN FINDINGS
● The women in our sample all prioritized higher
education and career pursuits before having
children and, therefore, face a dilemma
between having children and furthering their
career.
● While some women have created flexibility for
themselves in their work schedules and
workplaces and have supportive partners who
share child rearing responsibilities, the physical
and psychological transformation that women
experience during pregnancy and after giving
birth affects women’s reintegrating into the
workforce.
● After having a child and going back to work,
female professionals face another crossroads
which is whether to spend more time with their
young children or continue to work full-time.
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#BalanceforBetter | 04 | Career & family planning
I don’t like too much
the approach that tries
to say men are bad,
women are good. It’s
more about a
household that can be
shared and managed
by two.
- Male NGO Professional
“

24. THANK YOU
Find the full report on our website.