[COLUMNIST] Breaking the chains of economic violence: Policy recommendations for empowering women

DESPITE Malaysia’s target of increasing women’s labour force participation to 60%, up from the current 56.7%, economic violence remains an under-reported and overlooked barrier to women’s empowerment.

As emphasised in an earlier article by EMIR Research (“Economic violence: A barrier to women empowerment”), economic violence perpetuates dependency and marginalisation among women, hindering women’s economic autonomy and upward mobility.

Economic violence, driven by entrenched social and cultural norms, financial control, workplace discrimination, and limited access to opportunities, is a significant barrier to Malaysia’s growth and gender equality agenda.

The recent 2025 Budget under the Madani administration highlights its ongoing commitment to empowering women through various initiatives, including:

● Encourage working parents: Providing up to RM3,000 in income tax relief for kindergarten or nursery fees.

● Tax incentives: Employers hiring women returning to work and incurring employment expenses for a full year will be eligible for an additional 50% tax deduction.

● Empower women in SMEs: Micro-financing schemes such as BR Plus - i BizLady, Women Micro Scheme, MySMELady 2.0, and MARA Special Business Financing Scheme for Women, with a total allocation of RM 470 million.

● Female Representation: Targeting at least 30% female representation at the decision-making management level among the listed companies

Notwithstanding the commendable efforts, a deeper approach must be implemented to address the underlying problems impeding the empowerment of socially marginalised women (rural, urban-poor, Indigenous, etc.).

For reference, economic violence involves controlling the financial resources of victims, for example, by limiting access to resources, prohibiting job opportunities, or misusing joint finances to establish reliance and diminish autonomy.

Therefore, to address economic violence in families, Malaysia could introduce specific legal provisions under the Domestic Violence Act 1994 to define, recognise and penalise economic violence as a form of punishable Gender-based violence (GBV) offence. This provision should also include elements of access to justice and recovery, financial support, and protective orders for victims of financial abuse.

The importance and role of education

Education plays a crucial role in transforming gender roles and combating economic violence against women.

In Malaysia, addressing these issues requires long-term strategies that start in schools, educating both boys and girls on gender equity when it comes to such important elements as economic freedom and human development.

The latest Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) reveals that, compared to 83.3% of males, only 56.7% of females are in the job market. Although girls achieve high levels of education, they still face barriers to entering the job market, highlighting the need for gender-sensitive curricula that challenge harmful stereotypes from an early age.

Furthermore, to foster financial independence, the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) should promote entrepreneurial skills and expand digital literacy programmes among students, particularly high school, and university students. This approach would empower girls to leverage emerging opportunities in digital platforms and e-commerce earlier, while also addressing the challenges posed by unequal access to technology.

Creating safe and dignified workspaces

As highlighted in the 2023 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR), despite a higher percentage of female graduates (22.14%) from HEIs, compared to male graduates (10.77%), the female labour force participation rate stood at a mere 55.35%, compared to 80.65% for males. This underscores the gender disparity within the Malaysian workforce.

Beyond harassment and discrimination in hiring, issues such as unequal pay, limited opportunities for career advancements, and promotions, particularly in vulnerable employment sectors, persist.

In addition to the current Employment (Amendment) Act 2022, comprehensive anti-discrimination policies are essential to address these issues. These measures will benefit both female and male employees by improving hiring processes, work-life balance, shared responsibility, equal access to benefits and promotions, and reducing gender role expectations.

To further empower women and improve their performance quality and employability, it is essential to strengthen partnerships between public and private institutions on re-entry programmes. This includes digital skills training, job-matching services, and refresher courses, aimed at helping individuals reintegrate into the workforce after career breaks.

For example, TalentCorp previously held career comeback workshops in collaboration with the business sector to reskill or upskill women in soft skills, technical abilities, and industry knowledge after a career break.

Mandatory Retirement Savings for Women

Caregiving responsibilities often compel women to take career breaks, leading them into low-paying jobs or part-time jobs that lack social protection.

While the Malaysian government has introduced Employee Provident Fund (EPF) contributions from spouses, this measure alone may not ensure women's long-term financial security, especially as women now have a longer life expectancy than men.

A potential solution could involve caregiver pension credits, providing retirement savings for women on career breaks (e.g., 3–5 years) with restrictions on withdrawals until retirement. This would benefit single mothers, women-headed households, and stay-at-home mothers, ensuring financial security during non-working periods.

Germany has implemented a similar policy known as the “Pension Plan for Caregivers”. Under its national pension system, Germany provides pension credits for caring for children and eldercare. Caregivers providing at least 10 hours of care per week for an older relative are eligible for pension credits.

Although raising the voluntary retirement age may face resistance, it could be advantageous for women who take career breaks, provided they maintain updated skills relevant to the job market. Since women are more likely to engage in informal and part-time work due to career breaks, these measures can help close the financial gap and increase their retirement savings, compared to men who generally have more stable career trajectories.

Rukun Tetangga as a Model for Social Safety Nets

As Rukun Tetangga is often associated with unity and national integration, reviving it in residential areas, particularly in rural and lower-income urban areas, is crucial. It plays an important role in empowering women from the B40 community, where poverty and cases of economic and other forms of GBV are more prevalent.

Residential areas like public housing flats and rural neighbourhoods have an even more significant role to play in fostering community well-being and social cohesion.

A prime example is the Taman Harmoni Buntong Flats Rukun Tetangga, which has empowered women by providing affordable baking classes to support small business start-ups. Community engagement like this creates a positive, supportive environment that begins to bridge social and economic gaps.

Top-down change to champion gender equity

Lastly, beyond education and policies targeting families and the private sector, policymakers must lead by example to foster gender equality. Political parties in Malaysia have long voiced the importance of increasing women’s representation in parliament, but the results tell a different story. For instance, compared to our regional peers Vietnam (30.3%) and Indonesia (21.6%), only 13.5% of our parliamentary seats are filled by female candidates.

Rather than progressing, the number of women in political leadership has declined over the years, raising the question: What is holding us back?

It is not a matter of lacking qualified women. Capable women are already working behind the scenes, handling much of the groundwork, yet leadership positions remain predominantly occupied by men. The imbalance suggests not a shortage of talent but a systemic failure to promote and support these women into higher political roles. If political leaders genuinely seek change, women must be given equal visibility and decision-making power, not just in name but in practice.

In conclusion, ending economic violence requires a multi-stakeholder effort involving the government, public-private partnerships, and families to create inclusive systems where women can achieve financial independence and thrive.

Women empowerment aims not just for equality with men, but for equity, recognising the different needs and challenges of both genders in terms of well-being, finances, education, and so on.

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Jachintha Joyce is a Research Assistant at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.

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