Resident Coordinator's speech: UN Women's 2021 Malaysia WEPs Awards

Good morning.

It is truly a privilege to be here today alongside

His Excellency Michalis Rokas, Ambassador of the European Union to Malaysia,

Ms. Sarah Knibbs, Officer in charge of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,

The colleagues from LeadWomen, and other partner organizations and participants.

On behalf of the United Nations in Malaysia, I welcome you to this first national celebration of the WEPs Awards.

We are gathered today to honor efforts to advance gender equality in Malaysia, and doing so in the wake of a global pandemic carries even more significance.

Women’s economic empowerment has been a standing challenge for years.  Today it still faces significant barriers on many fronts. The 2020 data tell us some hard truths.

Women performed on average 4.6 hours of unpaid care work per day compared to 1.4 hours per day for men.

Only 51% of women participated in the labor force in contrast to 78% of men.

And less than 25% of women were in management positions.

Almost two years into the pandemic, gender inequality seems to have widened further and women continue to be impacted more severely than men.

Globally, many of the hardest hit industries have a high concentration of female workers; the tourism sector for instance.

Women entrepreneurs are also struggling, as SMEs have been impacted harder than large corporates. And we all know that women-owned businesses typically have less access to finance and credit.

And for women workers at all levels and sectors, the increased burden of unpaid care work, including support to children homeschooling as well as caring for older people, still falls largely on their shoulders and has led to significant drop out of the labor force.

Malaysia has witnessed similar trends.

In 2020, Malaysia ranked 104th out of 149 countries in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report, losing four ranks from 2018.

2021 registered another drop to the 112th position among 156 countries.

In terms of Economic Participation and Opportunity, Malaysia now ranks 104th, the lowest among ASEAN member States.

The status of women is a barometer of a country’s prosperity. As the world comes out of this global crisis and charts its way towards sustainable recovery, we must do better to realize women’s full potential.

We cannot afford inaction; some barriers need to be tackled now.

We need empowering partnerships, bold commitments, and a common vision and practical solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda by 2030.

We must reaffirm our collective responsibility to accelerate action on SDG 5 and all SDGs and remove the structural barriers to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

As the United Nations in Malaysia, we are committed to the Decade of Action and will spare no efforts to bring all stakeholders on board, encourage collaboration and partnership, and advocate gender-responsive approaches that enhance inclusiveness and help realize Malaysia’s aspirations as set out in the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Transformative change is unlocked through multi-sector collaboration, and we recognize that the private sector has a unique role and responsibility in driving transformation.

Echoing His Excellency Rokas’ determination, advancing gender equality is fundamental to breaking the barriers facing women’s full social, economic and political participation.

We are indeed proud to work with WeEmpowerAsia, UN Women’s flagship programme for women’s economic empowerment, implemented in partnership with the European Union, to drive gender equality and advocate for increased commitment to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Designed to provide businesses with a roadmap to achieve women’s empowerment across their entire value chain, the WEPs is a powerful framework for businesses of all sizes and sectors to achieve inclusive, sustainable development while also boosting their productivity, growth and innovation.

Our joint work with UN Women and LeadWomen to raise awareness and mobilize both the private and public sector to recognize the transformative potential of the WEPs is yielding promising results.

I am thrilled to see how quickly the WEPs community in Malaysia has grown. It is a proof that we can go faster and farther together.

With signatories including youth-led startups, SMEs, multi-national corporates, Stock Exchanges, and Universities, strong alliances are shaping up, spanning the business landscape and beyond. 

Your presence today is a reaffirmation that Malaysian businesses are stepping up to lead a gender-inclusive recovery.

As we launch the Awards Ceremony, I want to extend our sincere appreciation to all candidates and our congratulations to all the awardees.

I am honoured to celebrate with you all the businesses you represent and lead in an effort to drive change and create a more equitable and resilient future.

Thank you.