KUALA LUMPUR – As women are among the vulnerable groups affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, a special action plan for them needs to be developed immediately.
Former women, family and community development minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who suggested the proposal, said a comprehensive plan is important for the survival of women, who are the backbone of a family and often caught between balancing career and family needs.
Taking a lesson from the opinion piece written by United States Vice-President Kamala Harris entitled “Opinion: Kamala Harris: The exodus of women from the workforce is a national emergency”, posted via @washingtonpost on February 13, Shahrizat said the initiatives to help women in this country need to be more focused.
“Women are among those who need help during this pandemic. Do we have a specific plan for women in terms of their economy, health and families?
“They need systematic help in economic, health, employment and other issues to survive this pandemic,” said the former Wanita Umno head in a post on her Instagram account yesterday.
Harris, in her article, wrote that the mass exodus of women from the US workforce is a national emergency and it needed to be treated as one.
She said since the start of the pandemic in the US, about 2.5 million women have lost their jobs or dropped out of the workforce, where a lack of affordable childcare is a critical factor, with many working mothers forced to make an unfair choice to look after their children.
“I’m glad this emergency is getting the attention it deserves. We must sound the alarm bells for working mothers, for families, and for our economy. Because our economy cannot fully recover unless women can fully participate. This is a national crisis – and we need to act now.” – Bernama, February 16, 2021
