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Women Entrepreneurs in Sarawak

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In a predominantly male-oriented world where financial freedom and economic self-sustainability is vital, women in entrepreneurship are becoming increasingly common all over the globe.

As of late, there has been a call to balance the gender disparity in the working world. The call aims for better gender balance within government, employment and wealth, among others.

Source: Grant Thornton International

According to the 2020 Women in Business report by Grant Thornton International, there has been a 29% increase in women in senior management roles globally. The trend continues by seeing an uptick in women at CEO/MD levels with an increase of 5% at 20%, compared to 15% in 2019.

Source: Grant Thornton International

In Malaysia, an ambitious target of 30% female board representation in the top 100 publicly-listed companies has been set by the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance. These figures are encouraging and indicate that gender parity is being taken seriously by businesses.

Furthermore, there are more women as Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the Cabinet of Malaysia, as well as leading institutions like Central Bank of Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia and Perbadanan Nasional Berhad.

Participants at a Sarawak Women Aspiration Group (SWAG) roundtable that took place in 2018

Women in Sarawak have begun to empower themselves by starting businesses of their own. Many women are driven towards entrepreneurship because they intend to be self-sufficient, especially after being dismissed from their jobs in these trying times.

The Sarawak Government has been aiding women in entrepreneurship through the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS) for the past years.

In 2019, RM2 million was approved by the Government to the department in order to facilitate development of entrepreneurship after seeing the success of the initiative, which was an increase from RM1 million in the same year.

Various programmes have also been implemented to better prepare women entrepreneurs in online business development. The Literacy Programme for Women and Women in Digital Entrepreneurship are a few examples.

Additionally, JWKS has taken the initiative to create a digital platform called ePreneurs for women entrepreneurs to sell and promote their products and services more extensively.

The department also conducts Women Skills Training at its training centre at Wisma Wanita, Kuching to expand and improve upon the skills of women entrepreneurs. The course covers skills such as creative sewing, handicrafts, culinary arts, cosmetics and general wellness.

The support of the Sarawak government for women entrepreneurs enables them to build and promote their businesses without having to start from scratch, and in the process, potentially lose large amounts of money.

Giving women the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship means that they can live more fulfilling lives. Being able to secure income in these times allows them to be more independent.

Whether the women were motivated to start their own business through a need for achievement or independence, they need to be able to support themselves and their families through their livelihoods in order to contribute to the community positively.

Gender parity in entrepreneurship and leadership is vital to a more inclusive business culture and better economic growth.

Photo by CoWomen from Unsplash.

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