WOMEN & WORK - Challenges in Industrialising Nations
Edited by Maimunah Ismail & Aminah Ahmad


   The last three decades have witnessed an increase in the employment level of women in most developing countries, including those in Southeast Asia. Particularly in Malaysia, this change is partly due to improvement in the socio-economic status of the population such as the level of education of women, greater demand for male and female labour in the workforce, and the general value of societies towards equal opportunities of men and women in modem employment. The general level of employment by gender shows that men and women are equally engaged in paid productive activities which contribute to the nation outputs of goods and services.

   Women in Malaysia and in other Southeast Asian countries participate in various sectors of employment such as manufacturing, business, service and agriculture, in addition to their traditional role in the unpaid domestic sector of the economy. Women therefore contribute to the economy in many ways. The diversity of women's employment, inevitably, poses challenges to women themselves, the household and society. The challenges are in terms of the interface of work and family roles, women as individuals in male-dominated and IT-driven organizations, discovering a means to increase the economic potential of women engaged in business, and gender equality within the context of the changing biophysical and sociocultural environment of rural areas. This book attempts to discuss the participation of women in the areas mentioned above, particularly highlighting challenges they face in their efforts to contribute to development.

About the Editors

   Maimunah Ismail is Associate Professor and the Coordinator of Women's Studies Unit at the Department of Extension Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia.

   Aminah Ahmad is Associate Professor and Head of Department of Extension Education at the Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia.