Demography

This discussion paper is part of KRI’s Gender and Care Work research series. It examines how unpaid care labour has been increasingly reframed in Malaysia’s policy discourse, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

This discussion paper is part of KRI’s research series on Gender and Care Work. It examines women’s economic empowerment in Malaysia through two key objectives: first, exploring the circumstances of women outside the labour force, particularly housewives; and second, reviewing current policies and narratives on women’s economic empowerment to identify priority areas and policy gaps.

The diversity of Malaysia’s hawker stalls reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of its people, adapting to economic challenges and opportunities.

Current approaches to classifying the poor or the middle class through income orexpenditure patterns utilize a predetermined standard of living to arrive at demarcationlines in the household income distribution, either in absolute or relative terms.