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Progressive Movement Launches Female Politician Course to Boost Women in Politics

Progressive Movement Launches Female Politician Course to Boost Women in Politics

Thairath•Politics•2d ago

Reader Briefing

The Progressive Movement Foundation has launched its second "Women's Empowerment and Political Leadership Academy" (WEPLA) to train 50 women and individuals identifying as women, aiming to increase female representation and influence in Thai politics and policymaking.

  • •The Progressive Movement Foundation is offering its second "WEPLA" course for female politicians, accepting 50 participants.
  • •The program aims to increase women's representation in Thai politics and policymaking to match global averages.
  • •Applications for the course are open until May 9, and the program runs for 5 months starting from June 2026.
  • •The first WEPLA cohort saw participants successfully elected as Members of Parliament in the 2026 elections.

Overview

  • •The Progressive Movement Foundation announced the official launch of the "Women's Empowerment and Political Leadership Academy" (WEPLA), second generation, on April 11, 2026.
  • •The Progressive Movement Foundation is opening applications for 50 participants for the WEPLA course.
  • •The WEPLA course aims to increase the proportion of women in Thai politics and policy decision-making to match global averages.
  • •Currently, women constitute over half of Thailand's population but hold less than 20% of seats in Parliament, below the global average of 27.5%.
  • •The WEPLA course consists of 4 intensive modules spread over 5 months, from June to October 2026.
  • •Applications are open until May 9, 2026, with details and online registration available on wepla.in.th.
  • •The current proportion of women in Thai Parliament is less than 20%, which is lower than the global average of 27.5%.
  • •A lack of female representation in decision-making results in political decisions, budget allocations, and public policies lacking diversity and failing to comprehensively address all societal groups.

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Source: Thairath (Original)

Key Quotes

Kulathida Rungruengkiat
"“We want to see more women in Thai Parliament, but more than that, we want to see policies formulated from a genuine female perspective to address long-neglected problems.”"
“เราอยากเห็นผู้หญิงในรัฐสภาไทยมากขึ้น แต่มากกว่านั้น เราอยากเห็นนโยบายที่ถูกคิดจากมุมมองของผู้หญิงจริงๆ เพื่อให้ปัญหาที่เคยถูกละเลยมานานได้รับการแก้ไข”

Key Entities

Organization

Progressive Movement(คณะก้าวหน้า)
An organization launching a training program for female politicians.
Progressive Movement Foundation(มูลนิธิคณะก้าวหน้า)
The foundation that opened the "WEPLA" course for female politicians.
People's Party(พรรคประชาชน)
The political party of which several WEPLA graduates are Members of Parliament.

Person

Kulathida Rungruengkiat(กุลธิดา รุ่งเรืองเกียรติ)
Director of the Progressive Movement Foundation and an instructor for the WEPLA course.
Thanaporn Wijarn(นางสาวธนพร วิจันทร์)
A Member of Parliament (List) for the People's Party, who is a graduate of the first WEPLA cohort.
MP (List) of the People's Party(สส.บัญชีรายชื่อ พรรคประชาชน)
The parliamentary position and party affiliation of Thanaporn Wijarn.
Chalonatth Koya-gul(นางสาวชลณัฏฐ์ โกยกุล)
A Member of Parliament for Bangkok for the People's Party, a graduate of the first WEPLA cohort.
MP (Bangkok) of the People's Party(สส.กรุงเทพฯ พรรคประชาชน)
The parliamentary position and party affiliation of Chalonatth Koya-gul.
Narumas Piambandit(นางสาวนฤมาศ เปี่ยมบัณฑิต)
A Member of Parliament for Chonburi for the People's Party, who is a graduate of the first WEPLA cohort.
MP (Chonburi) of the People's Party(สส.ชลบุรี พรรคประชาชน)
The parliamentary position and party affiliation of Narumas Piambandit.

Timeline

April 11, 2026(11 เมษายน 2026)
The date the Progressive Movement Foundation officially announced the WEPLA (second generation) course.
May 9(9 พ.ค. นี้)
The deadline for applications for the WEPLA course.
June – October 2026(มิถุนายน – ตุลาคม 2026)
The duration of the WEPLA course modules.