Malaysia / Women employed or looking for employment under-represented

The number of working age women who are employed or looking for employment is lower in Malaysia compared with other countries with similar income levels, according to a new World Bank report.

The report titled “The Malaysia Economic Monitor” noted that Malaysian women are under-represented in certain fields of study such as engineering.

“Malaysia has the opportunity to accelerate its transformation into a high-income economy if more women were in the labour force,” World Bank Country Director for Malaysia, Annette Dixon said.

“Closing gender gaps and encouraging women to bring their skills to the labour market could leapfrog Malaysia to high-income status,” she said.

The study showed that Malaysia could experience a 23 per cent increase in output per capita as a result of eliminating gender bias in the labour markets.

The increase could be realised if more women joined the labour market or became entrepreneurs, which would increase the pool of managerial talent in the economy…

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via World Bank: M’sian women under-represented in certain fields.