Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
This has resulted largely from employers’ restrictions on women’s
employability, often after marriage, causing Asia-Pacific countries to lose
up to RM162bil a year on productivity. For Malaysia, women’s participation
in the job market has hovered at some 47% for three decades.
<p>There is no good reason why this should continue any further, particularly
when Malaysian women are as willing as any to contribute to household income.
Unescap has found that a major cause of limited female workplace participation
is employer inflexibility, with for example meagre maternity benefits amounting
to discrimination against women from their 30s onwards. </p>
<p>Conservatives may say that women can continue to contribute to household welfare
as a housewife, or even that a woman’s place is in the home. However, a
more progressive and developed society allows women the freedom to choose, and
that choice exists only when workplace conditions are sufficiently worthwhile
and meaningful. </p>
<p>There is a further issue of women being under-represented at senior levels
of management. Yet again, it remains important for women to be well-represented
at all levels of employment, since under-representation at intermediate and
lower levels will only further undermine their representation at senior levels.
</p>
<p>To help overcome the problem, such initiatives as improving part-time work
for mothers have been suggested. And as some work environments have shown, suitable
creche facilities for clusters of offices or factories can be an advantage.
</p>
<p>But while these individual measures can help to a degree, they still seem inadequate
and piecemeal in the face of larger problems like curtailed personal choice
and national productivity. Ultimately, a fundamental change in the attitude
of many employers is needed. </p>
<p>Both the private and public sectors should realise that there is no zero-sum
game in this family-workplace equation. Just as both men and women are responsible
for maternity, both employers and employees will benefit from a greater sense
of enlightened self-interest that invests in mature women workers.</p>
<p><i>Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/22/focus/17517572&sec=focus</i></p>
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