Penang committed to empowering, supporting women, says CM

GEORGE TOWN – In conjunction with International Women’s Day tomorrow, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has expressed the state’s commitment towards listening to the grievances of all affected parties during the trying present, including women who face pressure both as homemakers and professional workers.

“It is hoped that in this situation, men or fathers can play a role by sharing responsibilities, especially involving welfare matters, childcare, housekeeping and cooking activities, and, most importantly, always giving encouragement and support to their spouses,” he said.

He called on women and their husbands to explore and venture into new fields to overcome difficulties.

“More and more creative people are exploring fields that can generate side income, especially online business activities,” he said in a statement today.

“In fact, some even challenge themselves to learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship in an attempt to help their spouses and families, especially children.”

Chow said that the development and empowerment of women has been an important agenda under the Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) since 2011.

The state has consistently been coming up with policies and programmes to elevate the dignity of women by encouraging competition, especially at the grassroots level, he said.

According to the Social Security Organisation (Socso), 107,024 individuals lost their jobs in 2020.

Of these, 61,157, or 57.14%, were men and the remaining 45,867, or 42.86%, were women.

Penang ranks third-highest among all states with 10,465 job losses after Selangor (35,450) and Kuala Lumpur (28,089).

The new year did not bring good news as within the first two months of 2021, the state recorded 795 people losing their jobs. Of these, 376 people, or 47.296%, were women. 

Chow said that the womenfolk are particularly affected by loss of income in light of the labour force participation being much higher for men.

Because of this predicament, the state has increased the allocation for PWDC on its agenda to RM2.5 million, compared with RM1 million previously.

In addition, the state has adopted the Gender Inclusion Policy so that official policies, programmes and practices take into account and are in line with proper gender perspectives.

The Women’s Conference Programme has also been conceived to provide a platform for women to speak out through politics, he added.

“In conjunction with the celebration of World Women’s Day 2021 themed Choose to Challenge, I call on the people of Penang to challenge gender stereotypes, domestic violence, sexual harassment and gender inequality at the decision-making level,” he said. – The Vibes, March 7, 2021