Female workers’ salary rate lower than men – DOSM

SHAH ALAM - The salary rate of female workers in this country is lower than that of men according to the Malaysian Gender Gap Index (MGGI) 2022 report issued by the Statistics Department (DOSM).

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said female workers received a salary of RM66.67 for every RM100 salary received by male workers through the Opportunities and Economic Participation sub-index.

He said that the total estimated income earned by female workers through the census was only RM42,080 per year while men earned RM63,117 per year.

"However, for the Educational Achievement sub-index, women have exceeded men with a score of 1.067, enrollment rates at primary and secondary levels for women are consistently higher than men.

"In 2022, the gross enrollment rate for female at the primary and secondary levels will be 98.8 percent and 94.9 per cent respectively.

"At the tertiary level, women recorded 49.5 per cent more than men (33.2 per cent), this achievement shows the country's commitment to providing access to high quality education," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

DOSM released the publication of Statistics on Women's Empowerment in Selected Domains Malaysia 2023 which is the sixth series since 2017.

The census report details gender-related statistics in the country for 2020 to 2022 by focusing on a core set of gender indicators covering eleven domains based on the latest data from various agencies.

Uzir said MGGI in 2022 showed an average score of 0.694, or 69.4 per cent which is an increase of 0.2 points compared to 69.2 percent in 2021.

Meanwhile, he added, the average female life expectancy at birth in this country is about 76.4 years, longer than five decades ago which was 65.6 years (1970) through the Health and Life sub-index.

He said that the Political Dominance sub-index, it recorded the lowest score of 10.2 per cent, which showed that there was potential for increasing the representation and empowerment of women in the political field.

"It is estimated that 15.7 million Malaysians are women out of a total of 32.7 million in 2022.

"The average salary and monthly wages for female workers continues to increase to RM3,140 in 2022 (RM2,968 in 2021).

"Malaysia is always dedicated to achieving gender equality and promoting the rights of women and girls, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12)," he said.