Chapter to be published in M. Connerley & Wu, J. (Eds.), Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women.

Springer (International Handbooks on Quality-of-Life Series)

*Corresponding author. Email: noraini@iium.edu.my a Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, 53100 Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia.

Work, family and women’s well-being in Malaysia

Noraini M. Noor*a & Nor Diana Mohd Mahudina

Abstract

In this chapter we examine work, family and women’s well-being in Malaysia. We begin by

briefly positioning education as a prerequisite to women’s labor force participation and

highlighting this development over the last few decades. We then discuss studies in the work-

family literature from two fronts: one focusing on work and family life in relation to

women’s well-being, and another examining work-life balance policies and practice. On the

basis of these studies, we highlight the gap between reality and available policies and

practice. We conclude with some suggestions taking into account the changing realities of the

family and the workforce. These include addressing work-family (work-life) issues as

societal issues rather than individual problems, providing better support for the

implementation of work-life policies, and reframing the work-life framework by going

beyond the family to include other aspects of life as well as other strands of diversity besides

gender.

Keywords: work, family, gender, well-being, work-life, policies

2

Introduction

As in other countries, in the last few decades, Malaysia has witnessed unprecedented

changes in the lives of men and women resulting from modernization, globalization and rapid

technological advances. These changes include (i) gender-role prescriptions, where the

traditional demarcation of labor is no longer strictly adhered to and both men and women

occupy work and family roles; (ii) composition of the workforce, now made up of dual-earner

families, single parents, and never-married employees; (iii) family structure and household

configuration, where parents can no longer depend on the extended family for support and

children are raised by alternative childcare providers; (iv) blurred boundary between work

and family, due to advanced communications technologies, enabling constant contact with

the workplace from home; and (v) attitudes and values of men and women who are becoming

more perceptive of other aspects of life such as leisure, religion, and the general quality of

life. Though these changes concern both men and women, women are usually more affected

because women in collective and familial Asian cultures have traditionally been expected to

assume the responsibility for the home and children (Hofstede & Bond, 1988).

The Malaysian population comprises of Malay (51%), Chinese (23%), Indian (7%),

indigenous groups (11%, such as Iban, Kadazan, Melanau, Bidayuh, Kenyah, Kayan,

Kedayan, Murut, Senoi, Negrito, etc.), and others (8%, like Sikh, Eurasian, Peranakan—

descendants of early Chinese settlers, among others as well as non-Malaysian citizens;

Statistics Department, Malaysia 2011). In the three main groups—Malay, Chinese and

Indian—socialization of males and females adheres strictly to traditional cultural values with

males being trained to be independent and assertive while females are expected to be

effeminate and polite. Both are also assigned different roles, with men being accountable for

the family’s economic upkeep and women expected to be responsible for the home—children

and housework. There are, however, some differences in the three main groups with regards

3

to the status of women. The traditional Malay women, compared to Chinese and Indian, are

more economically independent (they can own land under the Customary or Adat law) and

enjoy more economic autonomy (Karim, 1992; Reid, 1988).

Education and employment

Since independence in 1957 from Britain, women have made significant progress in

education as observed in their increased enrolment in schools and higher education

institutions. Table 1 shows the percentage of female students in government-assisted

education institutions from 1970 to 2007/8. Over the years, while the percentage of female

students remains about the same at primary level, from secondary level onwards, female

enrolment shows a steady increase, and by the mid-1990s, females outnumber males at post-

secondary and university levels (refer also to Figure 1). The main reason for this increase can

be attributed to the initiatives taken by the government. In the Sixth Malaysia Plan (1991–

1995; the Malaysia Plans are five-year development plans that started in 1971 as part of the

New Economic Policy), the government specifically emphasized and focused on issues and

strategies for the advancement of women—detailing programs and projects for their

development, recognizing them as an important economic resource and identifying

constraints that were inhibiting their full involvement. In the succeeding development plans

(Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Malaysia Plans), efforts to enhance the role, position and status of

women increased, particularly with the provision of more education and training

opportunities to meet the demands of a knowledge-based economy and to improve their

upward mobility in the labor market.

However, it should be noted that there is gender imbalance across subject disciplines

with women overrepresented in education, social sciences, humanities and health, while

being underrepresented in engineering, pure sciences and technical fields (see Table 2). This

Table 1: Percentage of female students in government-assisted educational institutions in Malaysia

4

1970 1980 1990 2000+ 2007/8*

Primary 46.8 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Secondary 40.6 47.6 50.5 50.5 50.0

Post-secondary (Form 6 & matriculation) 42.6 45.5 59.3 66.4 65.1

University (undergraduates only) 29.1 35.5 44.3 56.2 61.9

Source: Statistics from 1970-1990 (6th Malaysia Plan) +http://www.kpwkm.gov.my/panel/Upload/edu1_Enrolmen%20di%20Institusi%20Pendidika

n%20kerajaan%20dan%20Bantuan%20Kerajaan%20Mengikut%20Peringkat%20Pendidikan

%201998%20%202001.pdf

*http://www.kpwkm.gov.my/documents/10156/40d5d22a-45a9-44a9-9999-1da191e86d4a &

http://www.kpwkm.gov.my/documents/10156/5f60709f-cde4-4f33-896a-630ee964a962

Table 2: Proportion of females enrolled at public and private institutions of higher learning by area of

specialization, 2009

Figure 1: Enrolment in government and government-assisted higher educational institutions by level

of education, 2001-2009 (% of girls in total)

5

imbalance was formally introduced into the education system by the Rahman Talib Report of

1960 that instituted vocational subjects like Industrial Arts, Commerce and Agricultural

Science for boys and Home Science for girls. The subjects chosen for each gender reflect the

gender orientation of the curriculum which perpetuates the role of man as the family’s

breadwinner and woman as housewife, mother and caretaker of children. Further, cultural

norms about gender roles also influence women’s decisions in choosing certain specialties

over others—with decisions made on the basis of society’s expectations and approval, usually

with future family responsibilities in mind (Dunne & Sayed, 2002). Thus, courses that are

more inclined on altruistic, intrinsic and social rewards tend to be favored over those that are

more technical or entrepreneurial. This “socialization” perspective reflects the existing

cultural norms about gender roles within the society.

