KUALA LUMPUR: A Universiti Malaya gender studies professor has advised the government to invest in care infrastructure to improve employability among women.
Care infrastructure refers to resources and services necessary to help families meet their caregiving needs. This includes childcare and elderly care centres.
T Shanthi said the economy and labour markets have sufficient jobs available, but women are obliged to carry out their unpaid care duties.
“If the government gave equal importance to care infrastructure, it would improve employability and lower unemployment rates,” she said during a panel session at the Malaysia Women and Girls Forum 2022.
She pointed out that priority was given to infrastructure like the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to increase connectivity, while care infrastructure was sidelined.
“The ECRL is one of the things that came up when the unity government was formed and it is important. But what is being done to get more women involved in the labour force?”
To make the required changes, Shanthi said policymakers must first recognise the importance of gender equality before they could commit to creating care infrastructure.
Ampang MP Rodziah Ismail, who was also a panellist, concurred with Shanthi saying that recognition of the issue by politicians was a step in the right direction.
“A sufficient budget must be allocated to be able to provide women with the infrastructure,” she said.
In October, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh said the proposal for income tax exemptions from 2023 to 2028 for women returning to the workforce after a “career break” reflected the government’s lack of understanding as to why women stayed at home.
She said women do not work because of a lack of childcare or elderly support at home.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/12/15/care-infrastructure-needed-to-get-women-into-workforce-govt-told/