More efforts to woo women to work: PM

Kuala Lumpur: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today gave the assurance that various efforts would continue to be taken to have more women in the job market in the country.
Although more than 60 per cent of tertiary students in the country were women, this was not reflected in the job market, he said, adding that this was a loss for the nation.
Only 46 per cent of the workforce were women because many of them opted to focus on managing the household, he said at the National Women's Day 2012 celebrations, here.
"It is a loss when we spend a great deal on women, send them for higher education in universities, and then they stop working," he said.
Also present at the event were Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Heng Saei Kie, Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa and wife of the deputy prime minister, Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman.
This year's National Women's Day carries the theme "Women Ignite the New Economy".   
The prime minister said Budget 2013 which he tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last Friday was women-friendly and he had outlined various incentives for women.
He said this was to help women balance their tri-functional role of mother, wife and worker.
The government measures included promoting the setting up of more nurseries at the workplace through tax rebate incentives and allocations, he said.
"In this matter, the Chief Secretary to the Government can help in ensuring that every ministry and government department has its own nursery," he said.
He also said that a pilot nursery for challenged children would also be established soon.
Najib, who is also acting women, family and community development minister, said Malaysia had proven to be more progressive than most countries, even the developed ones, in terms of championing and upholding the rights of women.
Citing the example of suffrage, he said some countries did not accord women equal right as men, but in Malaysia women had enjoyed the right all along from the time of independence.
As such, he said, in moving forward, the government would continue to implement programmes and training to empower women.
He also said that the government wanted to train more women to be decision makers at the level of the board of directors of companies.
So far, he said, 200 women had been trained to occupy this important position through a programme jointly organised by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and the Malaysian Directors' Academy. -- BERNAMA