At present, there are more women than men at tertiary level of education, but this is

not reflected in the labor force participation rate. While female labor force participation has

increased from 30.8% at independence in 1957 to 47.8% in 1990, it has since remained stable

between 44% and 48% for the last three decades (see Table 3). In other words, less than half

of women within the working age group of 15-64 years are employed. This rate is even lower

during certain periods in the women’s life cycle corresponding to the childbearing and

childrearing years (30-39 years, see Figure 2, Malaysia Economic Monitor, 2012). Figure 2

shows that women have a tendency of not returning to work after marriage and childbirth. In

fact, the report mentioned that Malaysia is the only country in the ASEAN (Association of

Southeast Asian Nations) region that has a single-peaked profile of labor force participation

for women—signifying women’s initial entry into the labor force after secondary/tertiary

education, in contrast to the double-peaked pattern or “M-shaped curve” usually observed in

many countries indicating women’s return to work after childbirth (Malaysia Economic

Monitor, 2012). Compared to neighboring countries, such as Singapore, Thailand and

6

Indonesia, women’s labor force participation rate in Malaysia is low despite their relatively

high educational attainment. Though more women than men enter and complete tertiary

education, women tend to drop out of the labor force after childbirth, implying that these

women face problems in managing work-family issues, due to gender role expectations and a

labor market that is not conducive in facilitating their return into the workforce after

childbirth. In addition, despite the Equal Pay Act of 1970, women are consistently paid less

than men (see Table 4).

Table 3: Labor force participation rate by gender, 1980-2008

Table 4: Average monthly basic wage by sex and occupation, 2008

7

Figure 2: Labor force participation of women peaks before marriage and declines thereafter

Work, family and women’s well-being

Work and family are the two central domains in life. There are several studies that

have examined the psychological outcomes of combining work and family in Malaysia.

However, before considering these studies, a number of caveats should be noted.

First, in Malaysia, many factors in addition to education work in tandem to influence

women’s well-being. For example, the socio-cultural historical context in which women live

needs to be considered in trying to understand their roles and well-being. Unless the cultural

themes and value system that bear on their roles in society are understood, there will always

be problems in discussing women’s work and family roles. Within the collectivist cultures of

Malaysia, men are perceived as the economic head of the family and they normally make the

final decisions affecting the family. Similarly, as women’s primary role is to take care of the

family and work is perceived only as an added-on role, the former is always seen to be more

central to their well-being, even with the recognition that a one-wage earner is insufficient to

maintain a decent standard of living in the present context.

Second, in considering women’s roles, while experiences within the roles are

important, relationships between the many players in the different respective roles (such as

8

spouses, children, other family members, friends, etc.) also need to be taken into account.

These aspects are important to Malaysian women because once they are married, they are

also “married” to their husband’s family. Relationships normally extend beyond husband and

wife to include the many other relations in the family, including in-laws, siblings of the

spouse and the extended kin. It is not uncommon for a newly-married woman to live with her

in-laws before the couple can afford a place of their own. Therefore, these relationships are

significant and they can provide both support and distress to women. Support from the

husband and the women’s own personality can further contribute to their well-being.

Therefore, women’s lives in Malaysia are complex, and one needs to consider not only

factors within the immediate work and family domains, but also those outside these domains

that may enrich and give meaning to women’s lives or the reverse (Noor, 2006a).

Third, in the three main ethnic groups, Malay, Chinese and Indian, religion plays a

crucial role. While Malays unite under the bond of Islam, most Chinese practice a

combination of Buddhism and Confucianism. Most Indians belong to the Hindu faith.

Religion gives meaning and purpose to life by structuring one’s experiences, beliefs, values

and well-being (Beit-Hallami & Argyle, 1997; see also the articles on religiosity, spirituality

and health in the American Psychologist, 2003, vol. 58). For many Malaysian women,

religion is used as a coping strategy to deal with adverse life circumstances besides providing

other benefits such as solace from prayer and contemplation, distraction from daily stress, the

opportunity for socializing and fellowship, promoting a healthy lifestyle by prohibiting drugs,

alcohol, etc. (Noor, 1999; 2008).

Noor (1999), in one of the earliest studies examining the relationship between role

experiences (work—autonomy, tedium, overload; marriage—spouse support, marital

problems; parenting—positive mother experience, negative mother experience) and well-

being (symptoms of psychological distress and happiness) in Malaysia among Malay

9

(N=288) and Chinese (N=92) women, showed that among several work conditions that were

examined, only job autonomy was predictive of both distress and happiness, after controlling

for demographic (age, ethnicity, occupational groups) and personality (negative affectivity)

variables. Spousal support also predicted happiness. The other role experiences were not

related to well-being. The qualitative results provided further insight into the lives of these

women. Though the majority preferred to work in full-time employment, Chinese women had

a stronger preference to do so than Malay women. Chinese women also reported that their

husbands definitely preferred them to work compared to Malay women. Both groups reported

spending more time in household chores and childcare than their husbands. The author

attributed the relatively small variances observed in the well-being measures (26.4% and

17.1% for happiness and symptoms of distress, respectively) to other predictors that were not

measured, one of which was religion (supported by the qualitative reports of the women that

religion helped them to cope with adverse life experiences) as well as to the women’s

socialization—to report only on the good and desirable, and not the negative experiences.

