DAP: Women need career opportunities, not female-only universities

 

The problem faced by most Malaysian women was entering the workforce after finishing higher education and not admission into public universities, said Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi.

Wong (above), who is also the DAP executive secretary for political education, said BN’s proposal to set up the first women-only public university as part of their election manifesto only showed that the coalition did not understand the challenges faced by women.

Citing a study by Penang Institute, she said in the last 10 years, the enrolment of female students in public universities had exceeded male students.

The 2016 study revealed that the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for all local public universities was at 1.71 in 2013.

“This means we have 1.71 female students in university compared to every male student.

“In 2017, the percentage of female students in public universities was at 63.5 percent while males were only at 36.5 percent.

“Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad herself had reported that 61 percent of students in public universities are now female.

“Hence, it is obvious that women do not face any problems entering universities,” Wong said.

The GPI is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to education of males and females.

In its simplest form, it is calculated as the quotient of the number of females by the number of males enrolled in a given stage of education.

Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad

For example, an institution with a GPI score of 2.0 means that there is twice the number of women compared with men in that institution.

Wong then compared this to the participation of women in the labour market, which she said decreased once women are above the age of 25.

“The most active women in the labour market are those aged between 20 and 24, at 76.1 percent.

“However, the participation rate of women starts to decrease in the age group 25 and above.

“At the same time, the male participation rate in the labour market reached 98 percent for the 35-39 age group, while the female participation rate dropped to 68.1 percent,” she said.

This indicated an issue where more men are active in the labour market but have low enrolment in public universities, whereas women with degrees tend to not work after the age of 25, Wong said.

As such, Wong suggested the government amplify technical and vocational education training (TVET) for men to improve their skills in the workforce.

She also called on the government to provide better support mechanisms and networks for women to pursue their career aspirations.

“If we have a strong support network, many women will continue to participate in the workforce,” she said.

Yesterday, the Higher Education Ministry said it planned to establish a university that specifically caters for women, in an effort to increase Malaysia’s visibility in higher education and further strengthen its position as an international higher education hub. - Mkini