I REMEMBER MEETING a fellow undergraduate at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). We were in our early 20s, and she was pursuing a degree in history. We crossed paths regularly over the three years. Then, just months shy of graduating, I saw her packing her things. She told me she was leaving university to get married.

Another friend, who studied accountancy, was equally decided; she planned to join the workforce for a decade, and then exit to become a full-time homemaker. Back then, I struggled to make sense of these decisions. For me, it seemed natural to pursue education, find meaningful work and hopefully contribute to society. I hadn’t yet grasped how deeply gender expectations and structural limitations could shape women’s trajectories—even among those who were excelling in academia.

Despite outnumbering their male peers in higher education institutions for over a decade, Malaysian women remain markedly underrepresented in the workforce. While female graduates consistently make up more than 50% of all tertiary-educated individuals in the country, their labour force participation rate has stagnated below 56%—lagging behind many of Malaysia’s regional peers.

Why has educational attainment not translated into equal economic participation for women?

The Numbers Tell a Story

In Malaysia, the workforce is defined as individuals aged 15 to 64 who are either employed or unemployed (without work but actively seeking employment). Those excluded from the calculations are students, homemakers, retirees and individuals not seeking work.

The most recent report on the Gender Gap Index in Malaysia shows an educational attainment score of 1.071. A score of 1.0 (100%) indicates that women and men have achieved equality in a particular subcategory. This score of 1.071 suggests that women have surpassed men in achieving educational attainment. 2023 statistics show that the gross enrolment for females at the tertiary level was 50.7% compared to men (33.8%) (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2024). A similar trend is recorded in graduation rates, particularly at the postgraduate level.

These patterns suggest rising women’s empowerment marked by higher education attainment, which should lead to increased entry into fields traditionally dominated by men. Unfortunately, they do not translate into comparable workforce participation.

The Statistics on Women Empowerment in Selected Domains, Malaysia, 2024 reports women’s participation rate in the labour force to be at 56.2%, while males are at 82.3%. The gender gap widens further in leadership roles and STEM-related sectors. Higher positions like legislation spots, managerial roles and senior official status are male-dominated (74.6%), with women recorded at 25.4%. On the Global Gender Gap Report, Malaysia ranked 89 (2023) in terms of economic participation and opportunities, but fell to 102 (2024). Similarly, Malaysia ranked 122 (2023) for political empowerment, but fell to 134 (2024). Despite small advancements for women in Malaysia, a broader, sustained effort is required to close the gender gap in economic opportunity and political empowerment.

According to a 2024 working paper by Khazanah Research Institute, Malaysia’s socio-economic landscape reveals persistent structural inequalities across geographies and demographics. Women in urban areas are more likely to be in the labour force than their rural counterparts, a reversal of trends observed in the 1970s. Since the 1980s, the participation of women from rural areas has declined and stagnated. In contrast, urban women have made steady gains, perhaps benefiting from better access to education, childcare services, transportation accessibility and job opportunities.

Women living in rural areas face barriers limited by infrastructure, traditional gender roles and the lack of employment options outside agriculture or informal work—it is also slowed by the deeply rooted gender expectations. Men are still largely seen as primary earners, while women continue to bear the burden of domestic responsibilities. Interestingly, rural men exhibit higher participation in the workforce compared to urban men. These contrasting dynamics suggest that location, rather than gender alone, increasingly shapes employment outcomes. This also indicates the need for targeted interventions in rural development and better gender-responsive policy frameworks.

At the state level, Putrajaya leads with a female participation rate of 79.2%, while states like Terengganu, Kelantan and Perlis report rates below 50%. Penang (57.4%) comes in fifth behind Selangor (69.7%), Kuala Lumpur (66.5%) and Melaka (58.0%).

Ethnicity also adds a layer of complexity to labour force participation. Chinese (60.9%) and Indian (59.7%) women consistently show higher participation rates compared to Bumiputera women (53.4%). Although Bumiputera forms the largest share of the labour market (37.3%), their overall participation is driven overwhelmingly by men (80.8%), also the highest rate across all ethnicities. Then there is also Malaysia’s reliance on foreign workers, particularly in low- and semi-skilled sectors, that has led to the displacement of less-educated, lower-skilled Malaysians from these jobs—a challenge that affects both women and men.

Where are the Women Graduates?

An article posted on WeirdKaya recently covered a TikTok video of a woman seen cooking at a roadside stall. In the clip, she spoke about her personal journey; she had a JPA scholarship[1] and was a Chemistry graduate from a local university, but had no career aligned with her studies. She started a food business without prior entrepreneurship experience. Her story resonated with many viewers, including another JPA scholar and PhD holder who now combines part-time lecturing and tutoring with food sales to make ends meet.

Curious for more responses, I posted on Reddit asking women to share their challenges in employment. Users spoke candidly about the gap between qualifications and opportunities, with many pointing out long-standing workplace discrimination, gendered expectations and a lack of meaningful support systems as reasons for either stepping away from formal employment or never entering it at all. Responders reported being asked intrusive questions in interviews, dismissed contributions, underpayment and burnout.

One Redditor who currently works as an engineer shared:

“My previous job was at a typical local company. The boss was very biased towards women and outright told us that women belong inside the office while men should go out… he would often say, ‘Aiya, you all women dunno anything one la.’

During interviews, I would say, ‘Be observant [of] how the hiring manager talks to you, especially if it’s a technical role. Whether they engage with you as an equal or they talk down to you. And ask for the demographics if possible. Those two should give you a decent idea of what the company might be like.’”

Another responded:

“…resigned due to heavy workload, long working hours, (on top of being pregnant) it was soooo tiring but unfair to the team if I take MC. End up being hospitalised multiple times due to high blood pressure… pay was not sufficient (got to know my male peer was being paid more—same job scope, same qualification), maternity leave was only two months. There’s no room for my kids if I continue working there...”

And another shared her friend’s experience which included “a cocktail of illnesses and diseases (both of which hindered or was caused by studies and work)” and “sexual harassment” in the F&B industry.

These responses indicate that women’s trajectories reveal the persistent challenges that push even highly educated individuals out of the conventional labour force. Others, fatigued by the demands and rigidity of formal work, have turned to freelancing and home-based businesses, or have opted out entirely. Together, these stories complicate the narrative of graduate “success” and suggest that women are not simply “missing” from the workforce. Instead, they are making difficult decisions within a landscape that often undervalues their labour and potential.

Global Endeavours

Across Southeast Asia, certain countries have implemented proactive measures to enhance women’s participation in the workforce. In Vietnam, the female labour force participation rate stood at 68.48% in 2023, significantly higher than the global average of 51.07%. The high participation is attributed to policy choices like economic reforms and a demonstrated push towards strengthening education with an emphasis on gender equality. Highly skilled women have also been absorbed into the workforce through the implementation of family-friendly laws regarding childcare and maternity, with stronger legal frameworks on gender equality and non-discrimination.

Singapore has invested in supportive mechanisms for caregivers (the majority being women), parental leave, flexible work arrangements and support programmes targeted at women returning after career breaks. These efforts are supported by public awareness campaigns promoting gender equality at home and in the workplace.

Looking to Europe, countries like Sweden and the Netherlands offer further lessons. Sweden provides 480 days of paid parental leave per child, with 90 days reserved for each parent, promoting shared responsibility in childcare. The Netherlands has integrated part-time work into its labour market, with nearly 60% of women working part-time, though this also contributes to gender gaps in earnings and career progression. This is not to say that there aren’t challenges within these countries or varied implementations of support and policies, but they do reflect the need for a broader policy shift, i.e., treating women’s workforce participation as a public good shaped by institutional support.

In Malaysia, we need improved policies and laws that directly empower women in the workforce. These include full implementation of the enacted Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 2022, financial aid for female entrepreneurs, subsidised day care centres and capacity-building programmes.

I lost touch with both the university friends mentioned earlier, but I often wonder about them. Did the one who left to marry ever think of returning to finish her degree? Did my accountant friend end up loving the industry so much that the idea of becoming a full-time homemaker now makes her laugh? Or perhaps both are leading fulfilled lives while I sit here, reflecting on the challenges I’ve faced in balancing my desire to succeed in education with my place in the workforce.

Perhaps, Malaysia’s gender gap in the workforce is not a matter of education, but of inclusion. Women are educated, capable and willing to contribute, but structural barriers, cultural expectations and undervalued forms of labour have diverted them away from formal employment. Whichever the case, it is time we stop asking why women are not in the workforce, and start asking how the workforce can evolve to include them fully.

REFERENCES

1. Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2024, December 18). Statistics on women empowerment in selected domains, Malaysia, 2024. https:// www.dosm.gov.my/ uploads/release-content/ file_20241218120222.pdf

2. Centre for Research on Women and Gender (KANITA). (2025, April 9). E. Number and percentage of graduated postgraduate students. Universiti Sains Malaysia. https://kanita.usm.my/index.php/statistics/list-of-gender-statistics/e-number-and-percentage-of-graduated-postgraduate-students

3. Muzafar, P. M. M., & Abdul Hamid, H. (2024, October 4). Gender gap in the world of work: Status and progress (Working Paper 01/24). Khazanah Research Institute. https://www.krinstitute.org/assets/contentMS/img/template/ editor/WP%20-%20Gender%20Gap%20in%20 the%20World%20of%20 Work.pdf

4. Pal, K. K., Piaget, K., Zahidi, S., & Baller, S. (2024, June 11). Global Gender Gap Report 2024. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/

5. Firdaus, J. (2025, April 10). ‘Have I failed in life?’, asks M’sian street vendor who actually has JPA scholarship & chemistry degree. WeirdKaya. https://weirdkaya.com/ have-i-failed-in-life-asksmsian-street-vendor-whoactually-has-jpa-scholarship-chemistry-degree/

6. TheGlobalEconomy. com. (2023). Vietnam: Female labor force participation. https://www. theglobaleconomy.com/ Vietnam/Femalelabor force_participation/

7. Ministry of Social and Family Development. (2024). Progress on Singapore Women’s Development 2024. https://www.msf.gov. sg/docs/default-source/research-data/progressonsingapore-womensdevelopmentreport2024.pdf

8. Utrecht University. (2021, February 1). Gender gaps in part-time / full-time work. https://www.uu.nl/en/ news/gender-gaps-in-parttime-full-time-work

9. OECD. (2019). Parttime and partly equal: Gender and work in the Netherlands. OECD Publishing. https://doi. org/10.1787/204235cf-en

10. Swedish Government. (2020, November 6). Three important welfare reforms to promote gender equality in Sweden. https:// www.government.se/articles/2020/11/three-important-welfare-reforms-to-promote-gender-equality-in-sweden

FOOTNOTE

[1] The Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) scholarship is a programme that provides financial scholarships to outstanding Malaysian students to pursue higher education, either locally or abroad.