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FOR many Malaysian women, the biggest hurdle to entering politics is not whether they are capable of leading, but whether they have the time to do it.
Family commitments and the demands of caring for children and other family members were identified as the biggest obstacle to women’s political participation by 45.8% of respondents in the 2025/2026 Women’s Voice Study.
The findings also showed that women continue to see a clear gap in political representation, with 62.7% saying women remain underrepresented in Parliament and state assemblies.
Only 17.1% felt the current level of representation was sufficient, while 19.8% were unsure.
Published by Suluh Centre, the study gathered responses from 1,030 women nationwide between December 2025 and June 2026. It was supplemented by focus group discussions and community engagements involving another 270 women.
The findings suggest that confidence in women’s ability to lead is not the main issue.
Some 55.2% of respondents said women needed more opportunities to prove their capabilities, while 31.2% believed women were equally capable of leading as men.
Women currently hold 30 of the 221 filled seats in the Dewan Rakyat, representing 13.6% of MPs — roughly half the global average.
After caregiving responsibilities, 33.3% of respondents identified Malaysia’s harsh and male-dominated political culture as a barrier to participation.
Another 19.1% cited a lack of access to information and support at an early stage.
Suluh Centre executive director and lead report author Nadia Nazri said women did not need to be convinced that they were capable of taking on leadership roles.
“Women do not need us to convince them that they are capable. What they need is for us to understand what is holding them back, and it is time we do so,” she explained.
Nadia added caregiving responsibilities could also force women out of the workforce, making it harder for them to participate in community and political leadership.
“Childcare and eldercare must therefore be seen as part of the country’s economic infrastructure, and not simply as a family matter,” she further said.
The cost of living was another major concern highlighted by the study, with 54.2% of respondents naming it as the issue that affected them most personally.
Employment and wages came next at 25.1%, followed by household debt and financial commitments at 18.8%.
Official figures show that housing, food and transport together account for about half of household consumption expenditure.
The study also pointed to a disconnect between government assistance being available and women knowing how to access it.
While 58.9% of respondents said they had heard about government programmes for women, they did not know how to apply for them.
Another 22.5% said the information available was difficult to access or too complicated to understand.
Only 18.5% said they knew how to apply and had successfully done so.
Suluh Centre stressed that the figures did not mean the women had been rejected for assistance or had their applications turned down.
Instead, they reflected a lack of clear and accessible information to help women take the next step.
Social media was by far the main source of news and information among respondents, with 79.9% relying on it primarily, compared with 12.9% who depended mainly on television, radio and newspapers.
TikTok was the most widely used social media platform, selected by 52.2% of respondents, while 95.1% identified WhatsApp as their main messaging platform.
The report has called on the government, political parties and public agencies to close some of the gaps identified in the study.
Among its recommendations is for the proposed minimum 30% quota for women candidates put forward by a Parliamentary Special Select Committee in June to be legislated, with a clear implementation timeline.
It also called for mandatory protection reviews before the expiry of seven-day Emergency Protection Orders (EPOs), to ensure victims of domestic violence are not left without protection while applications for Interim Protection Orders (IPOs) are being processed.
The report also proposed piloting six days of paid childcare leave for each mother and father through government-linked companies before amendments to the Employment Act are introduced.
Another recommendation is a pilot programme to formalise childcare work by training informal caregivers, particularly in areas where affordable childcare is difficult to access.
Nadia said the country already had many laws and programmes aimed at supporting women, but their effectiveness depended on whether women could actually access them.
“Malaysia is not short of laws or programmes for women. What this study shows is that there is still a gap between what exists on paper and what actually reaches a woman and is easily accessible to her,” she said.
“Most of our recommendations are about making sure the rights and facilities already available actually work as intended.”
The report was launched at the Bandar Tun Razak Sports Complex by former deputy prime minister and Bandar Tun Razak MP Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The launch followed the graduation of more than 300 women from Suluh Centre’s year-long Wanita Mendunia leadership programme.
The graduates are expected to return to their communities and apply what they have learnt in their efforts to drive change locally.
The Women’s Voice Study 2025/2026 was designed and conducted by POLITY under the leadership of its chairperson, Nurul Izzah Anwar.
POLITY underwent a rebranding exercise as Suluh Centre while the report was being prepared, and the study was subsequently published under the centre’s new name. - September 8, 2026
