Institute of Foreign Languages Lecturer: Te Hengly

Department of English Group 5

Global Studies 202 Class: M2.4
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Sopheak, Sokheang, Tieng, Vakhim, Sarath

Group: 5
Class: M2.4

ESSAY DRAFTING

TOPIC: Do you support or oppose gender equality policies in the workplace? How do you think
this will benefit development in the country? Give specific reasons and examples in Cambodia to
support your answer.
In today’s modern society, gender equality is essential, especially in the workplace. If certain
countries don’t have gender equality at all, they will face a significant downfall in their economic
development. Therefore, certain countries, like Cambodia, require equal opportunities and rights in the
labor force in order to thrive. If Cambodia applies this policy in the workplace, it will outweigh countless
benefits to our countries, such as a better standard of living and a reduced impoverishment rate. However,
the question whether if gender equality policies should be applied into the working system has become
a hot topic for people to debate over. Personally, I strongly support that gender equality policies should
be implemented in Cambodia due to their positive outcomes.

First and foremost, promoting gender equality in the workplace helps expand human resources.
Women in Cambodia play an important role, as they make up half of the population. However, the
majority of them are often seen working at low-paying jobs, and there are fewer women working in the
government sector, not because they don’t want to but because of what society labels women to be.
Cambodians have the mindset that women shouldn’t be working in higher positions or else they won’t
be taken. For example, imagine a woman working as a boss of one company. That woman sets a bar so
high that men can’t reach her level. As a result, she will get judged by our society for being too
independence; they will say that she won’t get a husband if her job position is too high. Because of this
mindset, many women in Cambodia decide not to pursue a higher career position. This is why Cambodia
needs to change this mindset and open the door for women to receive the same opportunities as men. But
to a certain extent if the people in our society are being more open-minded and accept the women to
work in a higher position such as entrepreneur, civil force, and industrialist, there will a significant
development in our human resources which contributes to the surge of our economic development.
Cambodia should unlock more doors for women to work in parliament or higher positions. Therefore,
Cambodia will experience the proliferation of human resources, which are very important for our country
to develop.
Institute of Foreign Languages Lecturer: Te Hengly
Department of English Group 5
Global Studies 202 Class: M2.4
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
In addition, when human resources are abundant, it leads to an increase in innovation. A team will
perform well if both men and women are involved, since there are a combination of perspectives and
new ideas. If a certain organization has an environment where both men's and women’s voices are heard
and respected, that company will gain a lot of fresh and insight ideas. As a result, their company will be
successful and developed. It is stated that employees’ innovation mindset is six times higher in the most-
equal cultures than in the least-equal ones. (Shook & Sweet, 2019, p.2). In fact, during the Popular
Socialist Community in the 1950s, Cambodia was known as “The Pearl of Asia” due to its economic
development. Cambodia had been able to produce and invent new stuffs during that time because of the
equilibrium between men and women. Compared to our country, Cambodia, these days, the workplaces
still lacks of women in some fields such as marine force, technology sector. If Cambodia has followed
in the footsteps of our ancestors, our country will be able to develop with new creations and inventions.
This evidence can clearly demonstrate that gender equality policies are crucial for our country to thrive
and increase innovation in the workplace.

Last but not least, when there is an increase in innovation, it will eventually boost the country’s
economic development. As you already know, women predominantly play an important role in
Cambodia’s economic development. The absence of women in the workplace will result in inflation and
increase unemployment rates. It is stated that women are a major contributor to Cambodia’s economy.
According to the World Bank, almost half of the total labor force in the country is made up of women,
or approximately 47.1% of the total labor force in 2022. (Women in Development, 2024). When
Cambodia is rich in human resources and has an innovative environment, our country will experience
significant development in the economic sector in various industries including primary industry,
secondary industry, tertiary industry, and quaternary industry. If women get the chance to work in these
industries, it will help the country to reduce the impoverishment rates. Therefore, when the rate of poverty
is low, it will eventually lead to the decrease of homelessness and unemployment, so this means most
people will have a job, this will transform our country into a economic hub. By implementing gender
equality policies in the workplace, Cambodia will become one of the most developing countries in
Southeast Asia.

In conclusion, gender equality should be strictly enforced in the workplace to ensure that both
men and women have the same rights and opportunities. If all the companies or workplaces in Cambodia
can incorporate these policies into their working systems, we will create a workplace where there is no
discrimination against one’s gender. As a result, it can outweigh numerous advantages to our country
such as human resource expansion, innovative environment, and economic stability. I strongly advocate
for women to get the same opportunities as men in a workplace. If not, our country will face a economic
crisis. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what gender you’re; the only thing that matters is
professionalism and work ethic in a way that can benefit to the organization as well as the country as a
whole.
Institute of Foreign Languages Lecturer: Te Hengly
Department of English Group 5
Global Studies 202 Class: M2.4
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCE LIST
Accenture. (2019). Getting to Equal 2019: Creating a culture that drives innovation. Retrieved from:

https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/a-com-migration/thought-leadership-

assets/accenture-equality-equals-innovation-gender-equality-research-report-iwd-2019.pdf

Open Development Cambodia. (n.d.). Women in development. Retrieved from:

https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/topics/women-in-development/