Group rues shortage of women ministers

The poor female representation in the cabinet points to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s failure to fulfil his promise to increase the number of women in decision-making positions, according to a coalition of NGOs fighting for gender equality.

In a media statement released today, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) noted that the promise was included in the Barisan Nasional manifesto for the 13th general election.

It said Najib, in failing to appoint an appropriate number of women to the cabinet, had blown his first opportunity to fulfil the election pledge.

“His failure to do so reflects his priorities or lack thereof,” it added.

JAG congratulated the seven women appointed as ministers and deputy ministers, but emphasised its disappointment with the “marginal presence of women” in the new cabinet.

“Out of the 35 full ministerial positions, only two—or 5.7%—have been filled by women,” the statement said.

“This falls far short of the government’s own target of women comprising at least 30% of decision-making positions.”

JAG noted that women had always been scarce in Najib’s cabinets.

“In each of the 2009, 2010, and now 2013 cabinets, there have only been two women ministers, with this number dropping to one briefly when the Prime Minister appointed himself placeholder Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development,” it said.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) executive director Ivy Josiah said the cabinet composition should reflect the fact that women made up half of the Malaysian population. “5.7% is definitely a long way from 50%,” she said in an interview with FMT.

The JAG statement said it was necessary to have more women in the cabinet in order to ensure that “the diversity of issues important to women do not remain sidelined.

The presence of more women could also help improve governance, it added.

“There is evidence that women political leaders support policies that benefit the public more than do their male counterparts,” it said.

“Moreover, gender-balanced teams are collectively smarter and make better decisions than predominantly male teams. All Malaysians will benefit, not just women.”

It also said the scarcity of women on the top table of politics mirrored the situation in many other areas of public life.

“The Prime Minister will be hard pressed trying to convince the public and private sectors on the importance of meeting the minimum 30% target of women in decision-making positions when he himself is unable to walk the talk,” it said.

JAG’s members are Sisters in Islam, Women’s Aid Organisation, All Women’s Action Society, Perak Women for Women Society, Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER), Women’s Centre for Change and Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (SAWO). -FMT