In another study, Noor (2008) tested the role of religiosity in the relationship between

Malay Muslim women’s work experience and well-being (psychological distress and life

satisfaction) as a function of age. While in general the results showed that religiosity has the

potential to exercise a protective influence on women’s well-being, the relationship differs

among older and younger women. In younger women (21-36 years), high religiosity

moderated the effects of adverse work experience on well-being. Among older women (37-57

years), however, the results are not as straightforward because both main and moderator

effects of religiosity and work experience were observed depending on the well-being

measures that were used. The author attributed the findings to the fact that younger and older

women may not make use of religion in the same way, which may then affect their well-

being differently. The different patterns of findings for the two well-being measures also

10

reflected the issue of specificity in the stress–strain relations as well as the importance of

using both positive and negative outcomes in studies of women’s well-being. Though the two

measures of well-being are correlated, they are distinct measures, each having different

predictors.

Noor (2006b), in another study, used a life-course approach (see Moen, 1998) to test a

model of roles and women’s well-being and found that the predictors of well-being differed

by age. Using structural equation modeling, the findings showed that for women in the age

group between 20–29 years, the direct predictors of well-being (as measured by physical

health, psychological distress and life satisfaction) were role experiences (work, marriage and

parenting), work-family conflict, and negative affectivity Negative affectivity also showed an

indirect effect on well-being via work-family conflict. However, no direct effect of role

experiences on work-family conflict was observed, suggesting that for this group of women,

role experiences did not influence their conflict levels. This is not surprising because many

women in this age group are either single or just married (with an average of one to two

children), so that conflict between work and family is still minimal. These determinants

accounted for 76% of the variability in women’s perceived well-being.

For women between the ages of 30–39 years, both role experiences and negative

affectivity had direct effects on well-being. Although roles and negative affectivity also

directly determined work-family conflict, conflict did not predict women’s well-being. In

contrast to the women in the previous age group, women in this group were actively raising

children while at the same time being in full-time employment. Therefore, conflict between

work and family was inevitable. However, although they reported experiencing conflict, it

did not affect their well-being. These women may have developed certain coping strategies to

handle their current situation. These two determinants (roles and NA) accounted for 59% of

the variance in well-being.

11

In the final age group (40 years and older), role experiences directly predicted conflict

and well-being, but negative affectivity had direct effect on well-being only. Similar to

women in the 30–39 age group, though roles had direct effect on work-family conflict,

conflict did not predict their well-being. Conflict between work and family roles may change

over time, and women too may become better at dealing with these changes. Therefore, for

women older than 40 years old, only role experiences and negative affectivity influenced

well-being. These two determinants accounted for 99% of the variance in perceived well-

being.

Therefore, using a life-course approach, these findings showed that the determinants

of women’s well-being are not static but they changed over the life course depending on what

may be more important to them at a particular point in time. The pathways indicated by each

of the three age-related models provide an understanding of how the different sets of

variables are related. In addition, the amount of variance explained by each of the models

indicated the importance of those variables within the particular age group.

Abdullah, Noor and Wok (2008) examined the general perceptions of women towards

their roles, their interpretation of progress, as well as factors that facilitate and hinder their

progress. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,000 Malay women in Malaysia from rural and

urban areas, aged from 15-67 years. Using questionnaires and interviews, the results

indicated that despite being employed, they are still perceived to be primarily responsible for

the home and children. However, perception of roles again differed by age. Older women still

perceived women’s place to be at home despite being highly educated, that women have to

make sacrifices for the family, and that they should be feminine. Younger women, on the

other hand, recognized that they too are powerful, and that they have a role to play in society.

Nevertheless, regardless of age, all agreed that women cannot excel at work and home

simultaneously, that they should not compete with men nor show off their ability, and that

12

they need to be obedient to the husband and not be demanding. Women are also perceived to

be more responsible for the children (and home) than men.

These results indicate that although women have been given opportunities to higher

education and employment, many aspects of their lives still remain unchanged. Women’s

lives are oriented more towards family matters rather than self-fulfillment, and when faced

with having to make a choice between career and family, the priority is the family. The

present Malay women are caught in a dilemma between the modern challenges of life and

culture/traditions. While many are now employed, they are still expected to be responsible for

the family and to maintain the traditional perception of a woman.

A number of implications can be drawn from these studies. First, despite being in full-

time employment, the traditional division of labor is still strong. Women are still expected to

be responsible for the home and children. This expectation makes it difficult for women to

combine employment with family responsibilities without experiencing work-family conflict,

overload, burnout and decreased well-being (Din & Noor, 2009; Noor, 2003; Noor &

Zainuddin, 2011). And, this is precisely the reason why many employed women do not return

to work after having children.

Second, religion can moderate the adverse effects of work on well-being, but this

depends on the age of the women (Noor, 2008). A life-course approach in understanding

women’s roles and well-being, thus, is meaningful because the determinants of their well-

being differ by age. While work, marriage and parenting are the three most important social

roles, experiences within these roles are not static. As children get older, women’s family role

experiences may change (for the better or worse), and similar changes may also occur within

the work role. Other roles that are previously less important, e.g., caring for an elderly parent,

may become more dominant in later life. Thus, this approach considers the dynamic nature of

how women’s lives change over time. What may be important is not any one particular role

13

but the entries and exits of these roles over the years and their timing in relation to the

women’s age and the other roles that they may occupy (Han & Moen, 1999; Moen, 1998;

Moen & Sweet, 2004). These entries and exits of roles may influence their health and

psychological well-being differentially across the life course (Moen, 1998; Moen & Sweet,

2004). The study by James (2011) further supports this approach, when he showed that

irrespective of gender, employees’ use of work-life balance practices vary over the life

course. For example, parents with young families identify maternity, paternity and parental

leave as their preferred work-life balance arrangement; but this arrangement was less

important for parents with school age children, and was insignificant for those without

children.

