Nancy urges political parties to create more opportunities for women
KUALA LUMPUR: Political party leaders must be willing to create more opportunities for women if Malaysia is to achieve its target of 30% female representation in decision-making positions, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said today.
She acknowledged that increasing women’s participation in politics remained challenging, adding that the government was examining approaches adopted by other countries, including the possibility of women-only seats.
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“We are looking at how other countries approach this, including women-only seats. But we also need the agreement and buy-in of political leaders. If political leaders do not give us these opportunities, it will remain difficult,” she told the Dewan Rakyat.
Nancy was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa (PH-Sekijang), who asked whether the ministry would revive the proposed Gender Parity in Political Representation Bill, also referred to as the 30% Project, which had been discussed since 2018.
Zaliha expressed concern over the slow progress in women’s political representation despite improvements in other sectors.
She said women continued to account for a relatively small proportion of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, while efforts to achieve the 30% representation target had been discussed for years without a conclusive outcome.
Nancy said the government was pursuing greater women’s participation under the National Women’s Policy 2025-2030, although securing support from political parties remained a challenge.
“We can see openly that this is not easy. We want to bring women’s representation to the 30% level. But as I said earlier, we will not give up. We will continue our efforts and examine what other countries are doing,” she said.
She also urged women leaders across political divides to work together to improve representation, stressing that the ministry’s initiatives included engagement with opposition politicians.
Earlier, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota) raised concerns about the recurring barriers women faced when advancing within political parties, describing them as a cycle of glass ceilings.
Nancy questioned whether existing political leaders were prepared to provide more opportunities for women.
“We have to realise that political party leaders in our country are men. Are they willing to give women opportunities? But we will not stop there. We will look for other ways,” she said.
She cited the ministry’s PERANTIS programme, which provides women with opportunities to develop leadership skills and demonstrate their potential before panels of professionals.
Since its introduction in 2024, the programme has benefited 5,369 women through training and leadership initiatives involving 125 female figures in 2024 and 2025.
Another 3,375 participants had received mentoring from 78 women leaders as of August this year.
Nancy said women had made greater progress in the public sector, accounting for 39.4% of senior management positions as of December 2025, exceeding the 30% target.
The National Women’s Policy 2025-2030, launched in March last year, covers economic empowerment, leadership, safety and well-being, with a mid-term review scheduled for 2028.