chapter 3 · web viewin the labour force ( 1980-2000 ) by lee lee loh-ludher....
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Feminization of Labour and Women’s Participation in the Labour Force ( 1980-2000 )
by Lee Lee [email protected]
1. Introduction
Malaysia’s industrialization program in the 1970s, has strongly favored a
manufacturing sector as the main engine of growth; providing a wide range of incentives
to attract investment. The government rode on the wave of the internationalization of
capital and globalization, which has caused the emergence of Transnational and
Multinational companies. These companies in order to maximize profits shifted
operations to low cost countries. Countries like Malaysia eager to develop her economy
offered attractive incentives to these multinational companies. The government set up
‘Free Trade Zones’ (FTZ) to house manufacturers who were granted ‘ pioneer status ‘
with tax exemptions of up to ten years. These multinational companies relocated from
high cost regions to Malaysia. By 1981, the manufacturing sector had increased its share
of the economy to 21.2%. The recession of 1984-86 led to many ministries and state
economic development corporations sending investment promotion missions overseas to
attract foreign investors. Since 1987, the manufacturing sector had squeezed the
agricultural sector to fuel its emergence as the leading economic sector. The
manufacturing sector ‘s contribution to the GDP, for example, increased from 21.2% in
1981 to 29.8% in 1988 to 48.5% in 1994. During the Fifth Malaysia Plan period of 1986-
90, capital investment in approved manufacturing projects increased five-fold. Proposed
foreign investment increased from about RM 1,000 million in 1985 to more than
RM18,000 million in 1990. A total of 3,210 industrial projects were approved (Malaysia,
1991). In the period Jan - July 1993, 421 projects with the value of RM 4,844 million
were approved. (Economic Report 1994/95). In 1994 and early 1995, US$3 billion was
spent in airport related projects alone.
In the Second Outline Perspective Plan (1990- 2000), the government projected
its demand for labour to increase by 3.1% a year based on the GDP growth of 7%. To
achieve Vision 2020, growth has to be sustained at 7% for the next 25 years. Thus total
employment was projected to increase from 6.6 million in 1990 to 9 million in 2000.
However, Malaysia’s GDP growth in reality had been averaging above 8% during the
period 1991-1994.
The Malaysian Government’s aggressive industrial promotion drive highlighted
three aspects of Malaysia’s investment attractiveness - political stability, good infra-
structural facilities and a highly productive, cost-effective workforce. The multinational
companies saw the opportunity in Malaysia complementary to their strategy of
international division of labour i.e. their headquarters offering the high cost expertise,
knowledge and skills and Malaysia offering the cost-effective workforce needed for its
production.
By this cost-effective workforce was often meant the low waged female labour.
This was evident in the official investment brochure put up by the Malaysian authority
that
“ The manual dexterity of the Oriental female is famous the world over. Her
hands are small and she works with extreme care. Who , therefore , could be
better qualified by nature and inheritance to contribute to the efficiency of a
production line than the Oriental girl?”
(Chapkis quoted in Amarjit, 1990:16)
It was projected that a pool of nimble-fingered women was available to be
recruited as cheap labour to serve the requirements of the multinational companies
relocating to Malaysia. Rural young women were targeted to be mobilized to the urban
industrial zones as secondary workers. They were regarded as unskilled and would be
willing to accept a female wage.
The promise of low-waged labour, tax holidays and other investment incentives
attracted foreign investors leading to rapid growth of employment in the manufacturing
sector, from 16.9% in 1985 to 22.3% in 1990 and 23.6% in 1993 and contributed 60.8%
of new jobs generated. Unemployment rate fell from 6% in 1990 to 4.1% in 1992
(Jamilah, 1994a). Two labour intensive industries - the electrical and electronics industry
and the garment and textile industry - emerged as the leading industries contributing the
largest export earnings as well as creating the largest number of job vacancies.
These two top industries were female labour biased industries, hiring more
women than men and thus had more impact on the female labour force than the male
labour force. This resulted in the feminization of labour in Malaysia. Like elsewhere in
the Third World, Malaysia’s industrialization has been as much female-led as export-led
(Joekes, 1987). There was an obvious disproportionate access that women had to export
manufacturing employment and they were overwhelmingly important as employees in the
export manufacturing sector (Jamilah, 1994c; Joekes, 1995). In Malaysia, this led to
massive mobilization of young girls on an unprecedented scale from the squeezed
agricultural rural sector to the industrial urban sector. In fact, female labour force
participation rate for this age group of 20-24 years increased from 41.9% in 1970 to an
astounding 61.1% in 1995. The participation rate for married women in Malaysia in
1991, however, was 58.2% (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 1995).
2. Pattern of Women’s Labour Force Participation
The pattern of women’s labour force participation being examined include
employment status, industry sector participation, age-participation profile, occupational
category, wage and representation in trade unions.
Figure 1.1: Percentage Distribution of Employed by Gender and Occupation
Category, Malaysia, 1993-1998
Source: Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 1989; 1991; 1995
Figure 1.1 compares the distribution of employed persons by Gender and
Occupation Category in Malaysia for the period 1988 and 1993, the period of rapid
industrialization. The male workers dominate the managerial and professional as well as
the technical and supervisory categories. The number of women workers in these two
categories saw a creeping increase over this period. The women workers were mainly
concentrated in the clerical and production (unskilled) categories.
