Women in leadership roles in Bhutan are very few with only 15 percent of them holding executive positions.

This was discussed at a women’s leadership summit in which participants also recommended the establishment of the Ministry of Women and Children.

The idea of establishing such a ministry will help in bridging the gender gap and encourage more women to take on leadership roles.

Very few women take up leadership roles because it is the social, cultural, and economic norms that hold them back from taking up an executive position, the participants were quoted as saying by The Bhutanese Expression.

It was felt that family support and confidence in their abilities will encourage more women to take up leadership positions.

“What can we do to support young women? We talked a lot about the need for mentorship, the need for role models, and forums and networks. Ultimately, we need to institutionalise some of the solutions,” Yangchen Tshogyel, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, was quoted by the newspaper.

According to Dr. Rinchen Chophel, the Director-General of the South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children, the institutions are not empowered and strong enough to establish a ministry for women and children.

Other participants shared that there was a need for a healthy and conducive environment in the job market for women to assume leadership roles.