Anwar said the private sector must bear part of the responsibility for promoting gender equality in the workforce.

“Private sector companies, especially big companies and government-linked investment companies, should evaluate why the women participation rate in their highest ranks is low.

“The Cabinet will request for this matter to be given attention. We will look into the reports,” he said at the launch of the government’s celebration of Women’s Day 2025 at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.

Anwar said companies flagged with low female participation rates should not be forced to immediately hire women leaders to raise their participation rate, but should, however, have plans to remedy the situation.

He said the government has taken steps to increase the number of female leaders in the public sector, and he had urged the chief secretary to find ways to uplift female staff according to their capability.

“We didn’t hire them just because they are women. To ensure fairness, we selected them based on their excellent track record. They should not be left out because they happen to be women,” he said.

Anwar said as national policies are geared towards digital transformation, women should also be given training opportunities in the relevant fields.

He said the government must ensure that women are taking part in technical and vocational education and training colleges, university courses and company training programmes.

“We will monitor this and give the women, family and community development ministry space to work with other ministries so we can be more inclusive of women,” he said.

Anwar also said Malaysia continues to face challenges in increasing female political participation, as female MPs only make up 14% in Parliament, far below the 30% target rate.

He said more effort is needed to ensure women have a political platform to express their demands.

“Women can also demand that their party leaders ensure opportunities for women as a condition for support,” he said.