Offer tax cuts to encourage women into workforce, urges Wanita MCA

KUALA LUMPUR - Wanita MCA has urged the government to Implement tax cut initiative to encourage women into the workforce, said its chief

Wong You Fong.

She said the current female laboor force participation rate in Malaysia stands at a mere 56 percent, indicating the need for measures to address this issue.

"The government need to put in some effort to offer initiatives that encourage women's participation in the labour force by offering tax deduction to women who return to work.

"Tax cut should also be given to employers who are willing to implement a flexible time system for working mothers," she said during her speech at the Unity Government Women Convention at the World Trade Centre (WTC) on Sunday.

Commenting further, Wong said the government needs to ensure that the 30 per cent target of women's involvement in all sectors should be increased, including in business and commercial sectors.

"The government should commit to improving economy of women through entrepreneurship," she added.

Besides that, she said the representation and leadership roles of women across all sectors remain significantly lower compared to men.

"Currently, we only have 32 female MPs compared to 190 male MPs.

"Even the participation of women in key positions and board members in government-related companies or companies listed on Bursa Malaysia is still low," she said.

Wong said with the presence of political power, the spirit of unity within the government and the current political stability, the welfare and interests of the people can be safeguarded and upheld.