Thus, which combination of multiple roles has deleterious or beneficial effects on

women’s well-being depends on their timing and the contexts in which they occur. The

challenge then is to delineate the many life patterns of women and to ascertain which of these

are the most adaptive for the individual woman. For example, as indicated earlier,

irrespective of age, role experiences predict well-being. Poor role experiences may lead to

work-family conflict but conflict may not necessarily affect their well-being. The presence of

certain individual difference variables like negative affectivity and coping strategies may

moderate or mediate the stress-strain relationships. Religion has been used as a coping

mechanism to help moderate the adverse role experience on well-being, particularly for

younger women.

Work-life balance policies and practices

Currently, women’s labor force participation rate in Malaysia is low compared to

other Asian countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and China

(Malaysia Economic Monitor, 2012). As shown in Figure 2, though many initially participate

in the labor force, many also tend not to return to work after having children. The low

14

participation is mainly driven by social norms that see women as being primarily responsible

for childcare and housework while men are expected to be the main economic provider.

These role expectations make it difficult for women to reconcile employment with family

obligations—childcare, and housework. In addition, many workplaces lack work-life or

family-friendly policies and practices that can facilitate women’s return to work after

childbirth, such as affordable and quality childcare and flexible work arrangements. This

double burden of combining work with domestic responsibilities has been shown to be the

main obstacle preventing women from moving into senior roles in the corporate sector

(Women matters: An Asian perspective, 2012). While this problem affects all women, it is

most significant for Asian women because of the strong cultural views regarding the roles of

men and women in society, combined with a lack of support in providing work-life balance

practices. Indeed, the survey indicated that the absence of such infrastructure was found to be

the third biggest obstacle to increasing gender diversity at the workplace in Asia (Women

matters: An Asian perspective, 2012).

In addition, the modernization and urbanization processes that accompany the

government’s development plans since 1971 have changed the basic structure of the family,

with the traditional extended family system increasingly being replaced by a more nuclear

one (Noor, 2009). Other family models are also being observed—the never married or single

employees, female-headed households due to higher divorce rates, “commuter families”

(parents live and work in different towns or states, and children live at home with one parent,

usually the mother), etc. It is also becoming more difficult to depend on the extended family

network for childcare needs. In one of the earliest studies carried out by the National

Planning and Development Board (1998) on “Childcare and Parenting Styles among Working

Parents”, employed parents reported that they performed only 14.6% of childcare needs with

the rest outsourced to other family members (30.6%, to grandparents, other relatives and

15

older siblings), neighbors and friends (15.0%), domestic servants (6.6%, mostly Indonesians

and Filipinos), licensed childcare centers (5.1%), public or religious schools (18%), and the

rest who could not afford center-based childcare had to rely on unlicensed and unregulated

childcare centers or private individuals. In a later study, Noor et al. (2004) showed that

parents tended to outsource even more of these childcare needs—24.1% family members,

22.8% neighbors and friends, 10.1% domestic servants, 14.9% childcare centers, 19.1% left

on their own—performing only 9.0% of childcare. The studies indicate that unless women

have some viable forms of alternative childcare when they are at work, employment would be

difficult.

Studies in the West have indicated that organizations that offer and implement family-

friendly or work-life balance policies and practices are able to attract and retain a higher

percentage of employees than those that do not have these policies (Hudson, 2005;

McDonald, Brown & Bradley, 2005). Family-friendly or work-life balance practices

normally refer to an organization offering one of the following—organizational support for

dependent care, flexible work options, and personal or family leave (Estes & Michael, 2005).

Research has indicated that organizations which offer some forms of flexible working

arrangements, cater for parenting or other care needs, or offer family or personal leave have

reported increased organizational commitment, productivity and job satisfaction among their

employees (Beauregard & Henry, 2009; Casey & Grzywacz, 2008; Yasbek, 2004). These

employees have also reported more control over their own work schedules, which in turn is

related to improved mental health outcomes (McDonald et al., 2005). However, this positive

relationship between work-life practices and organizational outcomes holds only when

employees feel free to use the practices without negative consequences to their work lives

(Beauregard & Henry, 2009; Eaton, 2003).

16

But, not all workplaces offer such practices and policies in the West. Among the

predictors of the presence of work-life balance policies are industry type—with the public

sector the most likely to offer work-life balance policies while wholesale and retail industries

are the least likely (Evans, 2001; Galinsky & Bond, 1998; Yasbek, 2004); size of

organization—with larger firms, i.e., those having more than 1,000 employees more likely to

provide more generous policies than smaller ones (Evans, 2001; Yasbek, 2004);

organizations employing professionals, and technical workers (Yasbek, 2005); organizations

that are predominantly women, and those with a large proportion of women in top

management (Galinsky & Bond, 1998; Yasbek, 2004). On the other hand, those in lower-

paying jobs, who are most in need of these support, are usually the least likely to have access

to it (Kossek, 2005). Furthermore, though work-life balance measures may be available in

organizations, they may not be used because of the organizational structures and culture. In

the UK, for example, work-life balance policies are available at “high-performance”

management level but they are not taken up by these high-level employees due to concerns

on the negative effect of these policies on individuals’ work-life balance (White et al., 2003).