This pattern of women production workers in unskilled production continued into
1995. The total number of women employed increased from 1,953,000 in 1985 to
2,374,000 in 1990 to 2,588,400 in 1995. Production and related occupations saw an
increase from 10.4 % of total females employed in 1970 to 22.3% in 1990 to 25.4% in
1995; while that of sales and related occupations increased from 4.9 % in 1970 to 11.4 %
in 1990 to 11.6% in 1995. In fact there were increases in all categories of occupation
except agriculture. The percentage in agriculture decreased from a high of 66.8% to 28.1
% in 1990 to 16.6% in 1995. While there was an increase in the professional, technical
and related occupations from 5.3% in 1970 to 9.4 % in 1990 and to 12.7% in 1995, the
increase was more in the lower category of teaching and nursing rather than the higher
level. (Loh-Ludher, 1994; Department of Statistics, Malaysia 1996). Thus there was an
obvious shift of women employed from the agricultural sector to the production and
service sector.
The two largest export earners, electronics and textile and apparel, are known to
employ a majority of women. Since 1970 there has been an increasing number of
multinational electronics factories. In 1970, there were only 41 factories employing 3,200
workers (99% of whom were women). By 1990 there were 422 firms employing a total of
216,528 workers of whom 76% or 163,807 were female workers. The textile and apparel
industry on the other hand employed 31,094 workers in 1985, doubling it to 64,157
workers in 1990; 85% of whom were female (Jamilah, 1994b). The percentage of women
in the manufacturing sector had increased from a mere 8% in 1970 to 16 % in 1980 to
24% in 1990 and 29.4% in 1995 ( Loh-Ludher, 1994; Department of Statistics, Malaysia
1996). The success of these export-oriented industrialization programs of Malaysia can
be said to premise on women’s labour in the factories.
The majority of the women are, however, not employers but employees. Women
employers only account for 9% of total number of employers in 1985, remained at a low
of 9% in 1990 and 9.9 % in 1995. Women employers represented only 0.7 % of total
women employed. Whereas, in 1995, the number of female employees stood at
1,887,900 (33.9% of the total employees) or 72.9% of all women employed. Female Own
Account Workers formed 17% of all females employed in 1985, 15% respectively in
1990 and in 1995. As a percentage of all own account workers, female own account
workers were at the same rate of 27% for 1985,1990 and 1995. The female unpaid
family worker, however, was 22% of total females employed, 19% in 1990 and 13.5 % in
1995 (Loh-Ludher, 1994; Department of Statistics, Malaysia 1996). Compared to the
male employment status, it is obvious that more men are employers (about 90%) and
fewer are unpaid family workers (about 35%) of the respective total employment status
categories. There appears to be a segregation of employment status by sex, which
corresponds to the gender division of labour in the Malaysian society.
Table 1.1: Percentage Distribution of Economically ActivePopulation (EAP) by Employment, Malaysia, 1980-1995
Year/Gender Employment Status
Employer Employee Own Account Worker
Unpaid Worker
1980Male (%)Female (%)Total (‘000)1985Male (%)Female (%)Total (‘000)1990Male (%)Female (%)Total (‘000)1995Male (%)Female (%)Total (‘000)
93.07.0
121.2
90.89.2
146.5
91.58.5
169.4
90.99.1
188.1
67.332.7
2,775.8
66.833.2
3,105.7
64.235.8
3,798.5
66.034.0
5,553.3
73.027.0917.1
72.227.8951.3
72.927.1
1,105.2
75.624.4
1,396.3
33.966.1420.4
34.066.0443.9
35.864.2461.3
32.967.1507.1
Source: for 1980 to 1990, quoted from Siti Rohani Yahya, 1994; for 1995, calculated from Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 1996
As shown in Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2, female employed persons of the age group
15-64, formed 33.9% of the total persons employed from that age group, compared to
66.1 % that of male. The largest number of women employed was in the age group of
20-24 (19.6% of the total for women in the age group 15-64 employed). The next age
group showed a sharp drop to 16.5% to 14.8%. For the men, the highest number was
from age group 25-29 (15.9 % of the total men from the age group 15-64) employed,
while the groups just above it and below showed slight difference of 15.2% and 15.6 %.
Table 1.2: Distribution of Employed Persons by Age Group and Sex, Malaysia, 1995
Age group Total % Male % Female %
15 – 64 7,645.0 (100) 5,056.6 (100) 2,588.4 (100) 15 – 19 546.5 (7.1) 325.9 (6.4) 220.6 (8.5) 20 – 24 1,275.6 (16.7) 767.2 (15.2) 508.4 (19.6) 25 – 29 1,232.2 (16.1) 804.1 (15.9) 428.2 (16.5) 30 – 34 1,173.5 (15.3) 787.9 (15.6) 385.6 (14.9) 35 – 39 1,027.2 (13.4) 693.3 (13.7) 333.8 (12.9) 40 – 44 845.8 (11.1) 576.1 (11.4) 269.7 (10.4) 45 – 49 639.9 ( 8.4 ) 444.5 (8.8) 195.4 (7.6) 50 – 54 442.6 (5.8) 320.8 (6.3) 121.8 ( 4.7 ) 55 – 59 289.4 (3.8) 211.7 (4.2) 77.7 ( 3.0) 60 – 64 172.2 (2.3) 125.1 (2.5) 47.2 (1.8)
Source: Compiled from Labour Force Survey Report ,1995, Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Figure 1.2: Percentage Distribution of Persons Outside the Labour Force by Age Group and Gender, Malaysia, 1995
Source: Labor Force Survey Report 1995, Department of Statistics, Malaysia
The female age-participation profile for Malaysia illustrated a single peaked
pattern while the male age-participation profile was more of a plateau pattern as shown in
the Figure 1.3. This difference could be attributed to institutional and cultural forces.
