Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri recently attended an international conference on women in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Sixth Periodic Report she presented there covered the increasing number of women holding leadership positions, making up 38.9 per cent of decision-making positions in the public sector.
In the private sector, 30.7 per cent of directors in top 100 public-listed companies are women.
Both figures exceed the national target of 30 per cent by 2030. But there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve gender parity.
Female enrolment rates surpass male enrolment rates at all educational levels. Last year, 61.2 per cent of the student population in local higher education institutions were female.
The emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields have produced talented Malaysian women professionals, a valuable resource to build the economy of the future.
Nevertheless, we see a drop in women's participation in all career areas.
Female employment stands at 55.8 per cent and male employment at 81.9 per cent. The Madani Economy Framework has set a goal of raising women's participation in the labour force to 60 per cent by 2030.
Women are still underrepresented in politics. Only 13.5 per cent of members of parliament, 18 per cent of senators and 12 per cent of assemblymen are women.
The country needs women's point of view to shape national policies and programmes. They bring unique perspectives, values and balance to politics.
Many accommodations that have been very successful for women and their employers are common sense solutions. They include flexible work hours, job sharing, on-site childcare centres, in-office and work from home hybrid, family-inclusive healthcare plans and paid family leave. Most importantly, a payscale on a par with men with the same job and similar credentials experience.
Of equal importance is ensuring the same career opportunities for women and men. There is progress, but more can be done.
C. SATHASIVAM SITHERAVELLU
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times