By Afix Redzuan
AYER KEROH, Dec 6 — The PKR women’s wing had urged the Federal government to address the gender wage gap and to put a stop on gender discrimination.
Its women’s chief Haniza Mohamed Talha said the salary gap between male and female employees have to be closed as women in the labour force also need stable wage.
She said closing the gender wage gap should be done along with providing a support system at the workplace such as having a daycare centre or lactation room.
“We need to demand equal pay as to our male counterparts in the labour force.
“Therefore Wanita Keadilan urge the Federal government to put a stop to this gender discrimination by closing the gender wage gap.
“We also call for both the public and private sectors to provide the support system for women at work to encourage more women to participate in the workforce,” said Haniza in her keynote address at the PKR Women’s Congress held at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) here today.
She said at present, women’s participation in the workforce is at 55 per cent and have yet to reach the 60 per cent target, in comparison to the 80 per cent male employees as stated in the Budget 2020.
Meanwhile, Haniza had also called for the Federal administration to speed up the process in drafting the Sexual Harassment Act, as harassment in the workplace is one of the challenges faced by women.
“At present, the existing laws only focus on ethical code as well as rules and regulations but we have yet to have a specific law to address sexual harassment,” she said.
