Abstract

 
 
 The promotion of labor market opportunities for females in Malaysia has been part of several quantitative studies. Although the empirical data stresses the existence of gender-related constraints females are facing when trying to access labor market, the reasons remain mainly unexplored. Thus, this qualitative study tried to identify major constraints and challenges females are facing when entering the Malaysian labor market. Focus group discussions with different groups of females aged 16 to 50 have been conducted, as well as with employers and HR Managers of global players. The study identifies local disparities between rural and urban living as major consequences for female labor market access and the achievable employment situation. The analysis of the focus groups also highlights that two groups of women – females living in Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) or “People ́s Housing Project” areas and Single Mothers – are strongly affected from often being no constant part of labor market but trapped in side-jobs or non-satisfying microbusinesses. The solidification of social inequality by an absence of support structures and empowerment programs can be seen as the most important reason. Policy recommendations, based on the empirical results, are therefore discussed in order to stimulate a discussion on gender equality.
 
 
Highlights
Analyzing the possibilities women are facing towards labor market access does not mean to understand the labor market structures of a country
There could be found several gender disparities connected to the educational background and age of women, the ethnic origin of females living in Malaysia as well as their social status
According to the theoretical approach of figurational theory, the results proof the high meaning of work and living in a meritocratic society for both – men and women in Malaysia
Summary
Analyzing the possibilities women are facing towards labor market access does not mean to understand the labor market structures of a country. Malaysia shows patterns of industrialized countries like a more and more urban labor market, a huge development of the third sector and an increasing number of women gaining higher education and participating in the labor market (International Monetary Fund, 2018: 3). Especially elder women will fear poverty and a so-called gender pensiongap because they are less integrated into labor market, do have higher drop-out rates and are more often informally employed than men (World Bank, 2019). The situation is getting worse, when looking at the not well-developed pension system which covers only few people and nearly no women aged 50 and above (Tolos et al, 2014) This means that deprivation among older persons might increase within the decades and it will especially hurt females. Changes in the field of labor market and social policy are highly recommended
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