PUTRAJAYA, Dec 18 – The Malaysia Gender Gap Index (MGGI) scored 0.705, or 70.5 per cent in 2023, with a decrease of 0.4 percentage points as compared to 0.709 (70.9 per cent) in 2022, according to the Statistics on Women Empowerment in Selected Domains, Malaysia, 2024 report, which was released this afternoon.
The achievement of women surpassed men in the Educational Attainment sub-index with a score of 1.071 (107.1 per cent). Enrolment of girls/women has been consistently higher than boys/men in primary, secondary and tertiary levels since a decade ago.
In 2023, the gross enrolment rates for females in primary and secondary level were 99.5 per cent and 94.9 per cent, respectively. At tertiary level, women recorded 50.7 per cent enrolment as compared to men (33.8 per cent).
The Health and Survival sub-index recorded a score of 0.956 (95.6 per cent) in 2023. The average life expectancy for women at birth in Malaysia stands at 76.6 years, 11 years longer than five decades ago, which was 65.6 years in 1970.
It is estimated that 15.9 million (47.7 per cent) of Malaysia’s population are female out of a total of 33.4 million in 2023,” Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Malaysia’s chief statistician, said in a statement.
“There were 219,780 baby girls born out of a total of 455,761 live births in 2023.”
The Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index recorded a score of 0.698 (69.8 per cent).
The methodology for estimated earned income indicator within the Economic Participation and Opportunities sub-index has been revised using the ratio of females to males current salaries and wages. The report incorporates time series comparison using the revised methodology.
In terms of the labour force participation rate (LFPR), women recorded 56.2 per cent in 2023. However, the LFPR for female graduates in 2023 showed a higher percentage at 83.2 per cent.
Mean monthly salaries and wages for female graduates increase to RM4,683 in 2023 from RM4,435 in 2022.
Based on findings from the 2023 economic census, there were 219,015 women-owned establishments across all sectors in 2022, as compared to 187,265 establishments in 2015.
The Political Empowerment sub-index recorded the lowest score at 0.096 (9.6 per cent), as 16.1 per cent of women held ministerial positions in 2023.
There is an opportunity for advancing women’s leadership within the country’s political system, highlighting the significance of their participation in both the economy and education.
MGGI Scores By State
The report also presents MGGI scores by state for 2023. The top three states that recorded the highest MGGI score in 2023 were W.P. Kuala Lumpur (0.776), W.P. Putrajaya (0.773) and W.P. Labuan (0.756).
Seven other states that recorded MGGI above the national level were Kelantan (0.737), Negeri Sembilan (0.718), Melaka, Selangor and Sabah (0.715), Perak (0.711), and Kedah (0.707).
The Statistics on Women Empowerment in Selected Domains, Malaysia report presents statistics related to gender in Malaysia focusing on the core set of gender indicators covering eleven domains.
The statistics were prepared based on the latest available data from DOSM and various agencies.
It highlights the MGGI which identifies the gap between women and men across four sub-indices encompassing Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, as well as Political Empowerment.
A score with a value of 1.0 (100 per cent) indicates the equality of women and men has been achieved.
