Yeo, who is DAP national assistant publicity secretary, said Malaysia’s female labour force participation rate was only 54%, one of the lowest in Southeast Asia.
She said this was despite women becoming better educated, with more women than men enrolling for tertiary education in 2015.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, Yeo said, increasing the female labour force participation rate in Malaysia to 70% would boost the country’s gross domestic product by 2.9%.
“In addition, a study of US Fortune 500 companies by Catalyst has shown that having three or more women as members of the board of directors correlates strongly with above-average returns on shareholder equity, sales and invested capital.
“All in all, increasing women’s participation in the workforce is not counter-intuitive but good for businesses and the economy,” she said in a statement.
Yeo said she was not suggesting that women who chose to be housewives could not do so.
“However, the freedom to work must be made available to women in Malaysia.”
For starters, she said, affordable and quality childcare should be made available either at the workplace or near homes.
She also suggested that the government incentivise companies to offer flexible working hours, an effective women’s returning programme and a working environment that is friendly to pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers.
Women employees should also be protected by non-discriminatory sexual harassment laws, she said.
“With a more supportive system, more women will be able to choose to fulfil their potential in the workplace. This is the freedom to work that every Malaysian woman deserves.”