Male participation rate plateau shows men in prime working age (20-34 years)
participated almost 100% in the labour force (Labour Force Survey, 1995). However, the
participation of women in the labour force started to decline after the age 25 showing the
exit from the workforce, most likely after marriage for child rearing.
Figure 1.3: Labour Force Participation Rate by Age Group and Sex, Peninsular Malaysia, 1995
Source: Department of Statistics, 1995
2.1 Differential Labour Force Participation of Races in Malaysia
The labour force participation of Men in Malaysia remains similar from 1985-
1995 ( Figure 1.4) . The plateau pattern shows almost full participation of men during the
productive age of 24-53. Most men work till close to the age of retirement, 55 years old
during that period.
Figure 1.4: Labour Force Participation of Men by Age, MalaysiaFor Years 1985,1990 and 1995
Source: Department of Statistics, 1985, 1990, 1995
The participation of men of the different races in Malaysia too shows similar plateau
pattern as exemplified by 1990 participation of men in Peninsular Malaysia in Figure 1.5.
The differences in participation rate between races were minimal. The participation of the
Malay male peaked around 39 years and then started to gradually decrease. For the Indian
the initial participation age was slightly lower than the other races. They however exit
from the labour force also at slightly faster rate after its peak. This is related to the lower
life expectancy of the Indian male being the lowest of the races in Malaysia. The Chinese
male participation rate is close to national average. They joined the labour force later than
the Malay male and participation rate is lower than the Malays and Indians. This could be
more Chinese male are in the informal sector and thus have not been registered as
working.
Figure 1.5: Labour Participation Rates by race: males, Peninsular Malaysia, 1990
Source: Department of Statistics, 1990
On the whole the participation of women of different races are far lower than that
of the men. Except for the Other Bumiputra women, the participation rate of all the other
races are approximately half of the men.
The age-labour force participation profiles of all women in Malaysia shows a
peak in the 20-24 cohort and a lower peak in 40-44 age group. There is a clear
withdrawal from the labour force after this initial peak. The most likely reason for exiting
from the labour force is most likely related to marriage and family responsibilities. This
pattern is shared by the Chinese, Malay and Other races.
The age- labour force participation of different races in Malaysia exhibit some
differences. The pattern for each race are, however, very similar over the years as shown
in the figures below for 1985, 1990 and 1995.
In 1985, the age-participation rate for the Malay women is similar to the national
total in the early half but continues at a higher rate after the 40-44 age group ( Figure 1.6)
The age-participation rate of women of Indian and Chinese in the early working
age group are higher than national total but decline after. The Indian women withdraw
from the labour force at a slower rate than the Chinese women, after the 20-24 age group
peak. Both races decline at a rapid rate after the 45-49 age group.
The Other Bumiputra women started off at 50 percent labour force participation
from the young 15-19 age group and continues on higher than national average. The
participation of Other Bumiputra women peaked ( 71% participation rate ) at the 45-49
age group and remain above 60% till the age of 60-64. This is unlike all other races who
tend to work in their early years and then withdraw after the 40-44 age.
The women from other races exhibit a pattern similar to that of the other
bumiputra but at a much lower rate of participation ( 50% and below ).
Figure 1.6: Labour Force Participation of Women by Age and Race, Malaysia, 1985
Source: Department of Statistics, 1985
Figure 1:7: Labour Force Participation of Women by Age and Race, Malaysia, 1990
Source: Department of Statistics, 1990
Figure 1.8: Labour Force Participation of Women by Age and Race, Malaysia, 1995
Source: Department of Statistics, 1995
The age-participation rate of the women of the different races in Malaysia in 1990
( Figure 1.7) and 1995 ( figure 1.8) are not much from that of 1985. The participation of
the Other Bumiputra however, shows a slightly lower rate than 1985, decreasing now to
lower than 70%, even at its highest point. The women from the Other races increased to
above 50% in 1995 in a double peak pattern. Their maximum participation seems to be in
the 20-24 as well as 45-49 age groups.
2.2 Occupational Differentiation in Major Employment Sectors
There is a significant variation in male and female employment patterns in
Malaysia. In the agricultural sector, the percentage of females has dropped in favour of
other sectors excepting mining. The manufacturing sector is the greatest gainer due to the
industrialization policy. The gender differentiation here is according to job categories, an
indication of a dual labour market.
Figure 1.9: Percentage Distribution of Employees in the Manufacturing Industry by Occupational Category, Various
Years and Sex, Malaysia
Source: Calculated from Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 1989;1991;1995
The women are mainly located in the semi-skilled and unskilled category as
secondary workers. Men also occupied more of the technical and supervisory, managerial
and professional category. From Figure 1.9, it can be seen that the percentage of women
in this category was only 10% in 1990 and 17% in 1993 (Aminah, 1999). Most of these
women are rural-urban migrants, entering the labour force without training and formed
the lower ranks of the industrial workforce (Siti Rohani,1990; Jamilah, 1994a)
In government service, the single largest employer, women employees are
concentrated in the group ‘C’ category (mainly clerks, nurses, teachers). In Table 1.3, the
1991 figures showed that 48.3% were in ‘C’ category with only 10.5% in the ‘A’
category (professional); 9.8% in ‘B’ (sub-professional) and another large 33.6% in ‘D’
category (manual workers) (Norma and Nik Rosnah, 1993 quoted in Aminah Ahmad,
1999: 17).
