HR Ministry aims to raise female workforce participation to 60pc, says minister 

PETALING JAYA, March 5 — The Ministry of Human Resources (Kesuma), through its agency, Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp), aims to increase female participation in the workforce by 60 per cent in line with the Madani Economic Framework.

Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, said this target is intended to bolster talent strategies to meet the needs of the Madani Economy.

“The rate of female participation in the workforce remains low, standing at 56.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Gender equality needs to be reached to achieve income equality,” he said at the launch of Wanita MyWIRA by TalentCorp here today.

He said the Wanita MyWIRA initiative aims to reduce the workforce gap.

Sim said TalentCorp has been tasked to empower the country’s workforce, including improving programmes that encourage diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) to support the goal of increasing the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR).

“Given the limited information on how women who have left the workforce are utilising their skills and vice versa, it’s crucial for us to gather accurate data to support them.

“TalentCorp, through the Wanita MyWIRA initiative, has been tasked with digitalising the Career Comeback Programme (CCP) which aims to simplify tax incentives, collect real data to attract interest and improve the status of women. Moreover, this strengthens collaboration across agencies under Kesuma,” he said.

TalentCorp conducts a range of advocacy programmes to support employers in embracing DEI principles to promote the participation of both working women and parents which include options such as the Women Industry Network, Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) and support for achieving work-life balance.

Sim emphasised that TalentCorp remains committed to supporting women and untapped talent in realising the goals of the Madani Economic Framework.

“Under the Wanita MyWIRA Initiative, we will leverage the MyNext assessment and profiling platform to establish a centralised database for the female workforce, along with other initiatives such as the critical occupation list (MyCOL) and strengthening industry-academia collaboration (IAC) to support women’s initiatives,” he said.

The Wanita MyWIRA initiative was launched in conjunction with TalentCorp’s International Women’s Day from March 2-9, 2024 with various activities organised to attract the participation of skilled women, including the Women’s Career Convention on March 9, career carnivals featuring women-led companies and offering FWAs.

At the event, individuals and organisations committed to advancing skilled women were honoured with the Wanita MyWIRA Awards (Individual). Recipients included Teoh Ean Na, General Manager at SG & MY DELL Technologies; Masliza Mansor, director of Human Resources at Advance Energy Industries; and Prof Ruzita Mohd Amin, Professor of Economics and Head of Unit for Services for Persons with Disabilities, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Awards were also given to organisations supporting skilled women, such as child care social enterprise Kiddocare and multinational company Sarawak Energy Leading Women Network.

Social enterprise Accelerate, multinational company Flex Malaysia SVP Asia Global Operations and social enterprise Coffee For Good were also awarded for their dedication to advancing skilled women and vulnerable groups. — Bernama