The Malaysian Insight

WOMEN’S organisations lauded the announcement by Putrajaya that it will amend the Employment Insurance System Act 2017 to provide childcare financial assistance for women returning to the workplace, but want the government to do much more.

The announcement by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry was to encourage more women to return to work and increase the percentage of women in the workforce to 59% by 2025.

Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar had earlier said although there are more female than male students in public universities, the number of female students entering the workplace after graduation was only 55%, far lower compared to the 80% of male students entering the workforce.

He had also said many female students did not want to work after graduation due to a variety of domestic issues. Some chose to be full-time housewives after working for a period of time.

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall women’s wing chairman Ong Soo Lee said it’s something “we have been waiting for a long time”.

“Although the amount of the financial aid is not a lot and long-term, I however, believe it will encourage women who have left the workplace to want to return,” Ong told The Malaysian Insight.

“The government has long talked about encouraging women to return to the workplace, but unfortunately has not shown any real desire to do so.

“With this policy, we are now finally seeing a change.”

Ong said the assistance showed the government was concerned about women’s issues but hoped there would be more policies to solve women’s problems once and for all.

She said many highly educated women gave up their careers for their families after turning 30 or after having been married for two or three years.

“They chose to stay at home and take care of their children, elderly parents or grandparents. Sending their children to childcare centres or the elderly to nursing homes is not an option for many of them as it is expensive,” Ong said.

She said now that the first step had been taken, the government should next establish high-quality childcare centres so parents could send their children there with a peace of mind.

Subsidising the cost of sending their children to these centres would give that peace of mind, she added.

Apart from children, Ong also hoped the government has in mind something for their elderly parents.

“Their ageing parents invariably are often sickly and require extra care and attention. If the government can help with this, it would pave the way for more women to return to work.”

Ong said free workplace skills training courses, work opportunities and flexible working hours would encourage more women to return to work.

“Give them the opportunity to strike a balance between family and work.”

On May 15, Women, Family and Social Development Minister Nancy Shukri said the Social Insurance Agency will amend the Employment Insurance System Act 2017 this year to provide childcare grants for women returning to work.

She said the one-month grant, which is equivalent to 80% of their monthly salary, will benefit some 136,800 women returning to work after maternity leave, amounting to RM290 million.

“In view of this, the government is constantly striving to close the gender gap, starting with providing protection and benefits for women in the workforce.”

The minister mentioned that under the 12th Malaysia Plan, the government hopes to increase the female labor force participation rate to 59% by the year 2025.

“This is critical because it sends a signal that women can rise to the top, challenging the stereotype that only women need to balance career and family, the deep-rooted prejudice that men should have more power and privilege than women, and the general perception that women are more emotional and therefore hinder their advancement.”

The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia women chief Natalie Lim Chong Ly said Putrajaya should also look into setting up childcare centres for women who work.

“As parents, we all want to send our children to a childcare centre so we can work in peace without worry.”

Malaysian Women’s Development Organisation deputy president Ng Geok Chee, however, felt Putrajaya was not doing enough to encourage women to return to work.

“Encouraging women to return to work is something that the government has been advocating for quite some time but the response has been unsatisfactory,” she said, blaming this on the lack of benefits and assistance offered.

Ng said it was not enough to help mothers with one-off assistance because “childcare is not cheap”, as it costs about RM1,000 to send a child to a nursery.

“The salaries of Malaysian workers is very low, between RM2,000 and RM3,000. After the mandatory deductions, there is not much left.

“Therefore, it is not ideal to only give one-off aid. Putrajaya should provide longer term financial aid for children under five or 12 years’ old.”

She also suggested the government work out a plan on how to assist and encourage women in low-income groups to return to work.

Like the other women leaders, Ng agreed many women would return to work if their children are taken care off while they are at work.

The establishment of childcare centres is therefore key, she said.

“This proposal had also been talked about for a long time but the government has not acted on it.

“Every year, after every women’s conference, the proposals and resolutions that have been agreed on are presented to the government.

“All we get is, ‘Thank you, we will take care of it’.”

Ng said, to say that the government has not set up childcare centres is also not accurate.

It is in government premises, she said, but this only benefits civil servants.

“What about those women in the private sector?”

She said if government childcare centres are set up in residential and housing development board areas, then more people will benefit and the problem of women leaving the workforce will be solved. – May 20, 2023.