Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s (DSAI) administration has five ministers and eight deputies who are women, making up 23.6 percent of the total line up of 28 ministers and 27 deputy ministers, but it is still far from the 30 percent quota for female leaders.

Under the previous administrations, in the Najib government women leaders made up 13.8 percent, of the 38 ministers and 34 deputies, while in Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan government of 28 ministers and 27 deputies, only 16.4 percent were women.

In the case of Muyiddin Yassin’s and Ismail Sabri’s governments, the gender bias was more obvious since both these administrations had 32 ministers and 38 deputies, of which women made up a mere 12.9 percent.

University Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Research on Women and Gender (Kanita) stated that the 23.6 percent component of women leaders in Anwar’s administration was a timely move in the right direction.

However, Kanita stated that there was still room for DSAI to increase the participation of women by appointing more women as senators and decision makers in parliamentary committees as well as playing top roles in Government Linked Companies or GLC’s.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri stated that a mechanism was needed to fulfill the minimum 30 percent women’s participation in the Cabinet and it was actually up to political parties to take the initiative to achieve this target.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE