Produced by Astro Awani
Malaysia continues to be plagued with a significant gender pay parity, which is doing our nation no justice. Speaking to Melisa Melina Idris at Astro Awani’s Consider This, REFSA Executive Director shared about the complexity of this issue, the various obstacles faced by women not just to enter the workforce, but to remain in the workforce, and what policies can be considered by the government and businesses to ensure women get “equal pay for equal work”.
Equal pay is important.
Economically, it is a huge detriment to the nation’s economic development if we are not tapping into the potential productivity of available workforce, as of now, with Malaysia’s labour force participate rate for women only 55.8% as compared to 81.9% for men.
Socially, women, just like men, should have equal opportunity to build their career, and seek work should they choose to. From an individual perspective, women should not feel stuck doing unpaid work because society is unable to support their choices of entering the workforce. Women, like men, should be able to seek their own identity apart from being a wife or a mother.