“Retaining Women in the Workforce: Closing Gaps and Breaking Barriers”
In conjunction with Labour Day, the Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) and Penang Institute (PI) are proud to co-host a panel discussion titled “Retaining Women in the Workforce: Closing Gaps and Breaking Barriers”, to be held as follows:
PROGRAMME
Date: 22 May 2015 – Friday
Time: 8.00pm to 10.00pm (Registration starts at 7.00pm)
Venue: Royale Bintang Hotel, George Town
Dress Code: Business Casual
Registration: Admission is FREE, but seats are limited. Please register here (http://tinyurl.com/ovbnrvr) to avoid disappointment.
PANELISTS
– Dr. Wong Chin-Huat, Penang Institute Fellow and Lead Researcher of the 2014 study ‘Explaining Women’s Labour Force Participation: A Case Study of Penang’;
– Datin Rohana Weiler, former VP, HR for Asia-Pacific Agilent Technologies;
– Krista Goon, co-founder of Redbox Studio and co-founder of WomenBizSense;
– Janatharni Arumugam, community activist and President of NGO EMPOWER; and
– YB Steven Sim Chee Keong, Member of Parliament for Bukit Mertajam.
DESCRIPTION
A key challenge for economies today is to attract and retain qualified women in the workforce. However, in 2012, Malaysia’s women’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) was a lowly 46% compared to Indonesia (52%), Singapore (60%), Thailand (70%), United Kingdom (70%) and Sweden (77%). This is despite the fact that 68.9% of Malaysian women have tertiary qualifications. As for Penang, its 2010 women’s LFPR was highest in Malaysia (56.5%), but still far lower than its male LFPR (80.5%).
Why do women drop out of the workforce? In reality, women’s LFPR for Penang and Malaysia peaks when women are 25- 29 years old but declines dramatically afterwards. A major reason is child-raising: the majority of women indeed work after graduation, but leave as they start families and rarely return to the workforce. This differs from many countries with a ‘double-peak’ pattern, where women return to work after several years of child-raising. In addition, lack of advancement opportunities and gender discrimination may cause women to leave the labour force.
How can Penang and Malaysia address this form of ‘brain drain’? What policies and programmes can be used to close gender gaps and break barriers for women at work? Join us for a lively panel discussion on Friday, 22 May 2015, 8pm-10pm at Royale Bintang Hotel, George Town.
Our mailing address is:
Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC)
Level 47,
KOMTAR
George Town, Penang 10503
Malaysia