Organizational cultures that are unsupportive of work-life balance issues can thus undermine

work-life policies, leaving those who take them up feeling undervalued and marginalized

(Beauregard & Henry, 2009; Gambles et al., 2006).

Organizational structures and cultures in the West are also not gender-neutral (Acker,

1990; Dahlmann, Huwe & Stratigaki, 2009). Within organizations, cultural representations of

gender are conjured and reproduced, with males seen as masculine and females as nurturing,

leading them to be perceived and treated differently. Indeed, women executives have pointed

to a traditional corporate culture as the primary barrier to women’s advancement (Ragins et

al., 1998; Straub, 2007). As a result, women who may need these policies more than men

may not use them for fear of losing their credibility (Straub, 2007). Similarly, Garcia (2012)

17

reported that working fathers who assume sole family caretaking responsibilities tend to

experience more discrimination at work such as being denied a leave of absence as well as

potentially damaging their career development.

In Malaysia, via the five-year development plans, the government has instituted a

number of policies to encourage more women into the labor force including care-related

leave schemes, flexible working time arrangements and childcare. While there are other

policies like training and benefits, the three more significant ones are flexible work

arrangements, childcare, and leave policies. They are meant to address the constraint in time

for domestic and care giving responsibilities resulting from women’s employment. However,

despite these efforts made by the government, few employers (government agencies

included) provide childcare facilities and fewer still are willing to retain positions for women

who take leave in excess of their entitlement, let alone ensuring their seniority.

Aminah (2007), in one of the few available studies examining the implementation of

family-friendly policies in the Malaysian government and four private organizations, showed

that the government is more generous than the private organizations in the provision of these

facilities. However, all organizations are still at the early stage of policy development, due

notably to a lack of organizational commitment and general support for these policies. This is

so because organizations do not view the harmonization of family and working lives to be

important. Thus, practices that could help employees handle the demands of work and family

such as childcare, leave and other benefits are lacking. The following section discusses in

more detail some of the more important policies and challenges in their implementation.

Workplace initiatives in Malaysia

Over the last 25 years, Malaysia has developed several initiatives meant to improve

women’s participation in employment, earnings, and quality of employment. Following the

announcement of the National Family Policy by the government in December 2010 and

18

officially launched the following year in May, several policy and legislative initiatives have

been taken to enable both women and men to reconcile the demands of work with those of

the home. These initiatives have been moving at an incremental pace as set out in Table 5.

The policy and legislative initiatives in Malaysia can be broadly divided into three categories:

(i) flexible work arrangements, (ii) childcare policies, and (iii) leave policies.

i. Flexible work arrangements

The first category of workplace initiatives addresses the provision of flexible work

arrangements as a means of balancing work and family obligations. Flexible work

arrangements include a wide range of options, including staggered working hours, working

from home, reduced work hours, compressed workweeks, job sharing as well as job

exchanges. Among these, three arrangements are practiced in Malaysia: (i) flexibility in

starting and ending the working day (i.e., staggered hours), (ii) flexibility of working from

home, and (iii) part-time employment.

Staggered working hours were introduced among civil servants in June 2007

(Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 2, Tahun 2007). Under this arrangement, workers can

choose from three options that they prefer in arriving or leaving work, i.e., 7:30 am to 4:30

pm, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. In addition to staggered working hours, a

home working program was launched in October 2008 by the Ministry of Human Resources,

allowing selected workers, particularly the disabled or those with children, to work from

home. Six companies (Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn. Bhd., Elentec Sdn. Bhd., GIDA

Industries Sdn. Bhd., Hin Press & Trading, Peraliph Sdn. Bhd., and Hardy Slex Sdn. Bhd.)

participated in this pioneer program (Bernama, 2008). A similar program was then piloted on

35 civil servants from the Public Works Department, with the majority being women. The

third form of flexible work arrangement is part-time employment. Following the second

19

Table 5: Summary of the policy and legislative developments related to family-friendly

workplace initiatives

Policy Details

National Family Policy 2011

Supports and complements National Social Policy,

National Policy for Women, and the National Child

Policy.

National Policy for Women 1989

Provides the groundwork for subsequent policies and

programs concerning women. More recent initiative

includes the launched of the Gender Focal Point

Program in 2009, which details out a framework for

planning, development, use, regulation, and other

activities related to gender mainstreaming and

women empowerment.

Employment Act 1955 (amend.

1998 and 2010)

Covers provisions on maximum working hours,

salary, and leaves. Has a significant impact on

women’s position in the labor market, in terms of

flexible working hours, establishment of part-time

work, and entitlements for maternity and paternity

leaves.

Income Tax Act 1967 (amend.

1971)

Allows women workers to elect for separate tax

assessments, unless they chose not to be assessed

separately. Offers provision relating tax deduction for

employers who provide childcare centers near or at

the workplace to their employees.

Childcare Act 1984

Sets out provisions to strengthen the regulation and

inspection frameworks for childcare.

Code of Practice on the Prevention

and Eradication of Sexual

Harassment at the Workplace 1999

Contains guidelines to employers on the

establishment and implementation of in-house

preventive for addressing sexual harassment

complaints and provides mechanisms to prevent

sexual harassment.

The 10th Malaysian Plan 2011 -

2015

Represents a significant milestone in the

government’s plan towards empowering women.

Focuses on increasing women’s participation in the

workforce to 55% by 2015 and increasing women in

key decision making positions.

20

amendment to the Employment Act 1955, which came into force in October 2010, the

statutory provisions for part-time work for Malaysian workers (Employment [Part-Time

Employees] Regulations 2010) are established. This regulation outlines the legislative details

and provisions that are necessary to ensure that part-time workers are afforded similar

benefits and protections as regular workers in terms of pay, holidays, public holidays, and

sick pay. More importantly, it offers employment opportunities especially to women, who

otherwise may have been left out because of family commitment or other personal reasons.

