Gender in Management: An International Journal

Towards strengthening the development of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia

Wendy Ming Yen Teoh Siong Choy Chong

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GM
29,7

Towards strengthening the

development of women
entrepreneurship in Malaysia

432

Wendy Ming Yen Teoh

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Faculty of Business, Multimedia University, Melaka, Malaysia, and

Received 8 October 2013
Revised 2 April 2014
Accepted 15 August 2014

Siong Choy Chong

Finance Accreditation Agency, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to identify developmental issues associated with women
entrepreneurship, with the Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a base. Subsequently,
the paper also aims to devise certain stratagems and new policies for ensuring women entrepreneurial
growth.
Design/methodology/approach An overview of the issues surrounding women entrepreneurship
development in Malaysia is provided, drawing on the extant literature. The issues comprise cultural
barriers, lack of spousal support, gender inequality, lack of confidence, weak social and business
networking, few laws to support working families and neglected women entrepreneurs in the cottage
industry, as well as domestic help and home-based childcare.
Findings Based on the issues identified, strategies are proposed to address them, contextualising on
the gender aspect of women entrepreneurship.
Practical implications A summary is provided on the research and practical gaps from the
perspective of strengthening women entrepreneurship and with the aim of encouraging further
research in this area. The paper posits that an understanding of the gender aspect on issues related to
the development of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia is required if policy measures are to be
constructive in assisting women entrepreneurs in achieving their full entrepreneurial potential.
Originality/value Very limited studies have been undertaken in the past to assess the issues faced
by women entrepreneurs in the context of overall development of women entrepreneurship. This is of
great value to an SME-dominated economy such as Malaysia where the paper provides a
comprehensive summary of the strategies and policy measures required to strengthen women
entrepreneurship development.
Keywords Malaysia, Entrepreneurship, Small and medium enterprises, Women entrepreneurs
Paper type Viewpoint

Gender in Management: An
International Journal
Vol. 29 No. 7, 2014
pp. 432-453
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1754-2413
DOI 10.1108/GM-10-2013-0122

Introduction
Women entrepreneurship has become an area of great interest and concern amongst
researchers. This is understandable, as many countries have widened the access of
women to entrepreneurial ventures, a privilege which was largely provided to men in the
past. As more and more success stories of women entrepreneurs are showcased, many
women who are either housewives or employed are inspired to start up their own
businesses. At the same time, the already successful ones are trying to move away from
emulating their successful male counterparts. As a matter of fact, women entrepreneurs
are beginning to set standards of behaviours that distinguish them in an attempt to

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create an identity of her own rights. All these developments create a totally new
playing field as women entrepreneurs compete with their male counterparts for the
same business opportunities.
The literature suggests that women and men entrepreneurs react to the same
environment differently due to the characteristics attributed to gender dissimilarities
(Croson and Gneezy, 2004). Such differences explain the differing strategies adopted by
men and women entrepreneurs in approaching the same issues, trends, opportunities
and threats. Developmental programmes should therefore factor into account such
differences. Unfortunately, it has been reported that many women who have attended
training and development programmes in entrepreneurship found the programmes to
be prescriptive and, at worst, male-orientated [Association of Organisations of
Mediterranean Businesswomen (AFAEMME), 2013].
This paper reviews the developmental issues associated with women
entrepreneurship, particularly amongst those who are involved in small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, a country acknowledged as one of the fastest
developing economies in the Southeast Asian region. It is based upon the review that
constructive strategies are proposed for the continuing growth of women
entrepreneurial ventures through the implementation of appropriate developmental
plans. In conjunction with this, new policies are also suggested with the proposition that
such a development plan can only come to fruition if policy measures are taken seriously
by the policymakers as a primary means of supporting women entrepreneurs in
achieving their truest entrepreneurial potential. Should this become a reality, the gains
can be astronomical as women entrepreneurs could contribute equally to strengthening
the economy. The paper ends with the information gaps identified as a result of this
review, as well as issues that remained unanswered with the aim of encouraging further
research in this area.
Development of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia
The world is witnessing a boom in women entrepreneurship where 25 per cent of the
businesses are owned by women. Specifically, in the USA, 38 per cent of the businesses
are owned by women (Rosmah, 2010. Russian women constitute over one fourth of all
the owners of private businesses (Iakovleva and Kickul, 2011). In China, 25 per cent of
businesses are possessed by women since 1978. About 23 per cent of the private
companies owned by women have been established in Japan (Rosmah, 2010, whilst 31
per cent of European women involved in entrepreneurship as their career (Jong, 2013). In
Malaysia, women entrepreneurs are becoming a force to reckon with, particularly in
recent years due to the acknowledgement that they are the key contributors to the
economic growth of the country. The number of women entrepreneurs in Malaysia has
since increased due to the support and guidance provided by the government, private
sector and non-governmental organisations over the past decade. According to the latest
census, from the 645,136 active SMEs in operation, 127,091 or 19.7 per cent are owned by
women (Hamzah, 2012) compared to 82,911 or 16 per cent in 2005 (Farah Zamira, 2013).
The majority of female-owned enterprises focussing in the services sector amounting to
as much as 91.7 per cent of their overall participation as SMEs, followed by
manufacturing at 6.9 per cent with the remaining in construction, agriculture or mining
[Women Entrepreneurs Network Association (WENA), 2012].

