Gender pay gap in Malaysia startling

On Dec 16, 2023, “MWGF: The Review” aired for the very first time on Astro Awani.

It featured exclusive interviews with Women, Family and Community Development Minister Nancy Shukri, former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh, academicians and civil society representatives,

“MWGF: The Review” set out to assess Malaysia’s progress since the pandemic in advancing the rights of its women and girls.

The show was divided into a series of boardroom-style interviews with guest panellists covering three main areas of discussion - economic empowerment of women, legislating gender equality and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), gender norms and awareness.

Its main objective was to examine progressive policy actions taken since the first annual Malaysia Women and Girls Forum was launched in 2020, while also highlighting existing economic, social and legal gaps that continue to keep Malaysia’s women and girls from achieving their full potential.

As highlighted by the guest speakers, over the last three years Malaysia has indeed taken several positive steps towards the empowerment of women.

This includes the introduction of landmark legislation such as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law and the Anti-Stalking Bill, the long-awaited introduction of the 7-day paternity leaves in Peninsula Malaysia, and steady efforts of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry across the past year via anti-sexual harassment roadshows around Malaysia.

Alarming 33pct rise in gender pay gap

However, on Dec 13, just days after the production of ‘MWGF: The Review’ concluded, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) released a shocking statistic that requires a full re-evaluation of our understanding of the economic inequity affecting women in Malaysia.

DOSM reported that in 2022, women on average made a total income of only RM42,080, compared to men at RM63,117.

In other words, for every RM100 in salaries and wages received by men, women only received RM66.67. This means in 2022, women on average made 33.33 percent less than men per year. This is a whole third less than men - an appallingly large gender pay gap (GPG).

This is also a significant leap in figures from the year before.

In 2021, DOSM recorded that for every RM100 salary or wages received by men, women received RM96.21 - about 3.79 percent less than men, close to parity. Pre-pandemic, for every RM100 a man made in 2019, a woman would make RM94.07, or roughly 5.93 percent less.

Why is there such a large jump in the GPG in 2022? Has there been a methodological change in the calculation of wages?

And if so, does this mean that all this time, Malaysia’s GPG has been far more severe than originally thought?

Our data forms the very basis for informed policy action. How can we make meaningful progress in addressing economic equity, and by extension, gender equality, if our metrics of measurement fluctuate so drastically?

The United Nations estimates the GPG to be about 20 percent globally, and with Malaysia’s latest GPG standing at 33 percent, this should set off alarm bells.

The government has expressed its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, but our startlingly high GPG could be a huge setback.

We must prioritise closing this gap - and urgently. Unequal access to economic power leads to unequal access to resources and opportunities for women, thus limiting their agency and potential.

Wage inequality also contributes to lower savings and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for women, exacerbating female poverty in old age. Without equal economic opportunity, there can be no gender equality.

Immediate solutions needed

What can we do to address this? We can look at New Zealand for example, currently in the process of introducing a mandatory pay gap reporting system to reduce wage gaps affecting women and indigenous groups in particular.

In America, the introduction of the Equal Pay Act 60 years ago led to a 40 percent improvement in closing the wage gap.

Additionally, we can address income inequality by ensuring the burden of unpaid care work is shared more equitably between men and women through the introduction of equal parental leave.

This can help keep women in the workforce and reduce career gaps, a major factor driving unequal pay. As it stands, the Malaysian female labour force participation rate is still only 55.8 percent, in contrast with men at 81.9 percent.

Targeted government support of female entrepreneurs can also help increase their incomes and therefore their economic agency, leading to knock-on positive effects on the nation’s economy as a whole.

The government has set a target of increasing female participation in the workforce to 60 percent, and to achieve this, it is vital to bring together every relevant agency and ministry, guided by an economic road map and gender mainstreaming which addresses all gaps, requirements and investments essential for unlocking the economic potential of women.

This monumental undertaking for ensuring women’s economic equity cannot only be steered by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry alone. It requires equal stewardship by the Economy Ministry.

Equal citizenship rights

From a legal perspective, more can be done to safeguard the rights of local women. Our nation can never truly achieve gender equality if women have to fight for rights that have already been enshrined for decades within the Constitution for men.

As also highlighted in ‘MWGF: The Review’, Malaysian mothers with non-Malaysian spouses should have the right to automatically confer citizenship to their overseas-born children, just as Malaysian men with non-Malaysian spouses have always been able to.

It is not simply a banal legal issue, it also puts to question whether the government wants to maintain the status quo of women as second-class citizens in their own country - thus making it impossible to achieve the 2030 SDGs, not to mention negatively impacting Malaysia’s standing on the international stage when it comes to being able to comment and speak about human rights issues occurring in other countries.

Lumping together the issue of equal citizenship for overseas-born children of Malaysian mothers, with other law amendments that negatively affect the status of stateless children in Malaysia is bewildering.

The way forward is clear - the government must decouple the law on equal citizenship from other amendments relating to the protection of the rights of stateless individuals, ensuring the former passes on its own.

As for the latter, the government should take the time to properly study and assess costs and benefits on its own terms - acknowledging them as completely separate from the conversation on the fundamental rights of Malaysian women.

With the dawn of 2024, we are now just six years away from 2030 - the target year for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Although significant gaps remain, the government has indeed demonstrated political will over the last three years in passing key laws that affect the well-being of women and girls.

Six years is not very long - which is why we need even more targeted and sincere investment by not only the government but also society as a whole, in ensuring local women are equal citizens and human beings with equal rights to opportunity, wellbeing and dignity. - Mkini

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MWGF is an annual event that brings together multiple stakeholders involved in the social and economic advancement of women and girls in Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.