Women’s labor force participation in Malaysia: Does higher educational attainment make a difference?

Abstract

Despite various efforts, women's participation in the labor force remains significantly lower than men's, with over 80% of men globally engaged in the labor force compared to around 50% of women. Numerous initiatives at national, regional, and global levels aim to achieve gender parity across various aspects of life, including education and employment, which is a core objective of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) launched in 2015 and targeted for completion by 2030. While women have increasingly dominated tertiary education in several countries, including Malaysia, this progress has not translated into equivalent improvements in labor force participation. This paper investigates the mismatch between women's educational attainment and their participation in the labor force, seeking to answer the fundamental question: Does higher education for women make a difference? Data from sources such as the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Department of Statistics Malaysia were analyzed, alongside theories like human capital, the U-shape hypothesis, and signaling theory to conceptualize the education-labor force relationship. Findings indicate that the gross enrollment rate of women in Malaysia increased from 28% in 2000 to 46% in 2022, compared to 26% and 35% for men in the same years. Furthermore, labor force participation rates for those with tertiary education rose from 71.7% in 2013 to 82.6% in 2022 for men, and from 61.4% to 66.2% for women during the same period. These results demonstrate that although educational attainment has narrowed the gender gap in labor force participation, significant disparities persist. The findings emphasize the need for policymakers to address socio-economic, cultural, and demographic barriers that hinder educated women from fully participating in the labor force, especially in Malaysia and similar Muslim-majority countries.