Development of
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entrepreneurship
433

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434

The women entrepreneurs are assisted to avail themselves of the schemes and
support facilities provided by the various ministries and government agencies in
Malaysia (Bernama, 2011). To produce more quality and productive women
entrepreneurs, the Department of Women Development and the Malaysian Trust
Initiative (Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia) have provided skill trainings and
entrepreneurship programmes to more than 3,000 women under the 2010 budget
(Malaysia website, 2010). Furthermore, the Teman 1Azam (Companion with
1Resolution) provided a grant of RM4.7 million (USD1.5 million) to 946 Malaysian
women entrepreneurs (Bernama, 2010). The two main purposes for these initiatives are
to reduce poverty and increase employment opportunity for women. Besides,
microcredit and microfinance schemes and entrepreneurial workshops or training
programmes like Awareness Campaign, Bestari Helpdesks, Rebranding Exercise,
Media Relations Campaign and Networking Exercise have also been introduced to rural
women entrepreneurs to assist them to be capable of running, sustaining and improving
their businesses in an efficient way [(United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
2008]. Insofar, there are more than 12,000 women entrepreneurs involved in various
programmes under the SME Corporation (Bernama, 2011).
In addition, nearly 40,000 women entrepreneurs have benefited from other
microcredit loans provided by the Economic Fund for National Venture Group (Tabung
Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga) (TEKUN Nasional) and the Rural Economy
Financing Schemes between 2006 and 2010 (Bernama, 2011). As of 31 March 2012, a
total of RM179.55 million (USD52.5 million) financial schemes have been approved to
assist women entrepreneurs in their businesses (see Table I and Table II).

Year
August 1999a
31 December 2000b
31 December 2001c
31 May 2002d
30 April 2003e
31 March 2004f
31 August 2005g
31 December 2005h
31 August 2006i
31 August 2007j
30 April 2008k
31 December 2008l
31 March 2009m
31 October 2009n
30 November 2010o
31 December 2011p
31 March 2012q
Table I.
Special assistance scheme
for women entrepreneurs,
Malaysia, 1999-2012**

Approvals

Amount approved (million)*

Disbursement (million)*

95
153
270
331
379
396
500
531
523
849
1,166
1,576
1,793
2,319
3,440
2,997
3,446

9.5
11.48
17.16
18.02
26.73
32.24
46.58
50.9
51.97
85.39
90.45
111.26
116.83
138.80
179.07
179.53
179.55

n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
7.92
7.92
15.55
n/a
21.99
22.23
22.23
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a

Notes: * USD 0.33 RM1 ** Developed by the authors

Sources: Economic Report (2003) a,b,c,d,e,f,g,i,j,k,l,o,p Small and Medium Industries Development
Corporation (SMIDEC); h Bank Negara Malaysia (2005); j Statistics on Women, Family and Social
Welfare (2007); m Malaysia SME Online (2009); n Hee (2009); Bernama Media (2012)

2001b

2000a

2002c

2005f

2006g

2007h

*
*
*
*
*

2010j

2008i

SME Corp. Malaysia; ** Developed by the authors

j,k

2004e

2003d

Note: * No approval for women-owned companies

Sources: a,b,c,d,e,f,g,i SMIDEC; h Statistics on Women, Family and Social Welfare, 2007;

Industrial Technical Assistance Fund (ITAF)

Financial Package for SMIs (PAKSI)
Soft Loan for Small and Medium Enterprises (SLSME)
Y2K Grant
Y2K Grant (Phase 1)
Y2K Grant (Phase 2)
E-Commerce
Small and Medium Industry of Terengganu
Easy Loan
E-Design
E-Manufacturing
Business Start Up
Product and Process Improvement
Certificate and Quality Management Systems
Market Development Grant (MDG)
Industrial Technical Assistance Fund 4
Special Federal Government Fund (DKKP)
Packaging and Labelling
Development and Promotion of Halal Products
Special Scheme for SME in the Service Sector
Enhancing Product Packaging
Soft Loans for ICT (SLICT)
Soft Loan for Factory Relocation
Modernisation and Automation Scheme (MAS)
Factory Auditing
RosettaNet
Quality Enhancement Scheme (QES)
Flood Assistance Scheme
Enrichment and Enhancement Programme (E2)
Business Accelerator Programme (BAP)