Table 1.3: Distribution of Women in Government Service, by Salary Group, Malaysia, 1986 and 1991
Group Salary 1986No. (%)
1991No. (%)
Group A 19,032 (8.9) 25,050 (10.5)Group B 15,066 (7.0) 23,461 (9.8)Group C 104,153 (48.5) 11,596 (48.3)Group D 76,563 (35.6) 74,708 (31.3)
Total 214,814 (30.6) 238,415 (33.6)
Source: Norma Mansor and Nik Rosnah, 1993, quoted in Aminah Ahmad, 1999:17
With the advance of science and technology and Malaysia’s emphasis to stay
internationally competitive in this field, women have an uphill task to get ahead. The
women in computer related fields are still located more in the lower end jobs. While the
entry of women to this field is increasing, there is still a doubt if women will be included.
A lot, thus depends on the coping strategies and intervention programs to level the
playing field for women (Ng and Thambiah, 1999)
A causal factor for this occupational disparity is the educational disparity since
employment, both at selection and placement, is very much based on educational
qualifications. The impact is throughout the career path especially at every stage of
promotion. Performance evaluation indicators and standards are mostly based on
masculine biased criteria, such as geographical mobility, career continuity, ‘boys’club’
social behaviour style and work before family attitudes. This continues to favour men and
disadvantages women throughout her career.
Table 1.4: Percentage Distribution of Male and Female Studentsin Form Four Science, Arts, Vocational or Technical
Streams, Malaysia, 1985 and 1992
Year Science Arts Vocational Technical Total(No‘000.)
M F Total M F Total M F Total M F Total
1992 52.9 47.1 19.1 45.1 54.9 65.7 54.1 45.9 14.0 62.0 38.0 1.2 100(198)
1985 54.1 45.1 51.5 48.5 51.5 68.6 72.4 27.6 4.3 64.2 35.8 1.7 100(163)
Source: Ministry of Education, Malaysia, 1993
Recruitment of workers is normally based on formal educational
qualifications. The level and type of education received by a girl child as opposed to a
boy child plays a critical role in determining the career path of men and women. Primary
school enrolment during the 1980s and 1990s has been consistently around 51.4% male
and 48.6 % female. However, at tertiary level in 1983 for example, it was 61.2% male
and 38.8% female and in 1990, the enrolment for males was 55.1% and females 44.9%
(Ministry of Education, 1993). The distribution of male and female enrolment in science,
arts, vocational and technical streams is as shown in Table 1.4. It shows a disparity. It
was more marked in 1985 for Vocational and Technical streams. The gap narrowed in the
1990s though the disparity for technical streams remained obvious; 62% for males and
38% for females. While the disparity in the Vocational stream was narrowing, the
differentiation in choice of courses remained wide as shown in Table 1.5. The majority of
the male students in vocational schools opted for engineering (80%) and skills (13.3%)
mainly carpentry; while female students preferred commerce (40.9%), home science
(21.7%) and skills (23%) which include hairdressing and tailoring.
Table 1.5: Distribution of Vocational Students by Type of Courses and Gender, 1992
Courses Male Female TotalEngineering 16,549 922 17,471Commerce 758 3,458 4,216Agriculture 459 278 737Home Science 146 1,836 1,982Skills 2,753 1,943 4,696Total 20,665 8,437 29,102
Source : Ministry of Education, Malaysia, 1993
When students of a well-known Chinese girls’ high school were asked the reasons
why they chose commerce even though they qualified for science, they replied that since
they had little opportunities to proceed to university, commerce would give them better
chances of employment. Their brothers would probably be given preference over them
for tertiary education, if their parents were able to finance the study of only one of them
(ILO-EASMAT, 1996). Thus, the disparity would more likely be the result of choices of
female students, which are more in keeping with traditional norms and expectations
rather than an act of government intervention.
In this thrust of Malaysia towards industrialization and high tech industry to
enhance her competitiveness and productivity in the global market, such disparity
continues to disadvantage women in employment and promotion.
2.3 Earning and Wage Differentiation
In tandem with the feminist movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s,
women’s liberation groups in Malaysia primarily led by the National Union of Teachers
(NUT) and National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO), called for equal pay
for equal work. In 1969, the public service sector implemented ‘equal pay for equal
work’. However, wage discrimination against women still exists in the private sector. Pay
packages and incentive schemes are designed to indirectly award unequal compensation.
Through promotion exercises also, women may end up receiving lower remunerations.
Gender differences in salary and earnings can be quite significant. Daily wages in
the Textile Industry, as shown in Table 1.6, indicates the differences in daily wages,
monthly salary and starting salary as well as average earnings of male and female
workers in the same occupation categories.
It can be seen that all average starting salary for female workers were lower than
that of male workers except for female cloth weaver machine operators which was
RM2.65 higher. Despite this higher starting salary, the female operators’ average monthly
salary was significantly lower than the male being RM267.65 and RM493.00
respectively. Similarly, with the average monthly earnings; the male operators earned
almost RM140 more than the female operators. The differential in average daily rate was
probably due to the fact there were more female workers who stayed on longer in this
daily paid work as male workers tended to opt for the greater stability in monthly paid
jobs. In the hotel industry too, the difference in average monthly earnings of male and
female managers in 1992 was almost RM100 and that of the assistant manager was close
to RM300, about 28% higher. A female chief cook earned RM500 per month less than
her male counterpart. To consider that cooking has traditionally been considered a
woman’s work, it is adding salt to injury. The lower compensation for women can be
attributed to two main reasons; firstly, the concept of higher wage reserved for men as
‘head of the household’ and secondly, the issue of ‘continuity of work’.