While these flexible work arrangements are now available to facilitate better work-life

balance for Malaysians, a question arises: do these flexible work arrangements indeed

provide the necessary flexibility to deal with work obligations and family responsibilities? In

reality, the provisions of the current flexible work arrangements are not really flexible per se.

For example, the staggered working hours are “fixed” and this restricts the choice in selecting

a suitable work schedule. A more rigorous and contemporary definition and practice that

better operationalized “flexible work arrangements” is needed so that workers could have

more options in selecting arrangements that best suit their needs, in line with the life-course

approach mentioned earlier.

In addition, the current flexible working arrangements are not implemented fully

within government offices and departments. For example, working from home and part-time

work are offered only to a select group of civil servants. The private sector has been less

enthusiastic in its commitment and willingness to offer some forms of flexible working

arrangements. A survey by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development,

Malaysia (2009) reported that only a small percentage of private organizations practice the

home working program. Another study found that only 16% of the respondents in private

sector employment reported working in family-friendly organizations (Subramaniam &

Silvaratnam, 2010). Although a more recent study found that the commitment of the private

21

sector, particularly multinational companies, is increasing (Subramaniam, 2011), there is still

a lack of genuine effort or a strong enough desire to change the work patterns that maximize

work-life balance.

ii. Childcare policies

The formulation and adoption of childcare policies constitute the second category of

workplace initiatives in Malaysia. The childcare policies are underpinned by the Childcare

Act 1984, which sets out a framework and consultation on childcare provision. This Act

forms the basis for the establishment of workplace-based childcare centers; hence, directly

recognizing the importance of childcare support in enabling parents, especially mothers, to

work.

Closely connected to this Act are the government subsidies and fiscal incentives—the

purpose of which is to support childcare facilities and work flexibility. For example, in 2007,

civil servants whose monthly household income was below RM2,000 received a subsidy of

RM180 per child for subsidized childcare fees (Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 4, Tahun

2007); this was then extended in 2009 to those whose monthly household income was below

RM3,000 (United Nations Country Team, 2011). The government has also offered fiscal

incentives in terms of a 10% corporation tax exemption to encourage employers, especially

those in the private sector, to set up their own childcare centers.

Despite these initiatives, the response from employers has apparently been very slow.

In 2012, the number of registered childcare centers stands at 1,962 (The Malaysian Insider,

2013). Of 92 registered childcare centers in the workplace, only 21 were run by the private

sector. The rest were managed by the government indicating the lack of support from private

sector organizations compared to government ones (New Straits Times, 2012).

The lack of support from employers to provide for childcare facilities deserves further

discussion. Research has established various benefits of providing high-quality onsite or near-

22

site childcare facilities for employers, employees, and children. These include improvement

of workers’ productivity, reduction of absenteeism and tardiness, higher employee morale

and commitment, as well as lower training and recruitment costs (Smith, Fairchild, &

Groginsky, 1997; U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1998). Despite these documented

benefits, employers, public and private alike, still lack an understanding of the value of

employer-supported childcare. It is likely that this hesitation has been, in most cases, due to

the cost implication of the process that is assumed to reduce the companies’ financial

standing. Employers may also face other challenges in providing these facilities such as lack

of space and a limited number of professional childcare operators, which, in turn, would add

further costs to the business. Cultural norms regarding the roles of men and women that

govern workplace structure (as previously discussed) are also to blame.

iii. Parental leave policies

Parental leave policies are the third category of workplace initiatives directed at

supporting employed Malaysian women and their families. Under the Employment Act

(Section 37), women in the public sector are allowed to take up a minimum of 60 days

maternity leave with pay for up to five surviving children. More recently, a 90-day maternity

leave was introduced (Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 14, Tahun 2010). Meanwhile,

female employees in the private sector are entitled to 60 consecutive days of maternity leave

with pay.

Three other policies for civil servants were promulgated in 2003, 2007, and 2009. The

first of these was the paid paternity leave, which gave working fathers the right to extend

time off from three to seven days to help share the responsibility of caring for their babies

after birth. In 2007, a policy that allows working mothers to take unpaid leave for up to five

years (for up to a maximum of five children) to take care of their children was introduced

(Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 15, Tahun 2007). Women workers are also allowed to

23

apply for a period of up to three years of unpaid leave to accompany a spouse on an overseas

posting (Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 29, Tahun 2009). This provision is in place to

ensure that families can stay together.

Although these leave policies are available for civil servants, the same does not apply

for other types of employees. For example, the benefits of the paid paternity leave are only

for government employees and not for workers in the private sector. Because the latter sector

does not include provisions for paternity leave, a majority of male workers utilize their

annual or unpaid leave or even sick leave at the birth of their children. Similarly, only very

few, if any of the private sector organizations offer the 90-day maternity leave. Women in

these organizations who may want or have to take an extended maternity leave are more

likely to take unpaid leave. However, taking this latter type of leave has the unintended

consequence of potentially disadvantaging women’s overall position in the organization.

Studies have found that women who took lengthy maternity leave are at a greater risk of

losing their job, pay raise, and work experience, as well as opportunity for promotion (Curtis,

Hirsch, & Schroeder, 2002; Lyness, Thompson, Francesco, & Judiesch, 1999) than women

who have taken shorter leaves.

