KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Women in Malaysia have been urged to get into the workforce in a bid to empower themselves and live up to their potential of becoming and rising to anything they aspire and dream. 

United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Malaysia Michelle Gyles-McDonnough made the call for women, in particular young women in Malaysia, to rise to the occasion by doing something they cared about and to give the best of themselves in whatever their passion may lie in. 

“If there were one thing I would ask my 25-year-old self what could I have done more, the first thing I would say is to claim space and just do it...do something that you really care about and give the best of yourself while achieving it,” she said during a panel discussion hosted by the United States Ambassador to Asean Nina Hachigian on “Women Who Lead”, here today. 

Gyles-McDonnough, who calls herself a feminist, also said that there was a need for a new policy calling men to share equal amount of responsibilities at home. 

For the record, Malaysian women in the workforce is currently at 52 per cent in executive levels, 40 per cent at middle management, 27 per cent at top management and out of that, only five per cent in CEO positions.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) chief executive officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood believed that it was possible for women in the country to be highly empowered as the roles of women in an Asian society was slowly changing. 

“With more women in the workforce, it is achievable. One of the ways to achieve this is through the digital platform, that is through CrowdSurf Work (online hiring platform), which is very helpful for women to earn an income without having to work full-time,” said Yasmin. — Bernama