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‘More men being hired’ as women get longer maternity leave

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Business group suggests three ways for the government to help companies cut the cost of paying 98 days’ maternity leave.

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Free Malaysia Today
A business chamber says 41.3% of those surveyed said they were hiring more male employees. (Freepik pic)

PETALING JAYA:
A business chamber has urged the government to help cut the cost of extended maternity leave after a survey showed that more men were being hired since paid maternity leave was extended to 98 days last year.

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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