There’s a number I want everyone to read and stop to think about — 55%.
Research from the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, using data from the Household Socio-Economic Survey 2021 by the National Statistical Office of Thailand, surveyed 46,775 households nationwide. It found that 9.1% — or 4,255 households — have at least one member with a disability.
And these households earn less — the wage gap between people with disabilities and those without stands at 22%.
But the number I want everyone to remember is 55%.
55% of that 22% gap cannot be explained by education, work experience, or type of occupation.
The researchers used three econometric methods — OLS regression, propensity score matching, and quantile regression — and all three confirmed the same thing: 55% of the wage gap comes from discrimination. Pure and simple.
What does that mean? It means people with disabilities in Thailand are not poor because they are “less capable.” They are poor because the system is designed to block their access to opportunity.
This isn’t about any one person. This is structural.
We now have data that proves discrimination exists, that it can be measured, and that it is costing real families the income they deserve.
The question is no longer “does discrimination exist?” — we’ve proven it does.
The question I want to leave you with is: what do you think, and how can we use this data to make things better?
Sources: Chulalongkorn University + Household Socio-Economic Survey 2021 (NSO Thailand)