By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Sept 7: Women’s participation in the workforce, especially in the informal sector, cannot be taken for granted, says Deputy State Secretary (Performance and Service Delivery Transformation) Datu Dr Sabariah Putit.
She said the general concept of a workforce should be rethought to include and acknowledge the roles played by women to contribute to a country’s socio-economic status.
“Because many women now may become (child) bearers, so they would rather work at home. And working from home is often not considered as part of the workforce because it falls under the informal sector.
“One could be a millionaire (working from home), but she is not acknowledged as part of the workforce, because it’s the informal sector,” she said.
Sabariah also pointed out the importance of acknowledging women’s participation in the workforce in terms of government policies, especially in Asia.
She said Asians specifically have had the mindset for generations of a woman having to walk behind a man.
“But I hope we (women and men) can walk side by side,” she said during the book launch of “Rethinking Asia #8: Women’s Leadership Retold–What to Keep, What to Leave Behind and What to Build” at Tegas Digital Village (TDV) here today.
Centre for Asia Leadership (CAL) founder and president Samuel Hungsoo Kim is one of 10 authors contributing to this book about women’s leadership, which is the eighth book in a 10-book series.
Also present at the book launch event was Sunway College Kuching director Joseph Lim. — DayakDaily
