The enthusiasm generated generated by this year’s Women’s Summit 2007 organised by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development was a clear indication of Malaysian women in the critical issues of work-life balance.

Over 2,000 women and men crowded into the Sime Darby Convention Centre to hear from the illustrious panel speakers and to weigh in on what needs to be done to change the work landscape in order to be more sensitive to the roles both men and women have as both employees and parents. These moves are an important part of Malaysia’s evolution towards becoming a more caring society and creating a better and more productive work environment by catering to the whole employee. 

Putting work-life balance on the agenda

There is a sense of optimism that this year’s Women’s Summit 2007 has finally raised work-life balance issues onto a national platform. Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, in her Welcome Address, emphasised that working women need to be supported to play their part in the nation’s economic development, and this must include supporting their role as caregivers.

She warned that unless workplaces become more family-friendly, we will face a ‘female retreat’. We need a paradigm shift from narrow mindsets and embrace new more technology driven and flexible ways of working so that parents can better fulfill their responsibilities to their families while continuing to work.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak in his Keynote Address responded by urging all sectors to nurture a work environment that enables women to be fully engaged in achieving national aspirations. He suggested that both the government and the private sector seriously look into developing schemes that would allow women employees to ‘opt out’ of work to raise young children and later ‘opt in’ again.

He pledged that Public Services Department would study the possibility of adapting workplace policies in the public sector to better accommodate women’s need for flexibility.

Judging from the thunderous applause to his proposals from the more than 2,000-strong audience, these are important ideas whose time has come. Malaysian society has changed significantly since the 1950s. Where women could once rely on a trusted local maid or family member to help raise their children, today many have to depend on foreign workers, which comes with its own risks and impacts. It is no wonder therefore that some mothers choose to put their careers in stasis in order to ensure the best care for their children. The current focus on increasing workplace flexibility is meant to ensure that this is not their only option.

In addition, fathers want to have more contact with their children and to share in their care, however little provision exists for men to do this at present. Policies need to be adapted to reflect that both parents today have equal roles to play in the care of their children.

These issues were among those that emerged from the Focus Groups held at the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in the lead up to the Summit. Participants from the corporate sector, government sector, entrepreneurs and SMEs, and the NGOs raised a range of issues under the overarching theme of work-life balance. Close to 200 participants examined these issues at the Summit Roundtable with the view to giving policy directions to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.

The corporate sector group proposed that the Ministry develop Best Practice standards for family friendly work policies for the Malaysian context and conduct a review of the 1955 Labour Act which is woefully archaic and out-of-date. More reliable data and statistics are also needed to monitor women’s participation in the workplace. The corporate sector said that businesses that established the best workplace conditions stood to gain ‘employer of choice’ advantages and that the business case for work-life balance is very convincing.

Women entrepreneurs highlighted the various shortcomings that currently hinder efforts to grow their businesses. They proposed setting up a directory of women in SMEs, strengthening networks for women-run enterprises, and establishing a database of available resources where women can gain access to relevant information.

The public sector participants said that work-life balance is not a women’s issue but a national one. They endorsed more flexible work conditions, such as flexi-hours, four-day weeks, and working@home as long as workers prove to be dependable. Rather than leave the workplace altogether (as some clearly felt pressed to do), participants requested that the Ministry investigate the option for women to job share or work part-time. There is also a need for supervisors to learn to manage staff more productively and efficiently rather than requiring them to be on ‘standby’ all the time. While the Ministry’s efforts to improve childcare facilities for babies and toddlers, was appreciated, participants also identified a need for after school care for older children that would be going home to an empty house. This was discussed in connection with engaging neighbourhood communities to be involved in providing a conducive environment and stimulating activities for young people.

The NGO representatives took a broader view in terms of addressing the critical disconnect between individuals and the larger community. In the spirit of reviving the dynamism of the interdependent community, the NGOs proposed more support in terms of resources for NGOs and residents’ associations to run activities in their areas. One of the suggestions was setting up a Resource Bank of Volunteers and a database linking all NGOs so that they would be able to combine experience and resources. They proposed some sort of mechanism to match corporate supporters with established NGOs towards implementing effective community initiatives.

The NGOs were very supportive of the push to establish flexible work options and family-friendly policies. They felt such policies would positively impact single mothers, who face serious challenges in caring for their children. In addition, a less pressured work environments could potentially afford working adults more time to be involved in worthy activities that helped give back to society.

All this input is being compiled for further action by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development with the understanding that it will be reported on at next year’s Summit. The public can also submit further comments to info@thewomenssummit.org

Visit this website to view updates and the full array of reports, presentations and press articles related to the Women’s Summit 2007.

THE SPEAKERS

At this year’s Summit, we were indeed fortunate to have had the opportunity to hear from both local and international speakers that were able offer important insights, and challenge and inspire those present.

Datuk Rafiah Salim, the VC of Universiti Malaysia moderated the first panel. 

Leslie Bennetts, author of The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?, critiqued the growing trend in the US for women to opt out of work to raise their families. She warned that sacrificing financial independence in order to fulfill unrealistic myths of motherhood is a risky proposition. She encouraged women to take a long view and have a career plan for themselves beyond the first 15 years of their children’s lives, particularly in the light that life expectancy is increasing.

Barbara Holmes, Managing Director of Managing Work/Life Balance, in Sydney, shared from her involvement in putting family-friendly policies on the agenda in Australia. Over the last 17 years, Australian businesses have learned that they are able to reduce costly staff turnover and increase productivity by adopting policies that helped staff to strike the right balance between work and home.

Josefine van Zanten, the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness, Shell International, spoke on the corporation’s efforts to address the issue of retention and progress of women employees. The top barriers to women reaching senior positions include a lack of visible female role models, family responsibilities, failure to secure high visibility jobs, lack of mentoring and failure of senior management to help women progress. In response, Shell Malaysia recently launched a suite of flexible work options and childcare support in order to align itself more closely with the pro-active policies practiced within its international network.

Prof. Dato’ Dr Sharifah Hapsah, the VC of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia moderated the second panel.

The Malaysian speakers, Ar. Nafisah Radin, Anusoorya Themudu, Chong Sheau Ching and Helen Read provided moving and inspiring accounts of their personal journeys to fulfill their aspirations for themselves while honouring their roles as mothers, even under very challenging circumstances.

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