Rebecca, who was secretary-general of the ministry of international trade and industry from 2010 to 2016, said this would be in keeping with the nation’s efforts to ensure more women were in a position of power.

Rebecca told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) on the sidelines of Eco World’s Women Summit 2018 yesterday: “There are no policies in place to facilitate the re-entry of women, particularly in the public sector, once they have resigned or taken some leave of absence from employment.”

She is now Eco World International Bhd non-executive independent director and also the chairman of the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs.

“I think there’s a need to relook the policy to encourage more female participation back into the service,” TMR quoted her as saying.

Rebecca urged more women and policymakers to engage in dialogue and to conduct feasibility studies on this.

“I think if this needs to be done, there are a few places where it can happen, such as the human resources ministry, the Economic Planning Unit, or even in the ministry of women, family and community development.”

“It is vital to have consultations in the country, whether we want to compare what is happening in the private sector versus the public sector to see whether it makes economic sense.

“We need to understand why women are leaving their employments in the first place, as well as list out the potential outcomes should they return to work and how they can continue to contribute to the organisation,” she added.

She noted that most of the incentives announced in Budget 2018 regarding women only applied to the private sector and not public service.