Women make up roughly half the potential workforce of the country, yet represent only 36% of the actual labour force. There is, moreover, a disproportionately large number of women in the informal sector, namely women who run small food stalls or who are casual and subcontract workers, and who do not receive any worker benefits or health insurance.
Those who work as casual labourers among men encounter various forms of gender harassment – from receiving lower salaries than their male counterparts, to being physically abused.
Professional women have it better, but are still discriminated against when it comes to promotions, especially to positions of significant responsibility, and in terms of equal pay. They are moreover faced with the often debilitating dilemma of having to choose between doggedly pursuing their careers, like their male counterparts, or devoting more time to their families.
In politics, there are only 10 women ministers and deputy ministers out of a total of 71 in the present Malaysian Cabinet. This represents a mere 14% of top political decision makers in the country.
Outside of the work environment, women are subject to a multitude of other negative factors that affect their well-being. In Asian societies in general, women are seen to be inferior to men. Women are harassed, abused, neglected, ignored. Their wants and needs are subjugated to those of men.
This is, of course, a gross generalisation of the status quo. But the fact remains that, on the whole, women do not receive the respect, attention and focus that they are entitled to, as capable and potentially highly competent partners to men in the working and running of the world. Because of this, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development felt that a separate category focusing specifically on enhancing the well-being of women is both appropriate and well deserved. Hence, this year, the Prime Minister’s CSR Awards introduces a seventh category, for the Empowerment of Women.
In launching this new category, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said: “It’s been proven that when you empower women from marginalised or disenfranchised communities, you empower her entire community. In other words, the return on investment from women is high. And while women of Malaysia have achieved a great deal over the years, we cannot deny that there remains much to be done. Women still put their families first and neglect their own health; they often give up their careers because the environment in the workplace does not cater for their complex needs. Companies can do a lot to improve women’s standing.”
And, indeed, companies with a conscience do pay attention to creating greater equality at work, and at empowering disenfranchised women, as part of their corporate responsibility initiatives. In fact, many have found that increasing the number of women leaders has a positive effect on their bottom lines, for various reasons. Seven companies submitted entries for this category, their CSR initiatives ranging from promoting the research endeavours of women scientists to curbing all forms of violence against women.
AmAssurance, a leading insurance company in the country, set a target of recruiting 1,500 women in response to the global economic slowdown which has seen more women than men being retrenched from their jobs. Not only will the company give these women the opportunity to earn a good income, AmAssurance will also train them to enhance their sales skills and educate them on managing their personal finances. AmAssurance notes that “internationally, within the insurance industry, lady agents perform better than men and it’s a proven record in AmAssurance. This exceptional record is testament to the capabilities of women to master their own lifestyle if they are given the right opportunity.”
Not surprisingly, a number of senior management positions within the insurance company are held by women.
The Prime Minister’s CSR Awards, launched by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in 2007, aims to recognise companies that have made a difference to the communities in which they operate through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. Download the Official Entry Form.
