According to a recent report, women in high positions at corporate organisations in Malaysia have made only minor advancements as a result of the pandemic-prompted change in working norms.

According to the Grant Thornton International Business Report: Women in Business 2023, women hold only 40% of senior management positions in Malaysia, a number which remains static when compared to the year before.

Working methods, according to the study, have a big impact on the proportion of women in senior management. Today, offices still make up 45% of enterprises in Malaysia. 3 percent of enterprises are home-based, while 52% of businesses use a hybrid and flexible approach.

With close to half of businesses are back to purely office-based, this impacts our progress to promote female leadership. Businesses that don't have flexible working practices tend to be less attractive workplaces to senior women. With many businesses not embracing hybrid or flexible ways of working, women are dropping out of their current positions, considering part-time work or even starting their own venture."

The report also states that a significant boost to the number of women in leadership roles will come from more businesses committing to flexible working and developing the right organisational culture to support it."

In short, lack of flexibility in working environment has hindered women of senior positions (and potential job seekers in general) to take on higher roles.

Businesses that adopt flexible working models may benefit from improved cross-border working and access to a larger talent pool. This includes people with disabilities, those living in remote locations, or those looking for better work-life balance, in the midst of a global skills shortage and talent crisis.

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