Table 1.6: Selected Occupations Average Rate Paid, Starting Salary, Monthly Salary and Monthly Earnings (RM) for Male and Female Workers in the Textile Industry and
Hotel Industry, Malaysia, 1992
Types Of Occupation
Type of pay
Sex Average Rate Paid
Average Starting Salary
Average MonthlySalary
Average Monthly Earnings
Factory Supervisor
Mth. MaleFem
585.43555.09
872.94707.00
1145.70901.85
Instructor Mth. MaleFem
346.83319.45
461.41582.99
566.37727.30
Knitting Machine Operator
Day MaleFem
7.506.60
187.50173.88
289.33252.05
396.40367.63
Cloth Weaver Machine Operator
DayMth.
Piece
FemMaleFemFem
10.68
0.51
277.82245.70248.53216.00
295.62493.00267.65478.43
350.72546.00404.89555.33
Hotel Manager Mth. MaleFem
25032412
Hotel Assistant Manager
Mth. MaleFem
14531128
Chief Cook Mth. MaleFem
1479979
Source: Occupational Wage Survey In the Manufacturing Sector, 1992, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia
Marxist theory proposes that women workers function as a potentially disposable
industrial reserve army of labour (Beechey, 1998). Beechey has argued that the reason
why women constituted ‘cheaper’ workers is not based on the lack of strength and skill
but the gender division of labour in the workplace as a consequence of sexual division of
labour at home. Women are regarded as dependent on the family economy especially the
male wage and this put pressure on the value of their labour power. This assumption that
men are main supporters of their families is continually challenged as it is increasingly
evident that there are many female-headed households and that it is the wages of both the
male and female that support the households.
The other assumption is that women are transient workforce. She withdraws from
work from time to time to bear and care for children. With the lack of continuity,
training of women is thus regarded as less cost-effective. Contrary to this assumption, it
is becoming more evident in the current trend that women participation in the workforce
is increasing and that they stay on the workforce longer. There need to be practical and
affordable provisions to allow her to continue to work. Most women no longer want to be
forced to choose between work and family.
2.4 Representation in Trade Unions
Trade union membership is mainly dominated by men. In the Table 1.7, it can be
seen that Employees’ Trade Union Membership during the period 1992-96, was about
65% men and about 35% women. Young women workers are more docile and unaware
of labour issues. They are less concerned with union membership (Heyzer, 1988).
Married women seldom have time or inclination for union activities since they are
often alienated by the masculinity in trade unionism. The patriarchal gender
characteristics prevalent in society are manifested and operational in the unions (Rohana,
1994). More than 95% of union leaders are men. Women perceive union leaders as
gender insensitive and are unconcerned with issues affecting women workers or their
feminine dilemma of conflicting production- reproduction demands. Another possible
reason for low participation in trade union is the lack of unionization in female-
dominated industries like textile and garment as well as electronics industries.
Government policies have for a long time not allowed unionization in these two
industries and even indirectly discourage formation of in-house unions.
Table 1.7: Number of Employees’ Trade Unions and Membershipby Sex, 1992-96, Malaysia
Year No. Unions Membership Total Male Female
1992 497 608,007 463,697(68.2%)
216,310(31.8%)
1993 496 693,581 450,828(65.0%)
242,753(35.0%)
1994 501 699.373 450,047(64.3%)
249,326(35.7%)
1995 504 706,253 450,307(63.8%)
255,946(36.2%)
1996 516 728,246 465,098(63.9%)
263,148(36.1%)
Source: Malaysia Labour and Human Resources Statistics, 1992-96Note: The figures do not include Employees’ Trade Unions and Federation of Trade
Unions.
3. Disabling Women’s Participation in the Labour Force
Female labour force participation rate of Malaysia was at 46.8 % in 1994. The
1996 Labour Force Survey Report of the Statistics Department recorded the 1995 female
labour force participation at 44.7% and male labour force participation at 84.3 %. This
female rate was low compared to 66% in Thailand, 54.6 % in Singapore, 59.5 % in
Germany and 67% in the United States (NST, 10/6/95a). It appears that a significant
number of Malaysian women are not participating in the labour force, much lower than
even neighbouring countries. (Pawadee, 1993; ILO-EASMAT, 1996)
Table 1.8: Percentage Distribution of Persons Outside Labour Force by Sex and Reasons For Not Seeking Work , Malaysia , 1995
Reasons Total (%) Male (%) Female (%)Total 100 100 100Schooling 30.1 65.9 19.7Housework 60.3 4.3 76.6 Further studies 1.0 2.1 0.6Disabled 2.1 5.9 0.9Not interested 0.9 2.3 0.5Retired 3.3 13.1 0.5Others 2.4 6.5 1.3
Source: Labour Force Survey Report, 1995, Department of Statistics, Malaysia
The participation rate for married women in Malaysia in 1991 was 58.2%
( Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 1995). Of those unemployed in 1995, 57.6 % of
men and 44.4 % of women who were unemployed had worked before and 42.4 % of men
and 55.6 % of women unemployed had never worked before.
From Table 1.8 and Figure 1.10, it can be seen that among those who stayed
outside the labour force in 1995, the majority of the males stayed out because of
schooling (65.9%) while the reason cited by women for not seeking work, was
housework (76.6%).
Figure 1.10: Percentage Distribution of Persons Outside Labor Force by Gender and Reasons for Not Seeking Work, 1995
Source: Labor Force Survey Report 1995, Department of Statistics, MalaysiaA 1997 study of 239 married women working as factory production operators in
five selected industrial areas in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, found that only one third
intended to continue to work after having one child. The reason given was the high cost
of childcare compared to wages earned (Aminah, 1997). Definitely, even more women
would stop work if they had more than one child.
Discriminatory mechanisms exist in institutions of society, which inter-play to
result in a disabling environment for higher participation of women in the labour force.
