Help Wanted

As I was sitting down reading the Bangkok Post this morning at breakfast, I opened up the help wanted ads. The ads were interesting in that I saw something in them that you would never see in the U.S. Excerpts from the ads are below:

Secretary
- Thai female, 2-3 years experience in import/export
- Good command of English & Computer
...

1 Receptionist
- Thai female, operate Apt.
- Fluent in English
- Age 22-35
...

Century Park Hotel
General Manager
Qualifications:
- Male, Thai Nationality, not over 55 years of age
...

I guess there are two things that jump out at someone from the West. First, the jobs are gender specific. Secondly, the age of the candidates is specified. As you might guess, jobs that require females tend to be secretarial, while those requesting males tend to be managerial roles.

Certainly not all ads have gender or age requirements. In fact, in the Bangkok Post today, the vast majority did not. Some even explicitly stated male/female. My guess, however, is that it is more prevelant in ads in Thai language papers.