Women make up more than half of Cambodia’s population, but less than 10 percent of public officials are female, and the percentage is even lower for senior posts. The human rights group that cited these figures is starting a new training initiative in order to change them.
The Cambodian Institute of Human Rights said it is targeting women for courses in good-governance and management in Kampot and Takeo provinces later this month. The goal is for at least 25 percent of the participants to be women.
The courses will be aimed at helping women build self-confidence and increase their role and productivity in the Cambodian civil service. “One of the problems is that some women do not have sufficient confidence to take part when they are heavily outnumbered by the men,” said Oun Neam Sourn, the institute’s administration officer.
