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CNA
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Over 50% of Malaysian employers cite family needs, maternity leave as barriers to hiring women: World Bank report
KUALA LUMPUR: Familial commitments that women have to attend to. Maternity regulations that are in place for when they choose to have children. These have been identified as among the 'significant obstacles' for firms when choosing to hire women, a recent survey of 1,500 companies in Malaysia found. Launched on Tuesday (Jul 22), the survey report by the World Bank found that for 58 per cent of employers, women's family commitments are a major challenge in recruitment while 54 per cent of these firms cited the provision of maternity leave as a barrier to employing them. These findings coincided with another trend observed among the firms surveyed - that the proportion of female employees tends to decrease as their age increases. Women in Malaysia tend to leave the workforce upon starting a family, the report found, and they are unlikely to return without adequate and proper support from employers. 'Without employment practices that adequately support women's caregiving responsibilities - such as flexible work arrangements and accessible childcare - many women will continue to remain outside of the labour force or resort to informal work in order to balance family and employment,' Malaysian World Bank country manager Judith McGreen said at the report's launch. GENDER GAP IN WORKFORCE 'PROBLEMATIC' The World Bank's report shows that the proportion of female employees at the firms surveyed decreases with age - women between the age of 21 and 30 form the largest share of female employees at 41 per cent. This is then followed by women between the ages of 31 and 40 years at 32 per cent, those between the ages of 41 and 50 make up 17 per cent and those above the age of 50 at 10 per cent. 'This trend is broad-based across firms' size, regions, sectors and years of operation,' it said. The World Bank added: 'Unlike in other countries where women often re-enter employment after a career break, Malaysian women's departure from the labour market tends to be more permanent. 'Malaysia has one of the lowest rates of women taking temporary career breaks, reinforcing this trend of permanent labour market exit.' Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate for men at 83.4 percent in 2024 was much higher than the female labour force participation rate of 56.6 percent. McGreen said that the gender gap is problematic - both from an equity as well as from an economic perspective. 'Malaysian women are on average better educated than Malaysian men, and under-representation in the labour market is a lost economic opportunity - it implies that Malaysia is not fully utilising its human resources,' she said. McGreen added that a previous World Bank report found that if female labour force participation rates in Malaysia were to rise to levels seen in advanced economies, the country's income per capita could grow by 26.2 per cent - or equivalent to a RM9,400 (US$2,200) annual income gain. She noted that the working-age population has already begun to shrink since 2020 and that this trend posed significant challenges for the labour market. 'These demographic changes underscore the urgency for strategic labour market interventions that can help mitigate the impacts of a shrinking workforce while sustaining economic growth. 'One of the most promising ways forward for Malaysia to do this is by increasing and sustaining women's participation in the labour force,' said McGreen. WHAT CAN BE DONE? However, it is not all doom and gloom, with over half of the firms surveyed saying that they have put in place key measures to support women at the workplace. The World Bank said that 54 per cent of firms indicated that they offer hybrid working or flexible working arrangements as part of its childcare benefits, while 53 per cent indicated that they have an onsite or near-site childcare or daycare facility. Additionally, 47 per cent of firms offer paid parental or family leave, separate from annual leave. In a panel discussion at the report launch, Hamidah Naziadin - the former chief people officer of CIMB Group - said that employers need to understand the need for family-friendly policies. The CIMB Group is one of the largest banking groups in the country. Hamidah added that these policies must be looked at as an investment rather than thinking of it as just a cost. During her tenure at the banking group, CIMB introduced a six-month maternity leave scheme and one month of paternity leave. In Malaysia, female employees are typically eligible for 98 consecutive days of paid maternity leave while males are eligible for only seven days of paternity leave. She said that there were those who questioned the extended paternity leave. 'When you formulate policies, you do it for the majority. Such family-friendly policies give you greater value in terms of branding and help to promote productivity through employees who find the company to be thoughtful and caring,' she said, adding that strong policies come from understanding the employees' needs. She also believed that the flexible work arrangements, for example, are here to stay. 'At the end of the day, it is the employees who make up the company. Let's do what we can to provide them with that support system. One important word is trust. If you want to implement policies, a lot of it will require trust.' Meanwhile, Nazrul Aziz - who is the group chief strategy officer at TalentCorp - said that smaller firms face the biggest challenge to implement family-friendly policies in order to attract women back into the workforce. TalentCorp is an agency under Malaysia's Ministry of Human Resources that drives the country's talent strategy. Nazrul said that only 30 per cent of Malaysians work with multi-national companies or government linked companies while the majority work with the MSMEs.