Financial scheme

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*
*
*
*
*
*
*

2011k

Development of
women
entrepreneurship
435

Table II.
Financial schemes for
women entrepreneurs,
2000-2008, 2010-2011**

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436

The 2013 Budget has also allocated RM50 million (USD16.5 million) specifically for
programmes such as Skills Incubator for Single Mothers (Inkubator Kemahiran Ibu
Tunggal) (I-Kit) and Get Malaysian Business Online (Mohd Najib, 2012) to empower
women. In line with the New Economic Model introduced by the government in 2010,
Malaysian women are strongly encouraged to venture into the service industry and
knowledge-based activities such as communications, education, tourism, green
technology and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) (Bernama, 2011).
Additionally, Women Exporters Development Programme under the Malaysian
External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) has assisted 71 women-owned
companies to venture abroad since 2005 (Mukhriz, 2012). MATRADE has also
announced the establishment of The Malaysian Women in Export Directory to help
promote and grow women-owned businesses. Moreover, Kirkby International College in
collaboration with Women Entrepreneurs Network Associations (WENA) is offering
office space, training facilities and business English courses for its members. All of these
help women to feel more confident in launching or expanding their businesses (WENA,
2013).
Despite the support given, the trend of becoming an entrepreneur in Malaysia is
rather low where there is only an increase of 55 per cent over 25 years which is equal to
about 4.58 per cent growth per year, i.e. 1.2 million in 1982 and 2.2 million in 2008. A
similar trend is also noticed across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) countries where only 2.2 per cent of women participating in the
labour market were employers in 2011, down from 2.8 per cent in 2000 (Piacentini, 2013).
As shown in Figure 1, the participation rate in terms of gender has decreased slightly
(3.3 per cent for males and 5.4 per cent for females) over the past quarter century and that
the growth rate of women entrepreneurs is not parallel with their male counterparts
(Kelley et al., 2012). In fact, a study by MasterCard Worldwide Insight (2010) reveals that
Malaysian women SME owners (9.7 per cent) had the lowest representation in terms of
the annual average growth rate between 2000 and 2008 as compared to male SME
owners (16.5 per cent). Furthermore, between 2004 and 2007, self-employed Malaysian
women only constitute a very small proportion (1.3 per cent) compared to those of
self-employed male (4.6 per cent) (The Worlds Women: Trends and Statistics Report,
2010). Overall, the number of male entrepreneurs doubles that of females (Department of
Statistics Malaysia, 2009).
In terms of size, the majority of women-owned SMEs are micro in size (88 per cent),
followed by small- (11.3 per cent) and medium-size establishments (0.8 per cent)
(Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2012) which are more likely to be home-based, and
the percentage of women ownership declines with the firm size (Ng, 2011). As Hamzah
(2012) elucidates, women entrepreneurs are disproportionately represented in the
micro-SME and informal SME sectors. Likewise, across the OECD countries, the women
business enterprises are significantly small and even have low growth expectations
(Jong, 2013).
Table III further provides evidence that the participation of women as employers and
own account workers is still low compared to their male counterparts since 1970s.
According to the Global Gender Gap Report (2012), Malaysia only has 13 per cent of
firms with female participation in ownership compare to Indonesia (43 per cent) and
Vietnam (59 per cent) (Hausmann et al., 2012). The country has merely 9 per cent (which
is 30 per cent less than in the Philippines and Thailand) of women involving in

Development of
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437

Figure 1.
Number and percentage
distribution of
entrepreneurs by gender
in Malaysia (1982-2008)

entrepreneurial activity (APEC Project, 2013). As a result, the aim to increase the
number of Malaysian women in business from 8 to 35 per cent by 2020 remains a
challenge (The Star Online, 2011).
It can be seen that much efforts have been put in by the Malaysian Government and
related agencies to produce qualified and professional women entrepreneurs. However,

GM
29,7

Gender
Male

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438

Female

Year

Total (%)

Employer

Employee

Own account worker

Unpaid family
worker

1970*
1980*
1991*
2000***
2007*,**
2008**
2009**
2010**
2011**
2012****
1970*
1980*
1991*
2000***
2007*,**
2008**
2009**
2010**
2011**
2012****

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

4.2
4.0
3.6
3.9
4.6
4.7
4.9
4.8
4.7
5.0
2.3
3.0
2.0
0.8
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.6
1.5