Parental leave policy is a topic that most employers are reluctant to take up because of

the general organization’s aversion to the additional costs that it represents. One such cost is

the continued maternity benefits, including health insurance coverage by employers for

mothers on leave. Estimates show Malaysian employers spent about RM1.57 billion annually

in providing the 60-day maternity leave to its female employees and the total cost could

increase up to RM 2 billion if the 90-day maternity leave is adopted (Malaysian Employers

Federation, 2010). The private sector has also claimed that the creation of an additional paid

maternity leave would jeopardize companies’ operations and burden employers. Many of

them are unwilling to pay the full monthly wages during the entire 90-day leave. Employers

24

will also have to factor in the cost of hiring temporary workers or paying overtime to another

employee in order to cover the work of the person who goes on maternity leave. However,

this might not be the case if the maternity benefits are jointly offered and financially

supported by the employers, the government, and/or social security, similar to that

implemented in other countries such as Singapore, Thailand, India, and Laos.

Reframing work-family issue

Currently, as many as 2.3 million Malaysian women within the working age group of

15-64 are “absent” from the labor market (Lewis, 2012), making their labor force

participation the lowest among ASEAN countries and below the expected level given the

country’s level of development (Malaysia Economic Monitor, 2012). Though there are

policies and workplace initiatives in place, they have not been successful in persuading more

women into the labor market. How can this issue be reconciled?

While work-family policies are meant to enable women to remain economically

active during the childbearing years, research has shown that cultural norms regarding

gender, work, and family play a significant role in the formulation, institutionalization, and

efficacy of these policies (Kremer, 2006; Budig, Misra & Boeckmann, 2012). For example,

Budig, Misra and Boeckmann (2012), comparing data from 22 countries, showed that work-

family policies (parental leaves and public-funded childcare) and cultural attitudes (family

values such as support for the male breadwinner/female caregiver model, and beliefs that

children and family life suffer when a mother works for pay) combined interactively to

influence women’s earnings, such that these policies are associated with higher earnings for

mothers when cultural support for maternal employment is high, but have less positive or

even negative relationships with earnings where cultural attitudes support the male

breadwinner/female caregiver model. These results imply that culture amplifies the

relationships between the policies and maternal earnings.

25

Because the gendered nature of work and family is still strong in Malaysia, an

alternative way for the government to encourage more women into the labor force is to make

work-family issues as societal issues, rather than as individual problems to be handled by the

individual woman and her family. In doing so, husband and wife as well as the workplace and

the larger society will have to take some responsibility for the well-being of the family. In

addition, the different groups in Malaysia are collectivist in nature, thus, establishing public

policies that create systemic support for the families would reflect this view and intuitively,

would be more easily endorsed. For example, in Scandinavian countries, the state directly

intervenes to support women’s labor force participation by providing them with public-

funded childcare, maternity and parental leaves and other leave schemes (see Datta Gupta,

Smith & Verner, 2008; Mandel & Semyonov, 2005). The state recognized the needs of dual-

earner families and they have transferred the major parts of care from the home to the public

sector. As such, in these countries, women’s labor force participation rate is extremely high

(between 80%-86%, Datta Gupta, Smith & Verner, 2008).

If the government is serious in increasing and maintaining women in the labor force,

then more should be done. It has given women the opportunities to education and

employment; now it needs to go a step further by mandating organizations to provide support

for policies that can facilitate women (and men) to balance their work and family lives. At

present, the private sector is excluded from having formal policies on flexible work

arrangements, childcare, and parental leave. Because these workplace initiatives are non-

compulsory, only a few private companies provide childcare centers at their workplaces or

offer the work-from-home option to their employees (Ministry of Women, Family and

Community Development, Malaysia, 2009; Subramaniam & Silvaratnam, 2010).

In addition, what is greatly needed is a “cultural policy” that creates new social norms

promoting equality for men and women. This seems daunting at present. Malaysian society is

26

still traditional and religious. As shown by studies in the West, development of family

policies has strongly been influenced by the strength of the political parties—religious and

secular (Korpi, Ferrarini & Englund, 2013). Catholic parties have been shown to be averse to

polices increasing women’s paid work while secular center-right parties have avoided

extending claim rights (securing material support like cash and services from public

authorities) to facilitate women’s advancement. The left parties, in contrast, have supported

family policies and have extended citizen’s claim rights by transferring social care as paid

work into the public sector (Korpi, Ferrarini & Englund, 2013). The left-parties are reflected

by Scandinavian countries, in contrast to other countries in Continental Europe that have been

more influenced by Catholic parties which have pressed for more traditional family policies.

Thus, understanding the political set-up of a country can predict its take on the kinds and

extent of family policies. In the case of Malaysia, based on its traditional cultural sentiments

and politics, it would indeed be difficult to meet the country’s projected 55% target of female

labor force participation by 2015 (Tenth Malaysia Plan, 2011-2015), unless there is

aggressive support for policy implementation.

Besides the socio-cultural and political obstacles to implementing work-family

policies, many employees also perceive these policies to be unfair. For example, while

employed parents with young children often identify maternity and paternity leave as being

important, this arrangement is less crucial for those with older children, and even irrelevant

for the childless. In addition, those who take up these work-life balance arrangements are

mostly women. In fact, James (2011) showed that the work-life requirements vary not only

within gender by job function, department, and household situation but also for individual

employees over the life course. In other words, different home and work needs of men and

women imply that policies suitable for one group of employees at one point in time may have

little or no effect for another group. Thus, to make these policies more acceptable to all, there

27

is a need to go beyond gender and family needs, to include other forms of diversity, family

configurations, and socio-historical contexts.

