IN order for Malaysia to become an economic powerhouse, it is crucial that the gender gap in the country is addressed, Nurul Izzah Anwar said.

The co-head of the secretariat for the Advisory Committee to the Finance Minister said for Malaysia to achieve these aspirations, it is imperative to narrow the gender gap in the country.

Nurul said the journey towards bridging the gender divide is still a long one in Malaysia.

“Despite the high number of female enrolments in universities, female graduates make up more than half of the unemployed (54.2%) compared to their male counterparts (45.8%).

“Equality of gender at the workplace – and beyond – is essential to building a more productive and developed nation based on the principles of ‘Madani’,” she said in a statement. 

Nurul said that the current administration is sparing no effort to reduce this gap.

“Under the Madani Economy framework, the government plans to increase the female labour force participation rate to 60%, making it more comparable with regional countries.

“A key aspect of gender equality is facilitating the return of women to work after childbirth.”

She said that 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 to enable women to return to the workforce.”

She said these issues were discussed during the Khazanah Megatrends Forum with Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz and economist and committee member of the Advisory Committee to the Finance Ministry Nungsari Ahmad Radhi. 

Nurul also commended the Selangor and Penang governments for initiating childcare facility programmes. 

She said 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.”

Nurul 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.

She also expressed her excitement at prospects for the GovTech Nucleus Unit, which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently announced to the public, as an initiative to anchor the government’s efforts to improve public service delivery.

“We hope the unit would continue to deliver excellent digital products in 2024, which would not only improve the public sector’s productivity but also make life easier for the rakyat.” – October 6, 2023.