49.3
59.6
64.1
73.8
72.6
72.2
72.9
73.7
74.8
73.7
36.9
53.5
70.8
75.8
77.3
78.9
78.3
79.5
79.8
77.0

31.9
28.3
28.3
19.6
20.1
20.5
19.8
19.1
18.1
18.7
18.0
23.8
16.7
11.9
12.5
11.7
12.2
11.6
11.2
12.9

14.6
8.1
4.0
2.7
2.7
2.6
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.6
42.8
19.7
10.5
11.5
8.8
8.1
7.9
7.4
7.3
8.5

Table III.
Percentage distribution of
employed persons by
employment status and
Notes: * Malaysia (2003, 2007) (cited in Penang Monthly, 2012); ** Malaysia Labour Force Survey
gender in Malaysia (1970- Report (2011a); *** Malaysia Labour Force Survey (2000) (cited in Ministry of Women, Family and
2012)
Community Development, 2003); **** Malaysia Labour Force Survey Report (2012a)

there are certain issues which have limited the growth and progress of women
entrepreneurs as discussed in the following section.
Issues surrounding Malaysian women entrepreneurs
Cultural barriers
Cultural values limit women entrepreneurs to expose themselves to the business world
(Mordi et al., 2010; Piacentini, 2013). This corroborates the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Project (2013) which reported that cultural norms regarding the
role of woman in family and labour practices are perceived as major restricting factors
for businesswomen in Malaysia. Although Malaysia is a multiracial country, the Malays
(who make up approximately 60 per cent of the total population of 28.66 million) still
stress the traditional roles of women (Lewis and Ayudhya, 2006), so do the other
ethnicities such as the Malaysian Chinese and Indians. In fact, the traditional roles of
women are still emphasised upon in many parts of the Asian countries. Accordingly,
women are expected to be conservative, prudent and attentive. In a traditional society,
these traits work wonders when women are at home where taking care of children and
performing household duties are considered as their core responsibilities (Orser et al.,
2011). Although many women are increasingly being employed today, the view of such
employment ought to be distinguished from those who run their own businesses.

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A women entrepreneur who is expected to manage the home front and, at the same
time, oversee her company would certainly face conflicts and may, at times, be pulled in
different directions. Quoting Hashim et al. (2012, p.428):
The stereotypical views that women entrepreneurs cannot balance their career and family
seem to persist. This perspective is especially prevalent in many Malay novels that portray
women engaged in professional or managerial positions. Successful Malay Muslim women, it
would seem, have difficulty maintaining their marriages if they are overly committed to their
work. They make irrational choices and learn lesson the hard way. To reiterate, this
construction of a Malay Muslim women entrepreneur shows the conventions women must
follow regardless of how educated they are and how successful they seem to be. They must
subscribe to certain values pervasive in the Malay Muslim worldview.

A survey conducted by Grant Thornton and the Malaysian Institute of Management in

Jasani (2002), as cited in Salim and Ghadas, 2012 reported that the majority of family
businesses in Malaysia comprise small-scale enterprises and are managed by the
founder. With many of the Malaysian Chinese involved in business, inherited
businesses from the older generation will be handed over to the younger generation; in
this case, sons are preferred over daughters regardless of the competencies they
possessed. The same can be observed in the Malaysian Indian society. This is because in
Chinese and Indian family businesses, the male successor carries the family name
(Amran and Che Ahmad, 2010). Moreover, males are seen to be risk-takers compared to
their female counterparts. This situation appears to be no different from even the
European women where 40 per cent reported as being risk-averse by the 2009
Eurobarometer (Piacentini, 2013). Additionally, men are seen to be more competitive,
aggressive, have larger networks, more supportive and are able to face competition.
Because of this, there is a general perception that men tend to outperform women in
business. This is perhaps one key reason which may have pulled Malaysian feminists
off to actively involve themselves in the business arena. Many women entrepreneurs
show greater concern on family matters (either dictated by nature or shaped by the
common belief) even if they have an opportunity to expand their businesses.
Lack of spousal support
Related to the cultural barrier is the lack of spousal support. Women entrepreneurs
experience unique difficulties and problems which limit their economic performance
and jeopardise their personal feelings of achievement and satisfaction (Bowen and
Hisrich, 1986; Hisrich and Brush, 1984, 1987; Loscocco et al., 1991). One of the unique
problems is balancing the conflicting role demands of work and family. As a matter of
fact, this factor has been mentioned to increasingly detract women entrepreneurs from
satisfaction and well-being as business owners.
Research has shown that entrepreneurs are more likely to experience higher levels of
stress due to their heavy workload, as well as the assumption of risk in their business
activities and operations (Dewe and Guest, 1990; Akande, 1994; Harris et al., 1999) and
this is equally applicable to women entrepreneurs as well. In The Netherlands, 50 per
cent of the women entrepreneurs work less than 25 hours per week (Piacentini, 2013).
However, the Malaysia Labour Force Survey Report (2012b) indicates that Malaysian
women entrepreneurs spend an average of 50.2 hours on work per week compared to the
47.0 hours spent by women employees where there is an increase of 1.4 hours and 0.1
hour, respectively, compared to 2011. Ironically, the working hours spent per week is the

