Malaysian working environment not conducive for married women, families - TalentCorp

“The female labour participation rate in Malaysia is currently at 53.6 percent, and if we compare the rate with neighbouring countries, it doesn’t look good,” he said in an interview with Astro AWANI.

He said for the last three decades, the female labour force participation rate has remained at a rather consistent percentage of between 44 percent and 47 percent.

Quoting a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report in 2013, he said the majority of corporations in Malaysia do not offer family-friendly policies.

"Our key challenges are how to get Malaysian employers to take a look at the current situation, and how the employment environment needs to be more conducive to make sure women retain their job," said Johan.

Speaking on the flexWorkLife.my, an initiative between the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and TalentCorp, Johan said it was to facilitate the return of women to the workplace.

The research also stated that working respondents had opined that higher wages, better career prospects and flexible working hours would help women retain their jobs.

“We already have 30 percent of women in decision-making positions in finance management.

“We want a country where we're able to optimise the full potential of all Malaysians and ensure that employers provide the environment that would enable women to fulfill their potential,” he added.

The Malaysia Human Development 2013 report stated that most women quit their jobs to take care of their children.

Other top reasons include marriage, supporting their husbands' careers and because of their husbands' request for them to stop working.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim had said, although the government's incentives to encourage employers to set up nurseries at the workplace were well received, some cannot be implemented due to space constraints.

One of the reasons was that the workplace building did not meet the safety criteria of the fire and rescue department.