Developing the care economy in Malaysia: Vital considerations — The Malaysia Women & Girls Forum Secretariat

MAY 31 — Conversations about the care economy have been picking up steam in Malaysia, and for good reason. Our nation’s population dynamics are shifting — as it stands, Malaysia has already achieved ageing nation status, and we are set to become an aged nation in 2044, a short two decades away from now. We face the very real prospect of a shrinking working age population, as lifespans increase, while fertility rates simultaneously drop to a national low at 1.

Encouragingly, this need has been recognised by the government, with Minister of Women, Family and Community Development YB Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri very recently launching workshops for Development of the care industry in Malaysia.Care work provides the fundamental essentials for the elderly to age with dignity, autonomy and access.

Essential unpaid care work performed largely by women is unvalued and unaccounted for in typical proxies for human development such as Gross Domestic Product . Failing to capture the true value of unpaid labour within national accounting ultimately obscures women’s significant contributions towards the functioning of economies and society as we know it.

When we invest in our care infrastructures such as our healthcare systems, our schools and education systems, and our childcare and elderly care infrastructures, we are also investing in our human capital. We are investing in increased productivity from improved health outcomes and the wellbeing of our labour force.

Care-related social protection on the other hand refers to initiatives such as cash transfers to economically vulnerable households to support childcare and the care of older family members. Developing a robust framework for the care economy is a gargantuan task, and it is not one the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development can or should carry out alone — it requires collaboration with and stakeholdership from key Ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance.

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