VARIA RANAH 2023 Empowering Women Leadership In Malaysia MADANI Way: Government Sector In 2022, Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE) had 127 women as candidates, compared to 103 in the GE14 in 2018 (Free Malaysia Today, 2022). Despite more female candidates, however, many women lost out on being seated in parliamentary positions. Only 29 women were elected to parliament, compared to 31 seats during GE14. Thus, it has been proven that women are still severely underrepresented to run for parliamentary office. ii) Eliminating Gender Stereotyping According to the World Economic Forum (2018), by 2025, 75% of jobs will be related to Science, Technology, and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) areas. However, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (2023) reported that women remain underrepresented in careers in the area of STEM, yet today women make up only 24% of leadership positions in the technology sector globally. Typically, women are less represented in a male-centric working environment. Thus, more efforts and strategies are needed to avoid lacking women in leadership positions in the area of STEM globally. In Malaysia, STEM education has been the priority to combat gender stereotyping and eliminate the gender parity gap (CEDAW, 2022). Besides that, Malaysia also appointed outstanding women in major fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related agencies and bodies to acknowledge their contributions in the area of STEM. Legislation reforms such as the amendment of Act 265, Employment Act 1955, are also to support women's equal opportunities by having flexible working arrangements (FWA). iii) Programmes under Malaysia MADANI to Support Women Among the programmes that have been announced under Belanjawan MADANI, the Unity Government has committed to extend the tax relief for childcare centre fees in order to support working mothers. A total of RM15 million in soft loans is also provided to facilitate the registration process and restart the legalisation of unregistered childcare centres. In order to support women's return to work, a total fund of RM290 million per year will be involved to benefit over 130,000 women returning to work after childbirth by allowing for a grant of 80% of the insured employee’s salary through an amendment to the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) Act. For civil servants, a monthly child care fee subsidy of RM180 will be provided, and the government has also raised the eligibility monthly income limit from RM5000 to RM7000. Besides that, the government also encourages the private sector to implement FWA for their female employees. Hence, these efforts and commitments will lead to a boost in the female participation rate in decision-making levels in both the public and private sectors, particularly to aim at at least 30.0% in government-linked companies (GLCs), government-linked investment companies (GLICs), and minister-of-finance-incorporated companies by 2025. 119
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