Torn between home and office
Written by The Star Friday, 01 July 2011 15:55
Many women leave their jobs in the mid-30s, ostensibly to look after their children. This may compromise the Government’s policy to have 30% women in decision-making positions five years hence.
WOMEN. My mother is a woman, my wife is one as well, and my daughter will not long from now become one.
My mother used to work as a schoolteacher for a while.
One of the first memories of my early childhood is being brought along to the school my mother was teaching at many, many years ago.
If I am not mistaken, my mother was teaching a Year Two class.
I don’t remember in which town the school was, but I do recall getting to colour the big apple she had drawn on the blackboard.
I used some coloured chalk to fill in the spaces within the outlines of the apple illustration but I’m not sure what colour I chose.
All I remember is there were lots of giggling from the children in the class. It was probably not my best work.
I also remember sitting on the teacher’s table at the side while my mother taught in front.
My mother was not a teacher for long.
Due to family commitments, she quit even before I began my primary school days.
She has been a housewife and homemaker ever since.
Be that as it may, my mother never stopped being a teacher at home, religiously checking on my schoolwork and lesson revisions every day.
It is more or less the same route that my wife has taken.
She worked for many years before opting out of a working career after she decided she wanted to look after the kids.
She was a very good worker. Her colleagues would attest to this, and I know it for a fact in the regular chats we had about her work and mine after long days at the office.
I believe her last employer was quite reluctant to let her go and even offered her the prospect of moving up if she stayed on.
But my wife was never an ambitious person career-wise, and our children were her number one priority.
All across Malaysia and over the years, women have made truly great strides in moving up the ladder, be it in public service or the corporate world.
We have had and do have some really excellent and outstanding corporate, community and political leaders from among Malaysian women.
They are an inspiration not just for the women in this country but for all Malaysians, male and female.
Our population is more or less divided in half, in terms of the female to male ratio.
Our country has made it a policy to ensure that women get equal opportunities in all walks of life, especially in education.
Today, enrolment rates of girls exceed or are equal to boys at all levels of schooling, and at the tertiary level, the enrolment of women outnumber men.
In the private sector and in the Government, women fill some of the most important positions and many are in the top post of their respective organisations.
In science and technology, women show strong participation in the field of research, accounting for nearly 40% of total researchers in Malaysia.
In the field of business, we see women entrepreneurs making waves in a number of areas; indeed, Malaysian women have come far.
There is still much to be done to ensure that women are able to seize the opportunities that are available and benefit from them.
There are still gaps to be bridged and weaknesses to be rectified which prevent women from reaching their fullest potential.
Women’s participation in economic activities, while growing, is still lagging in several aspects.
While we are seeing increasing numbers of women entrepreneurs, we need to put in greater effort to encourage the participation of women in business.
According to the 2005 Census of Establishments and Enterprises, women-owned enterprises totalled 82,911, accounting for only 16% of all SMEs in Malaysia.
Labour force participation rate for females is 46% compared with 78.9% for males.
The rate for males is highest in the 35-44 age group while for women, it is highest in the 25-34 age group.
Most disconcertingly, the labour force participation rate for women decreases significantly starting from the 35-44 age group, suggesting that a considerable number of women opt out of employment in their mid-30s.
I do not know for sure why they quit their jobs, but if the evidence of my mother and wife are anything to go by, it is because they have decided to focus on the family.
Recently, the Government decided the board of directors for listed companies should have at least 30% representation from women.
We’ve seen both support for the move and concern over the impact of such a move.
I gather that a person, female or male, would need a high level of experience and expertise accumulated over the years before being considered for such positions.
But if many women opt out of employment in their mid-30s, then it could be argued that the pool of talented and experience women from which companies can tap into for board appointments is significantly compromised.
Forcing companies to ensure that 30% of the board consists of women might not sound like such a good ideas