The inequality against women creates in men a sense of superiority, which is carried from
home to workplace and into government. It is translated into social rules, policies and
laws. Even when official policies and laws are legislated based on principles of equality,
the subscribed ideologies of inequality influence implementation of policies and laws to
maintain the discriminatory practices (‘Abdú’l Bahá, 1990, Bahá’í International
Community, 1991).
In 1995, the estimated number of foreign workers in Malaysia was 1.5 million or
15% of the total employed. The initial policy on migrant workers permitted the
employment of foreign labour from Bangladesh and Indonesia in the agricultural sector.
This was extended to construction, manufacturing and gradually to service sectors. In the
construction industry, Malaysian builders employed 475,000 foreigners or 80% of all
construction workers (Far Eastern Economic Review, 25 May 1995: 55-56). The workers
were permitted to stay for a period of two years with a possible one-year extension.
As the economy boomed, the labour shortage became more acute. The crime rate,
incidences of tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS and social tensions linked to foreign
workers soared. (Far Eastern Economic Review, 25 May 1995:55-56). This led to
frequent policy changes as the government grappled with the increasing conflicting
pressures from the economic and social, political quarters.
These uncertainties and rising labour costs led to dissatisfaction in the industries.
A 1995 survey by Business Times and Research Pacific of 150 local and foreign and joint
venture establishments in the service and manufacturing sectors, reported that 62% of the
respondents experienced labour shortage. One third indicated that they might consider
shifting parts or all of their operations to other countries if the shortage persisted (News
Straits Times, 10/6/1995a).
An extract of the Speech on the Seventh Malaysia Plan by Y.A.B. Dato Seri Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, offers a glimpse of the official policy of
the Government of Malaysia (Ministry of Information, 1996: 7) regarding women’s
participation in the labour force.
“ ……At the same time, the greater utilization of local labour will be
enhanced. This can be achieved by increasing their supply through raising
the female labour force participation rate, and employing retirees and more
handicapped persons for appropriate jobs. We still have a substantial
proportion of women, particularly housewives, who have not been drawn into
the work force. The Government is currently reviewing the Employment Act,
1955 with a view to amending rules relating to part-time workers. More
education and training opportunities will also be provided for women to
improve their upward mobility in the labour market. I would also like to
encourage firms to facilitate greater entry of females into the labour force by
adopting flexible work practices, such as career breaks, job sharing, and
flexi-time for full-time women workers. This family - friendly approach will,
therefore, provide women the flexibility they need to manage their time
between work and family.
As more women are expected to enter the work force, efforts will be
made to provide women with skills for family development in areas such as
parenting, and family health as ways to cope with the twin responsibilities of
family and career. The Government will continue with on-going efforts to
address women’s concerns and provide the appropriate enabling
environment for women to participate more effectively as partners in socio-
economic development. We just cannot afford to let half our female work
force to remain idle if we want to reduce our dependence on foreign workers
and increase family incomes “
It can be seen that the Malaysian Government views women who do not
participate in the labour force as ‘idle’ and should be ‘drawn into the work force’ so as
‘to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign workers and increase family incomes’. It
is assumed with a Malaysian female labour force participation rate of 46.8%, there may
be a pool of almost a million women that the Government of Malaysia can draw into the
workforce1. This reserve army if activated will be able to reduce the one and half million
foreign workers in the country. This assumption does not seem realistic. It does not take
into consideration that a sizeable number of the foreigner’s work as agricultural
labourers, domestic maids and pink-collar jobs, which replaces women freed into other
jobs. The main reason cited by women for not entering/re-entering the workforce is
housework. One major factor hindering women entering the workforce is culture. This
factor will be discussed with specific reference to the Chinese culture since this study is
on Chinese women.
Helping the family business or farm was not considered ‘work’. These women simply
regarded themselves as ‘housewives’ helping out to sustain the family. It was seen as
a ‘duty’ rather then ‘work’. Thus, they did not see the need to report such activities to
1 This is based on the assumption that if the Malaysian female labour force participation is like that of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Countries of 62%.
survey or census. They simply reported that they were ‘housewives’ and saw such
activities as part of their normal daily routines.
Avoiding taxes and contact with regulatory authorities. Most of these women
tend to avoid questions associated with family business for fear of unnecessary
trouble. Their attitude was one of not getting involved with the regulatory
authorities especially the Inland Revenue Department. It was often viewed that as
long as the male head of the household paid some taxes to avoid investigation by
the authorities, the rest of the family need not bother to report.
Many women involved in part-time and temporary jobs were not recorded or
registered. An example of such unreported economic activity was related to
‘direct selling’. In Malaysia, there were at least 6000 registered companies with a
total estimated membership of 600,000 persons selling products ranging from
healthcare to cosmetics to toys to kitchenware. Judging from the nature of these
products, it was likely that a majority of the ‘members’ were women. Women
involved did not consider this as ‘work’ but mere ‘membership’ and thus not
worth reporting.
There are also some public policies, though not directly related to employment,
which have detrimental effects on women’s employment. These regulations interplay to
result in a disabling work environment not conducive to maintain women at work. Unless
public policies and private sector initiatives are gender sensitive and help to create an
enabling environment, these women will not be able to enter the workforce.
Other factors are (i) inadequate training opportunities resulting in women’s lack
of adaptability in the workforce; (ii) low budget allocation for education facilities
resulting in two session schools; (iii) poorly formulated regulations and provisions which
lead to inadequate facilities for child-care.