Malay Mail
22-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
World Bank survey: Firms think women are key to performance, but offer little assistance for their biggest challenge — childcare
KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Many Malaysian firms believe hiring more women significantly boosts productivity and makes their companies more attractive to talent. Despite this recognition, few are willing to assist with or accommodate a significant challenge women face in the workplace, namely childcare, according to a World Bank survey report released this afternoon. Over 60 per cent of employers surveyed for the 2024 Inclusive Employment Practices Survey agreed hiring more women improves productivity and talent attraction, yet care responsibilities and compliance with maternity regulations remain as major barriers. The finding came amid a backdrop of persistent underrepresentation of women in the workforce despite government efforts to reverse the longstanding trend. In 2024, women made up just 47 per cent of employees across firms. Their representation is visibly lower in construction, agriculture, and manufacturing; and high- and mid-level positions, especially in large firms and firms in the eastern and central regions. 'Despite most firms acknowledging the positive impact of hiring more women, particularly career returnees, barriers persist, often stemming from care responsibilities,' authors of the report said. 'These challenges include women's family commitments and adhering to government regulations such as the provision of maternity leave.' Concerns about low female labour participation are further heightened by Malaysia's sharp demographic shifts. The proportion of Malaysians aged 65 and above is projected to rise from approximately 8 per cent today to 14 per cent by 2043. As a result, the working-age population has already begun to shrink since 2020, posing significant challenges to the labour market. The rate of women working in Malaysia stood at just 56.2 per cent as of 2023, data from Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) Labor Force Survey 2023 showed. Malaysia lags behind high-income countries as well as regional peers such as Thailand (68 per cent), Vietnam (70 per cent), and Singapore (76 per cent). The World Bank said the Malaysian government has put in some measures to get women to work again but said more interventions are needed, including building more childcare centres through more money or tax incentives, and enhancing flexible work arrangements. 'Existing initiatives such as TalentCorp's Career Comeback Program (CCP) could be refined by tailoring support based on the skills and experience levels of returnees,' it said. 'Meanwhile the Flexible Work Arrangement Guidelines (Aturan Kerja Fleksibel, AKF) could incorporate strategies for managing productivity and efficiency which are key concerns for many firms,' the report added. Past studies have pointed to several reasons for women in Malaysia to not participate in the labour market. One of the main reasons cited is housework, including child and elderly care, as the main reason for not seeking work. In addition, while there are indications of shifting social norms, the absence of childcare options for children of all ages compels a large share of women to stay out of the labour market. This is further exacerbated by the lack of flexibility and unsupportive work environment.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
As economic growth slows, Pacific Islands should boost women in jobs, says World Bank
SYDNEY, June 17 (Reuters) - Less than half of working age women are employed across the Pacific Islands due to outdated laws and other barriers, the World Bank said in a new report on Tuesday, and said closing the gender gap could boost economic growth. The World Bank economic update for the Pacific also forecast regional growth slowing to 2.6 percent in 2025, down from 5.5 percent in 2023. With 57% or around 500,000 women not in work across the Pacific Islands, the report said boosting female participation to the same level as men could lift the region's gross domestic product by 22% by increasing household incomes and supporting private sector growth. In Fiji, the biggest Pacific Islands economy, the boost to GDP could be 30%, it said. The gender gap in the labour market exists despite women attaining similar education levels as men, and could be partly attributed to social norms, the report said. Six countries did not have paid parental leave, often forcing women to leave the labour force when they started families, it said. In the energy sector, which is under pressure to expand its workforce as islands upgrade infrastructure and transition to renewables, the World Bank found women held less than 19% of jobs across 12 Pacific countries, and fewer than 5% of well-paid technical roles. "Ignoring women as part of that pool is just not good business sense," Helle Buchhave, World Bank senior social development specialist, said in an interview. "We are working with them to increase women's employment in the sector," she added. The World Bank has recommended gender targets and said governments should remove outdated restrictions that prevent women working in some countries, including safety restrictions in some industries, and bans on women working at night in countries including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. "It's not part of today's world - that kind of protection of women in the labour force ignores the fact that safety is for both men and women," Buchhave said. Five countries - Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu - lack legal protections against gender-based discrimination in employment, the report said. The remote atoll nation of Kiribati had the best legal workplace protections for women, it found. "Closing the workforce gender gap is one of the highest-impact reforms Pacific governments can pursue," said Ekaterine Vashakmadze, World Bank senior economist.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As economic growth slows, Pacific Islands should boost women in jobs, says World Bank
By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) -Less than half of working age women are employed across the Pacific Islands due to outdated laws and other barriers, the World Bank said in a new report on Tuesday, and said closing the gender gap could boost economic growth. The World Bank economic update for the Pacific also forecast regional growth slowing to 2.6 percent in 2025, down from 5.5 percent in 2023. With 57% or around 500,000 women not in work across the Pacific Islands, the report said boosting female participation to the same level as men could lift the region's gross domestic product by 22% by increasing household incomes and supporting private sector growth. In Fiji, the biggest Pacific Islands economy, the boost to GDP could be 30%, it said. The gender gap in the labour market exists despite women attaining similar education levels as men, and could be partly attributed to social norms, the report said. Six countries did not have paid parental leave, often forcing women to leave the labour force when they started families, it said. In the energy sector, which is under pressure to expand its workforce as islands upgrade infrastructure and transition to renewables, the World Bank found women held less than 19% of jobs across 12 Pacific countries, and fewer than 5% of well-paid technical roles. "Ignoring women as part of that pool is just not good business sense," Helle Buchhave, World Bank senior social development specialist, said in an interview. "We are working with them to increase women's employment in the sector," she added. The World Bank has recommended gender targets and said governments should remove outdated restrictions that prevent women working in some countries, including safety restrictions in some industries, and bans on women working at night in countries including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. "It's not part of today's world - that kind of protection of women in the labour force ignores the fact that safety is for both men and women," Buchhave said. Five countries - Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu - lack legal protections against gender-based discrimination in employment, the report said. The remote atoll nation of Kiribati had the best legal workplace protections for women, it found. "Closing the workforce gender gap is one of the highest-impact reforms Pacific governments can pursue," said Ekaterine Vashakmadze, World Bank senior economist. Sign in to access your portfolio
