Yeoh said coaching remains a male-dominated space in Asean, as women make up only 20% of sports coaches.

She said women face barriers such as bias, poor support and a lack of visible role models.

“To overcome the lack of quality women coaches, let’s introduce measures such as having a national registry of women coaches.

“These coaches must be given help at all levels to improve and grow,” she said in her opening remarks at the Asean Conference on Gender Equity in Sports here.

Yeoh called on Asean countries to draw up clear national plans with timelines aimed at achieving at least 30% women’s representation in sports leadership.

She also urged the inclusion of strong media strategies in national plans to highlight women’s work in sports, along with efforts to address safety and mental health.

She said Malaysia’s national coaching academy, under the National Sports Institute (ISN), is now working to improve access and support for women who want to enter and stay in coaching at all levels.

Yeoh cited data from ISN, showing that women made up 20% of coaches in 2022, 20.2% in 2023, and 20.7% in 2024.

“But as of May 2025, the figure dropped to 17.4% due to the activation of new licences,” she said.

Of 3,027 licensed women coaches nationwide, only 602 currently hold active licences.