PETALING JAYA – Malaysia needs to narrow the gender gap to make it a leading economic powerhouse in Asia, said Nurul Izzah Anwar.
The journey towards bridging the gender divide is still a long one in Malaysia, the co-head of the secretariat for the advisory committee to the finance minister said.
Despite high enrollment in universities, she said, female graduates make up more than half of the unemployed (54.2%) compared to their male counterparts (45.8%).
“However, the current administration is sparing no effort to reduce this gap.
“For example, under the Madani Economy framework launched by the prime minister, the government plans to increase the female labour force participation rate to 60%, making it more comparable with regional countries,” she said.
Nurul Izzah said this during a fireside chat on the Madani Economy with Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and economist Nungsari Ahmad Radhi at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum.
The prime minister’s daughter said a key aspect of gender equality is facilitating the return of women to work after childbirth.
In Budget 2023, the government allocated RM290 million in grants, equal to 80% of Socso contributors’ salaries.
This is estimated to benefit over 130,000 women returning to work after childbirth.
“The provision of childcare facilities at the workplace is also an important initiative that will enable women to return to the workforce,” she said.
The PKR vice-president commended the Selangor and Penang state governments for initiating childcare facility programmes.
She also highlighted that the government has provided a grant scheme for the private sector to set up childcare centres at work premises to support women returning to work.
“The government has also announced plans to streamline the registration process and expand the childcare centre and nursery whitelisting programme nationwide with an allocation of RM10 million,” she added.
In terms of the informal sector, Nurul Izzah acknowledged that there is insufficient data on gender labour participation.
However, she said studies have shown that women form the majority of workers in the informal sector both locally and globally.
“The government is working hard to ensure more accurate and comprehensive data collection, as current databases do not accurately portray the true picture of the informal sector,” she said.
On that note, Nurul Izzah welcomed the recently launched Malaysian Official Open Data Portal that has made great strides in making available key data to Malaysians.
“While it is a good start, more needs to be done to collect inclusive data covering the informal sector,” she said.
Nurul Izzah also encouraged the private sector and the community at large to take advantage of the various government schemes and programmes, and follow suit in the joint effort to narrow the gender gap in the workplace.
“Gender equality at the workplace and beyond is essential to building a more productive and developed nation based on Madani principles.” – The Vibes, October 6, 2023
