Latest news with #Women'sLeadershipApprenticeshipProgramme
The Star
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Urgent push to improve fertility rate
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.
Barnama
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
PERANTIS Aims To Tackle Drop In Women's Political Representation
PUTRAJAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's representation of women in politics has declined to 13.36 per cent in Parliament, prompting calls for more robust policy interventions and leadership development programmes. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the issue is not due to a lack of party support, but rather a deeply rooted political culture. 'When I first came in as a Member of Parliament in 2008, there were about 14 per cent of us. Now it is reducing, but this does not mean that the parties did not send enough (female candidates). 'The party did send, but people did not vote for women because that is not a trend that we have in Malaysia. Our trend is to vote for the party. That is why my ministry introduces the Women's Leadership Apprenticeship Programme (PERANTIS) programme, to see more women take up leadership roles in politics,' she said. Nancy was speaking to reporters after delivering her keynote address at the International Conference for Empowering Women's Inclusive Leadership (ICEWIL) here today. PERANTIS prioritises the development of women's leadership skills in fields such as the economy, politics, social affairs, law, education, health, safety, welfare and other relevant professional areas. The initiative was launched with a RM5 million allocation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on March 8, last year, during the International Women's Day celebration. According to Nancy, in 2024, 25 recipients were selected for the programme, but only two focused on politics, indicating limited engagement with political leadership among Malaysians. 'That is why we need more leadership programmes like ICEWIL, so that we can expose more young people to what leadership is all about,' she said.