3.1 Legislation and Public Policies
The government policies directly related to employment that are gender
insensitive are many. The Malaysian Federal Constitution guarantees equality of all
persons before the law and states that there shall be no discrimination against citizens on
the grounds of religion, race, descent or place of birth. However, it was silent on the
word ‘sex’. Prior to changes made in 2001, this Clause opened the way for discrimination
on the basis of sex in all matters. There was no provision for example against women
being paid less than men for doing the same job. Therefore, equal pay for equal work was
not legally recognized and thus allowed the private sector to continue the discriminatory
wage differential (Jamilah, 1992). There was also no provision for a minimum wage to
provide a fair wage and protect women from being utilized as ‘cheap’ labour. The law
also prohibits night-work for women but the Director has liberally given exemptions to
most light industries to compel women to do night shift. The exemption is given with
observing the spirit of the law to ensure the protection and safety of these women while
on duty or before and after duty. Such protection maybe in the form of safe transportation
and staff quarters (Jamilah, 1992).
According to Labour Law, a female employee is entitled to a minimum of 60
days of maternity leave and allowance. However, women who have more than five
surviving children are not entitled to maternity allowance. Among the regulations in
public service, there were also those discriminatory against women civil servants. During
the period of study, maternity leave for civil servants for example was only for 42 days
instead of 60 days. Another was the issue of derivative pension. If a male civil servant
was deceased, his wife and children could receive derivative pension. However, if the
wife remarried, the pension ceased since her new husband was expected to be financially
responsible for her and her children. If this new marriage failed, the woman would now
be saddled with maintenance of her children without the benefit of the derivative pension.
In the case of the female civil servants, her widower husband could continue to receive
derivative pension after her death no matter how many times he remarried.
3.2 Lack of Training Opportunities
From the 1995 statistics on distribution of employed persons by age group and
sex (refer to Table 1.3), the highest percentage of women employed was in the age group
of 20-24 years totaling 508,400 or 19.6%. However, this decreased to 428,200 or 16.5%
for the next group of 25-29 years. The primary reason for this withdrawal from
employment was marriage and child-care. In a situation of rapid technological
advancement and the introduction of new technologies being introduced, such a period of
absence from work makes re-entry difficult without adequate re-skilling and training for
returnees. Expectation of periods of absence due to childbirth (average household size
being 5.7) and probable withdrawal from the labour force resulted in employers being
less willing to invest in training women, thus further reducing placement and promotion
opportunities for women. Adaptability of women in the workforce was reduced.
3.3 Inadequate Education Facility
The development allocation for the education sector in the Sixth Malaysia Plan
(1991-95) was only RM13.468 million i.e. 15.5% of the total. This was lower than that
allocated for transport (19.6%) and agriculture (16.4%) sectors but almost equal to that of
defence (15.3%) (Malaysia, 1991). The education allocation was in fact lower by 0.6%
than the Fifth Malaysia Plan (1985-1990). Only 12% of the education development
budget of Sixth Malaysia Plan was allocated for government and government aided
primary schools. About 12,000 new classrooms were built during that period. This was
definitely inadequate for a growing young population and a government policy that aimed
to increase families with five children and an increase in national population from 18
million to 70 million.
Inadequate number of schools in Malaysia results in double-session schools or
two schools sharing the same premises, alternating to operate for six months of the year
or for one year in the mornings and the other in the afternoon. This means a half-say
school, normally from 7.30 a.m. till 1 p.m. for morning school and 1.30 p.m. till 6.30
p.m. for the afternoon session. This timing is not synchronized with the working hours,
normally for the public sector, it is 8 a.m. till 4 p.m., while for the private sector, it is
from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. For some businesses, especially retail, it may be from 11a.m. till
10p.m. With these schooling hours, most women in the labour force have to rely on other
help for child-care before or after school. Otherwise, the children will be issued keys to
let themselves in and out of their homes, a phenomenon, known commonly as latchkey
kids. Most parents are concerned about the safety of latchkey kids. They are also worried
that these kids will mix with bad company, or ‘lepak’ (loitering aimlessly, wasting time)
and not be focused on their studies. Of course at home without supervision, it is also
likely they watch television or play computer games and not study.
The alternating double sessions cause disruption as changes in school times
cannot synchronize with the work schedule or shift workers. Shift workers with school -
going children, cannot use factory buses, which are licensed to carry factory employees
and not the children. They will have to take public buses, which ply fixed routes. The
factory employees on shifts cannot ask the school bus to drop or pick up the children
from home on some days and from the factory on others following their shifts. The
children need to be picked up or dropped off at a fixed point at the exact times as the
school buses follow a fix route. Rather than making more allocations for single session
schools here, it has been proposed by the Minister of Human Resources that husbands
and wives work on different shifts so that they can care for their children. While it may
seem logical, its underlying assumption places greater importance to the employer’s
interest than that of the family life of the workers.
If there are adequate facilities for single session schools, school timing can
encompass study time as well as extra-curricular activities, which enhance the use of
talents of students and provide them with greater capability for life after school. The
timing can be from 7.30 a.m. till 3.30 p.m. which means that the major part of the time,
the parents are at work, the children are under the care of the school. Even if they are
latch key kids, the time back alone will be minimal.
3.4 Inadequate Facilities for Child Care
There was no allocation for pre-school education in the Fifth Malaysia Plan. The
State left it totally to the private sector to develop kindergartens. In the Sixth Plan only
1% of the education budget was for pre-school (Malaysia, 1991). Entrance into primary
education is from age six. Without public pre-schools, only higher income parents can
afford to send children to privately run pre-schools. This means that working parents are
left to their own resources to find child-care for infants and pre-school children.
