MUKAH: Sarawak women continue to outperform men in education but still trail far behind in political participation and economic involvement, according to the Women Empowerment Statistics 2024 by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
As such, Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said that the report recorded women education score at 1.065, reflecting encouraging progress in that domain.
“However, women still lag far behind men in political participation and economic involvement, with scores of around 0.052 and 0.696 respectively.”
Fatimah said this when officiating the closing ceremony of the Leadership Bootcamp for Youth 2025 (Mukah Division) on Monday (Oct 27).
According to her, recognising the significant gaps in those two domains, the Ministry through the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS) has designed and implemented various initiatives to narrow the disparity.
“Each year, the women’s leadership programme module is strengthened and improved to align with current developments, which demand women to be more active, competitive, and effective leaders.”
Fatimah also emphasised that women leaders in Sarawak must move in tandem with the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030) to ensure inclusive, equitable, and sustainable state development.
To further strengthen women’s leadership potential, she said JWKS continues to form strategic collaborations with various agencies.
“Most recently, in conjunction with the Sarawak Women’s Day 2025 celebration, the Premier of Sarawak approved postgraduate study funding for qualified women at the Asean Women’s Leadership University College (AWLUC).
“This move reflects the state government’s commitment to developing the leadership potential of Sarawak women.”
