Urgent push to improve fertility rate

The Star

5 hours ago

Inspiring change: Nancy (centre) officiating the Women's Inspiration Programme: Womenpreneurs – Shaping the Future Economy in Butterworth. — Bernama
BUTTERWORTH: The government is ramping up efforts to increase Malaysia's total fertility rate (TFR), which has been declining over the past 15 years, by promoting inclusive solutions involving men, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
The Women, Family, and Community Development Minister said the country's TFR is at 1.7 this year – a slight improvement from 1.6 last year, but still below the replacement level of 2.1.
'This is still not enough, which is why we are expanding awareness through more programmes and roadshows.
'Sometimes, women are not the problem. Men could also be the cause of the low fertility,' she told reporters yesterday after officiating the Women's Inspiration Programme: Womenpreneurs – Shaping the Future Economy, organised by the Department of Women's Development in colla­bo­­­ration with the Penang Women's Development Corpo­ration.
She said the national roadshow began in Sabah and will soon continue across other states.
'There are several other programmes under the National Population and Family Develop­ment Board (LPPKN) that address fertility issues, with solutions catering to both genders,' she said as reported by Bernama.
On yesterday's event, Nancy said the programme provided an avenue for women entrepreneurs to learn, share strategies and build support networks.
She reaffirmed the government's commitment to enhancing women's leadership across multiple sectors, noting that it is a key objective of the National Women's Policy and the Women's Develop­ment Action Plan 2025-2030, launched on International Women's Day in March.
She said women make up 49% of Malaysia's population, but out of a total of 222 MPs, only 13.36% are women, which is still a huge gap.
'However, there has been encouraging progress as 38.9% of top positions in the public sector are now held by women.
'Women also account for 32.2% of board members in publicly- listed companies,' she added.
At the ministerial level, Nancy said her ministry is nurturing female leaders through initiatives like the Women's Leadership Apprenticeship Programme launched last year, which has mentored over 1,200 women through guidance from 25 prominent figures across 10 major sectors.
She said the programme will be expanded this year with RM5mil in funding, involving 100 mentors and 5,000 participants, underscoring the government's continued investment in developing women's leadership.