THE percentage of Malaysian women employed in the workforce is worryingly low. Government data shows that only one in two Malaysian women, or 52.4% of them, are employed. Although women participation has been on the uptrend, from 45.7% in 2008 to 52.4% in 2013,  the Malaysian workforce is far from being diverse and is amongst the lowest rates in the Asean region. What’s more, male participation in the workforce stands at 80.7% in 2013, according to government data.
To boost the number of women in the workforce and raise the figure to 55% by the end of the year, the government is offering tax incentives to companies that establish nurseries and allow flexible work arrangements to encourage more women to resume their careers.

Teresa Carroll, senior vice-president of Centers of Excellence and general manager at outsourcing ad consulting firm KellyOCG, believes that education and upbringing plays a big part in changing mindsets.
“A lot of it has to do with upbringing,” Carroll says, in regard to the low figure.

“Girls that are brought up or grew up in households where their mothers were educated and had careers are more likely to follow suit,” she adds, noting that times have changed.
She scoffs at the notion that mothers are “expected” to leave their careers to be a full-time parent.

In this time and age, technology allows employees to work from anywhere, and more companies are realising that their workers no longer need to be physically present in the office.
“Thus, working from home is now an option available to many,” Carroll says, adding that her children were sent to day care as infants while she was at work.
The mother of two also points out that more people are now choosing to be entrepreneurs or “their own bosses”, versus having a nine-to-five job.

‘It all starts with education’
Work experience is fundamental in getting an edge in the workplace, and getting an education is the first step.
At 18, when her sisters were getting married and starting their families, Carroll enrolled in a co-operative university, which allowed her to work and fund her studies at the same time. There, she earned a bachelor in engineering while she worked in a company you might have heard of — General Motors.

“One of the biggest struggles I faced at the time was trying to figure out how to fit in while still staying true to myself in a job that was mostly male-dominated,” she reveals.

Carroll faced discrimination of all sorts, including unequal pay, disrespect and being talked down to. “[It was] everything you pictured happening in the 1980s.”

It’s not fair to expect to be a highly paid female without the necessary skills — having the skill and knowledge that companies need is the fastest and best way to get a leg-up in your career, says Carroll.

“It has been proven that women are deficient in things such as networking and financial skills but there are many other things that women are traditionally better at, such as team building and driving a project.

“Hence, there should be no reason for a company to not hire a perfectly qualified individual — regardless of the person’s gender. But you need to be skilled and knowledgeable first.”

Advice to women in the workplace
Should a woman who is striving for equal opportunity in the workplace be labelled a feminist?

“I don’t like that word,” Carroll laughs. “Feminism takes different forms and while it’s apparent in all countries, it’s often perceived as a bad thing by many people.”

She maintains that she’s all for women being strong and inspiring their children while contributing their skills to the workplace, but there shouldn’t be a label to it.

“Here’s the advice I gave my daughter — figure out what you love and want to do, and get involved in as many organisations and projects tied to that as you can.

“In those projects, be the leader and run the project because that will give you the confidence you need and it will also get people to recognise you.”

As for those who are facing difficulties in their careers, Carroll says: “Don’t compare yourself to others because you’ll always be disappointed. If something isn’t working for you in this environment, find another environment.”

This article first appeared in #edGY, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on April 6-12, 2015

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