International Women’s Day Forum 2024: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress in Malaysia

YB Dato' Sri Hajah Nancy Binti Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

YB Senator Tuan Isaiah D. Jacob, Member of the Dewan Negara

Your Excellency Ailsa Terry, British High Commissioner to Malaysia

Your Excellency Ary Norton de Murat Quintella, Ambassador of Brazil to Malaysia 

YBhg. Prof. Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, President, National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO)

Dr. Asa Torkelsson, Representative for Malaysia, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Professor Sanjay Sarma, Chief Executive Officer, President and Dean, Asia School of Business

Honorable Members of Parliament, Representatives of Government

Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Colleagues, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is an immense privilege for me and for the United Nations in Malaysia to co-host today’s forum. 

Before I share a few reflections on the occasion of the international women’s day, please allow me to extend our sincere appreciation to the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur, the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia, the Embassy of Brazil in Kuala Lumpur. 

We are grateful to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, represented today by YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri. Thank you for joining today’s forum and for your continued engagement with the UN family in Malaysia.

I am equally grateful to the Asia School of Business for and hope our collaboration will continue to flourish.

A warm welcome to our panelists, moderators, and to this impressive audience who answered our call to celebrate together women’s achievements and contributions, reflect on the difficult journey towards gender equality, and reignite the momentum for action, solidarity, and catalytic change.

In March, women's voices resonate louder than ever, echoing tales of progress, challenges, and hope. As we delve into statistics, trends, and personal narratives, we yearn for signs of advancement toward gender equality, towards a future that is more inclusive and more equitable.

Globally, the situation is quite alarming. Hard-fought gains are being rolled back, and the world risks losing decades of progress. There is an undeniable resistance to women's rights, fueled by a surge in misogyny and conservative ideologies. 

Three decades after the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), discrimination persists. Deep-rooted societal norms, cultural attitudes, and systemic biases perpetuate inequalities, obstructing meaningful progress. Gender parity is now 131 years away; full legal equality is some 300 years away. 

Our journey has been fraught with barriers and complexities, triggering anger and frustration but mostly strengthening women’s resilience and determination. 

In a world plagued by crises, the imperative of achieving gender equality cannot be overstated. Harnessing the potential of women not only fosters societal resilience to various shocks—economic, climate-related, conflict-induced, and beyond—but is also essential for sustainable development and progress.

Today, we will explore the theme “Invest in Women” and its resonance in Malaysia, not merely as yet another catchy slogan, but as a strategic imperative to rise to the challenge and deliver on the country’s ambitions, notably Ekonomi Madani’s strategic aim to reduce socio-economic inequality, ensure equal rights to work, and promote women’s participation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

According to the UN’s most recent SDG gender snapshot report 2023, achieving gender equality by 2030 faces a daunting challenge: a staggering $360 billion annual shortfall in funding. But investing in women is not just about mobilizing financial resources; it is about cultivating an environment where women can thrive and contribute fully to society. 

Fundamentally, it means recognizing the inherent value of women's participation in all aspects of life and the economy.

Investment must transcend mere economic transactions. For instance, building a responsive, adaptable and resilient care economy, an essential factor in boosting female labour participation, entails significant financial costs, but it also requires a legal ecosystem and societal infrastructure that safeguard women's rights. 

Reaping the dividends of such investments requires that women are protected against gender-based discrimination, are empowered, given equal opportunities, guaranteed equal pay for equal work and provided access to affordable care.

For Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country aiming for high-income status within this decade, closing the gender gap is pivotal for hitting national targets and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

A quick review of Malaysia’s progress through the lens of SDG5 (Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls) reveals a concerning situation at midpoint to 2030.

Using the latest official data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, several targets are assessed to be off-track, including those related to discrimination (5.1), violence against women and girls (5.2), and harmful practices (5.3). Progress on participation in leadership and decision-making (5.5) is too slow. 

Targets which seem to be on track include access to reproductive health and rights and empowerment through technology. Two targets lack sufficient indicator data, namely on valuing unpaid care work and on equal rights to economic resources, property ownership and financial services.

Across other SDGs, we note significant achievements in social protection, health, education, training, nutrition, but there is evidence of gaping inequalities with a direct impact on poverty, life expectancy, and vulnerability to environmental degradation and climate change.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Achieving progress on the SDGs, improving Malaysia’s ranking on HDI, WEF Global Gender Gap or other indexes requires smart investments with a high return and concerted efforts across multiple fronts. 

Malaysia is way beyond an “either, or” approach. Transformative change requires a collective sense of urgency, strong political will, financing and effective partnerships. 

Patriarchal norms and biases surrounding women's roles in the workforce, and in society in general, have perpetuated an unproductive and unsustainable cycle restricting women’s autonomy, agency and overall well-being. 

With gender equality and women’s empowerment as a key component of our Cooperation Framework, we will continue to support whole of government whole of society efforts to break the cycle of inequality and pave the way for a brighter, more equitable future for women and girls, men and boys, for generations to come.

Thank you and Happy International Women’s Day.