To do so, Özbilgin et al. (2010) have suggested using an intersectionality approach to

better capture the changing realities of the family and workforce. Intersectionality goes

beyond the individual-level analysis to consider patterns of interactions between different

aspects of power and inequalities within categories of individuals (see also McCall &Orloff

2005). Put another way, by going beyond the usual individual-level analysis to include other

intersections in life—social, economic and culture—it is better able to capture the complex,

multifaceted reality of men and women’s lives. Using this approach, Korpi, Ferrarini and

Englund (2013) examine socioeconomic class and different types of family policies on

gender inequalities in terms of agency and economic inequality in 18 OECD (Organization

for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. The results indicated that in

countries with well-developed policies supporting women’s employment and work-family

reconciliation, there are no major negative family policy effects for women with tertiary

education. But, family policies clearly differ in the extent to which they improve

opportunities for women without university education. The results imply that an

understanding of the relationship between “individual-level characteristics and national-level

conditions that influence gender inequalities in economic outcomes” (Pettit & Hook, 2009, p.

175) is most pertinent. Thus, this intersectional approach can take into account the interplay

between gender, class and the wider socio-cultural context.

Future Research Directions

Research has addressed some of the issues related to work, family, and women's well-

being, but other gaps remain. For one, although there has been an increased focus on the

effects of multiple role experiences on women's well-being, some of the changing realities of

the family and the workforce have not been adequately addressed. This chapter has

28

highlighted that women’s labor force participation rate in Malaysia is low despite significant

improvements in education. While it is possible that the reason for the dropout is attributable

to the traditional gender divisions of labor and unsupportive organizational culture, the exact

explanation for such a situation in Malaysia remains a subject of speculative debate. The

identification of factors that can inform and explain why Malaysian women are more likely to

leave work after childbirth should stimulate future research and subsequent policy changes to

improve their work-life balance. It would also be useful to explore the coping strategies of

women who remained in the work force and compare these with those who have opted out

after childbirth, again in the hope of informing policy changes.

While work-life balance initiatives have not been totally ignored by employers,

neither has much progress been made on them. Work-life balance policies and initiatives are

meant to facilitate a more equal gender division of household caring, and to improve the well-

being of workers and their families, but employers are not likely to implement them if the

economic advantages of doing so are not presented. Thus, research examining what kinds of

work-life initiatives work, for which group of employees and in what kinds of job sector,

would be most beneficial before designing and implementing these initiatives.

Studies on the implications of mandating both public and private sectors to institute

work-life balance policies would also be welcomed. Equally important would be research to

evaluate the effectiveness of the present work-life balance initiatives.

Comparative research on men’s participation in childcare and housework remains

another important gap. In Malaysia, hardly any attention has been paid to men’s domestic

lives, their experiences as well as expectations. Another key challenge would be to design

studies of husband-wife dyads with the aim of effecting a policy change so that equal

caretaking and shared responsibilities are regarded as gender issues, affecting both men and

women alike. Studies that identify possible interventions targeted at reducing over-

29

commitment to work in men and lessening family caregiving responsibility among women

would pave the way for broader women's participation in employment and increased men’s

commitment to caregiving (Garcia, 2012).

Further studies that explore the feasibility of incorporating a cultural policy that

emphasizes gender equality and aims at changing both men and the androcentric culture are

needed. But more work is required before the nature of such a policy can be clarified. Thus,

an analysis of the socio-cultural, historical, political, economic and personal context could

increase our knowledge and understanding of the obstacles to the full development and

effective implementation of the policy.

This last point relates to the intersectionality approach that goes beyond the usual

individual-level analysis to take into account of the power dynamics that shape work-life

issues in contemporary workplaces (Özbilgin et al., 2010). The current work-life literature

has failed to go beyond the individual level analysis to consider other domains of life (besides

the traditional nuclear family) and strands of diversity (besides gender) and their intersection

with historical and structural power relations at societal and organizational levels. In

Malaysia, the ethnic groups are different with differing power relations, thus, examining the

antecedents, correlates and consequences of work–life issues of each group would provide

some insight into the role played by structural and institutional conditions.

Finally, future research should utilize more qualitative studies on the lived

experiences of men and women within their multiple roles and more precise measurements

(e.g., time diaries and husband-wife dyad data) to gain better insight into their lives.

Conclusion

At the moment, the more pressing issues for working families are shared family

responsibilities, spousal support, and consistent, affordable, and dependable childcare.

Consequently, there is an urgent need to change the male-breadwinner/female-caregiver

30

model to one of “shared family responsibilities.” Due to the gendered nature of work and

family within the Malaysian context, a number of recommendations were posited, including

treating work-family issues as social issues rather than as personal problems, mandating both

public and private sectors to institute family-friendly workplace policies and support for these

policy implementations, moving beyond domestic boundaries to take into account of other

forms of diversity such as different groups of people (i.e., race, age, class, etc.), changing

family structure and household configurations, as well as the understanding of men’s

experience in their fathering and caretaking roles. In addition, there is a need to recognize the

different life courses of women and men and to see how best they can negotiate the different

aspects of life within the existing socio-cultural context.

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Author biographies

Noraini M. Noor is Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of the Women for Progress

Research Unit at the International Islamic University Malaysia. A social/health psychologist

by training, she conducts research in women’s work and family roles in relation to well-

being, individual differences, work stress and family-friendly workplace policies as well as

peace psychology issues of ethnic relations. She has just completed a consultancy project for

the National Population and Family Planning Board of Malaysia to develop indicators and an

index of family well-being.

Nor Diana Mohd Mahudin is a lecturer at the Department of Psychology at the International

Islamic University Malaysia. She was trained in ergonomics (human factors) at

Loughborough University and, later, applied psychology at the University of Nottingham,

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and her current research interests and publications are in the areas of public transport

crowding, commuting stress and travel behavior.