Bangkok marks Pride Month with a win as the BMA secures a UNDP Gold Gender Equality Seal, the first in Southeast Asia, highlighting progress in gender equality.

With Pride Month around the corner, Bangkok has a reason to celebrate. The BMA has earned a Gold Gender Equality Seal from the UNDP, the first in Southeast Asia to do so, marking real progress on gender equality, inclusion and the rights that come with it.

Last Friday, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt received the award in person from Alexander De Croo, Administrator of the UNDP, at Bangkok City Hall, noting that the recognition goes beyond the capital and belongs to the country as a whole.

Bangkok’s journey on this has spanned a little over two years. From an initial score of just 8.8%, it has now climbed to 94.8% through collaboration across all sectors: government, private and civil society. Of 40 gender equality indicators, 38 have been achieved, along with all 14 Gold Standard criteria, showing this is not just talk, but real action.

The BMA has made history as the first public-sector organisation in Thailand and the wider Asia-Pacific to join the programme and achieve Gold certification – something that didn’t happen overnight, but through steady, long-term effort and real commitment to change.

Bangkok’s gender equality progress includes over 200 SDG 5-aligned projects, Pride Clinics across 31 sites, a citywide network of over 1,500 representatives, and a 2025–2027 plan for 100,000 staff. It also reports a 0.9% gender pay gap, nearly 43% women in leadership, expanded street lighting for safety and full sanitary pad coverage for students.

“In the end, sustainability means this has to become the norm and part of the organisation’s culture – a mindset that rules out a return to gender inequality. It needs to be something that can be continuously practised. At the same time, having an organisation like UNDP involved gives us confidence that the evaluation standards are internationally aligned. Most importantly, it shouldn’t depend on individuals, but on processes, so even if leadership changes, the framework will continue to stand,”

Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said in his acceptance speech.