Following a new policy that grants women longer paid maternity leave, more Chinese employers now favour hiring men, according to a survey released recently by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce (ACCCIM).
Based on its Business and Economic Conditions Survey, which measured sentiment regarding the impact of the amendments on operating costs, the new maternity leave policy was one of the main concerns Chinese business owners have about the amended Employment Act 2022.
“We observe that respondents have indicated a shift to a higher male-to-female ratio in their employment (41.3%) to mitigate against the impact of higher maternity leave,” the group told the press here.
“This does not bode well for encouraging women’s participation in the labor force and promoting gender equality,” they added.
More benefits for working moms – but at what cost?
Last year, the federal government overwhelmingly voted to extend paid maternity leave from 60 to 98 days, a move that was applauded by labor and women’s rights organizations but opposed by employers who claimed the policy would significantly raise their operating costs.
Aside from limiting working hours to a maximum of nine hours per day and extending labor law protection to employees paid up to RM4,000 per month, the raise was one of several significant revisions to the Employment Act.
According to the ACCCIM survey, employers’ concerns about the impact on costs were outweighed by increased maternity leave, with 44.9% citing it as the most important factor over other Act changes.
Understanding gender equality is crucial
Abinaya Mohan from Woman’s Aid Organisation said this move is unfortunate but also a key example of where government and business owners understanding of gender equality is crucial.
“As we are in Malaysia, businesses need clear guidelines on implementation as well as incentives to ease them into implementing the new maternity leave extension and to cover additional costs of sudden implementation,” she told Coconuts.
“Otherwise we fear backlash such as this that will set us back in terms of gender-equal workplaces and gender-based discrimination.”
On the other hand, she said agencies must also look into this as such practices are discriminatory based on gender and a violation of Article 8(2) of our Federal constitution – businesses must be made aware of this as well.
Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution states that there shall be no discrimination against citizens regardless of religion, race, descent, place of birth, or gender in any law.
“While the law is not gender discriminatory, the practice and implementation are, unfortunately, leading to this. We must have stricter consequences for businesses that practice this,” Abinaya added.
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