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The survey showed that 41.3% of business people surveyed said they were hiring more male employees.
The “shift to a higher male-to-female ratio in employment” was “to mitigate against the impact of higher maternity leave”, said the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia.
The chamber urged the government to bring down the cost of the extended maternity leave incurred by companies.
This could be down through Socso (the social security organisation) or the Employment Insurance System, or the government could share the cost for the additional 38 days.
Maternity leave was previously granted for 60 days.
A third method was for the government to double the tax deduction for the cost incurred for the said additional days.
The chamber said the three measures should be implemented in phases starting with the large companies.
The survey was on business and economic conditions between July and December last year. Those surveyed include 17 chambers of commerce and 25 associate members, comprising companies, trade associations and business people.
The chamber said the trend towards hiring more men “does not bode well for increasing women’s participation in the labour force and promoting gender equality”.
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