The unavailability of adequate childcare facilities has been constantly cited as the
reason for the inability of women to participate in the workforce. A 1995 survey in Kuala
Lumpur found the most often cited reasons for not seeking work were child-care and
family commitments (Loh-Ludher, 1995; ILO, 1996). This was confirmed by the 1995
Labour Force Survey, that 76.6 % females who were outside of the labour force cited
housework as the main reason (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 1995).
Although the Government made commendable efforts to encourage public and
private establishments to provide proper childcare facilities for workers with infants, the
response was cold. The Ministry of Human Resources established one-stop service
centers for setting up of child care centers. Since its inception in 1992 till 1995, the one-
stop center has found that only sixteen employers have made enquiries and shown
interest. Out of these, only three actually set-up childcare centers. Even the strongest
advocate of such centers, the Department of Social Welfare, could not establish its own
child care centre as it could comply with the regulations governing the setting-up of a
child care centers. The Department occupied several floors of a multi-storied building
from fifth floor upwards. However, for safety reasons, a childcare centre must be located
on the ground or first floor. The exorbitant rents of lower floors in the heart of town made
such child care centers beyond the means of parents and thus, were not a viable
proposition. Many factories are not able to conform to other safety requirements such as
distance from inflammable areas and fire hazards. Many employers unjustly feared that
distraction and over-concern of workers with infants would result in loss of productivity.
Workers are also not receptive to the workplace based child-care Centre. It would
not be convenient to bring small children to the workplace by crowded public transport as
company or factory buses were licensed to transport only adult workers, not small
children. It would not be conducive to shift workers, as it would disrupt their infants’
sleep pattern.
Without subsidized public child-care or employer-assisted facilities, women resort
to private childcare. Baby-sitting or private childcare are informal private enterprises,
though regulated but not enforceable by government. The standards set by government
are good but without proper support of training and loan facilities and reduced cost of
formality, it is difficult for enough child care services to be set up to cater for their needs.
Only women with higher income will be able to use these facilities. Whereas a low
income woman, who needs this service most, will not be able to get access to such a
service. A woman earning less than RM700 and having more than two children would
find it not cost-effective to work and pay child-care (costing about RM200 per child)
(Loh Ludher, 1995). A 1997 study of 239 married women working as factory production
operators in five selected industrial areas in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, found that
only one third intended to continue to work after having one child. The reason given was
the high cost of childcare compared to wages earned (Aminah Ahmad, 1999). Definitely,
even more would stop work if they had more than one child.
An alternative to child-care facility is the hiring of maids. It has often been said
that a woman’s success was probably due her ability to ride on the back of other women.
This is probably true for most career women who have to rely on domestic help. Because
of the mui tsai - the white blouse-black trousers domestic helpers in Chinese homes in the
past and the servants in rich Malay and Indian homes followed by the local maids and
now the foreign domestic helpers, Malaysian women (the fortunate ones) are able to
participate in the labour force (and community life) mainly by delegating domestic duties
to these other women.
With the advent of rapid industrialization, women who were previously available
for domestic help now prefer to work in the manufacturing sector. The government
allows the recruitment of foreign maids to help Malaysian women cope with the
responsibilities of home and work. However, the foreign workers policy has been
constantly reviewed and changed at short notice. An example, was the sudden
announcement by the Minister of Home Affairs in August, 1995 that only Filipino
women older that 35 would be allowed to work as maids in Malaysia, as a reaction to a
very small percentage of the maids being caught in prostitution or as guest relations
officers in lounges. That announcement caused much anxiety among the working women
as maids awaiting approval were stranded. If that policy had come into effect, 40% of the
maids in Malaysia would have to be sent back to the Philippines with no immediate
replacement. The Filipino government also changed its policy in reaction to the hanging
of Flora Contemsion in Singapore for manslaughter of her employer’s son and because of
the death sentence for Balabagan in Saudi Arabia, for stabbing her employer who
repeatedly raped her. Such uncertainties seriously affected the harmony and wellbeing of
the home. Often this caused increased feelings of guilt and women were pressurized to
resign from work and stay home. Some chose to enter the informal sector and work from
home.
4. Conclusion
In the 1970s, the Government of Malaysia, in its eagerness to attract foreign
investors has provided many investment incentives and promoted the availability of
cheap labour. The multinational companies searching for cheap, unskilled and flexible
labour found Malaysia as an ideal country for relocation. This was part of the new
international division of labour trend with women constituting the secondary labour
market. Young rural women were encouraged to migrate to urban industrial zones to
work in the factories. The resulted in the increasing feminisation of labour in Malaysia.
While there was an increase due to this mass mobilization, the participation of
women in the labour force remained relatively low at about 47%. While men received the
family wage, women earned 20-30% less and were deprived of some of the benefits
enjoyed by their male co-workers. Women continued to be perceived as secondary
workers, filling lower skill, assembly line jobs. This occupational differentiation has its
roots in the concentration of male students in science and technology courses.
There was also a age-labour participation difference between men and women,
with men having almost full participation in the labour force in most of productive years
while women participation peaked in the early years and gradually decline in after
marriage. Except for the Other Bumiputra and Others, women of all the other races
exhibit a single peak pattern of participation. Other Bumiputra had an unusually high
( between 50-70% ) participation rate in the productive years while the others show a low
below 50% participation. The main reason for withdrawal from the labour force is family
responsibilities placed mainly on women.
Legislation and public policies too contribute a disabling environment that hinders
the participation of married women. Faced with cultural demands of women bearing most
domestic responsibilities and few childcare facilities, women faced the pressure to
withdraw from employment.
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