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440

same as their male counterparts (Malaysia Labour Force Survey Report, 2011b). Yet, the
same woman is responsible for household chores and childcare back at home. There is
no doubt that Malaysian women are ranked as the 16th most stressed in the world
because, according to Ee (2011), their spouses expect them to take up housework and
childcare after getting home from work without easing the burden of their wives.
Roddin et al. (2011) mention that workfamily conflict is one of the major reasons
why women entrepreneurs fail in conducting their businesses. This conflict often
happens particularly amongst home-based businesses where there is a lack of support
from spouses (Schoff, 2012) due to over commitment of work than with family (Hashim
et al., 2012). The situation is expected to worsen as the number of micro-enterprises
grows (Selamat et al., 2011) in the country.
These led Freeland (2012 to conclude that Malaysian women are expected to lead as
if they were mothers or teachers, rather than taking on what is perceived to be the more
traditional masculine role of formal leadership. Worst still, many micro-enterprises
owned by Malaysian women entrepreneurs are often taken over by their spouses when
the businesses grow into larger enterprises.
Gender inequality
Another cultural issue is gender inequality. Most women in the workforce are in the
category of low paid work and that women only own 15 per cent of business enterprises
in Malaysia. As such, women entrepreneurs generally earn lower revenues and less
income than males (Kelley et al., 2011). Compared to men, women entrepreneurs
encounter many barriers to become successful (World Bank, 2012). For instance, they
face challenges accessing to credit and bank loans (Centre for Development and
Population Activities (CEDPA), 2009; Teoh and Chong, 2008). According to the
Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (2010), Malaysian women can only access to
0.2 bank loans (within the scale of 0 full and 1 impossible) if compared with other
East Asian countries like Japan, Korea, Thailand, Philippines and Myanmar where
women can have access to full bank loans. Culturally, women are considered less
capable than men and therefore they are seen of not deserving the same opportunities.
This is especially true for single mothers where their involvement in entrepreneurship is
often prejudiced because of the perceived lack of formal education in management and
other business skills (Roddin et al., 2011).
Similar trend is also observed amongst the European women entrepreneurs where
they are less likely to have obtained their last loan from a bank due to lack of familiarity
with finance and accounting practices (Coleman and Robb, 2012; OECD, 2012). Besides,
the rejection of credit application rate for European women (4.3 per cent) is higher than
men (2.3 per cent) (Piacentini, 2013). Due to this, the gender pay gap persists for women
entrepreneurs. To overcome this issue, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community
Development is targeting to produce more women entrepreneurs who are able to earn
more than RM3,500 (USD1,143) per month (The Star Online, 2010).
Lack of confidence
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Global Report (2012), Malaysian
entrepreneurs, be they male or female, generally lack confidence in doing businesses.
Only 31 per cent of Malaysian entrepreneurs perceive that they have the capabilities of
operating businesses, and this rate is considered low compared to the neighbouring

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Thailand (46 per cent) and Pakistan (49 per cent). In AsiaPacific and South Asia
economies, although the fear of failure rate amongst Malaysian entrepreneurs reduced
by 9.3 per cent compared to 45.3 per cent in 2010, it is still higher compared to Pakistan
(31 per cent). Xavier et al. (2013) lend support to this finding where Malaysians have
merely 13 per cent of entrepreneurial intention and that the total early-stage
entrepreneurial activity (TEA) rate is relatively low, although it has increased by 2.6 per
cent compared to 4.4 per cent in 2009. Nevertheless, Malaysia is still lagging as much as
20 per cent behind compared to countries which hold the highest TEA rate with
international orientation (Xavier et al., 2010).
From the gender perspective, women in Malaysia tend to display lower perceptions
of capabilities, opportunities and intention. Although both men and women are
similarly motivated by opportunity than necessity as the primary motive in setting up
business ventures, the fear of failure rate amongst Malaysian women entrepreneurs is
higher than men as they lack positive attitudes about their own personal capacities
(Kelley et al., 2011). This is reinforced by a report in the Malaysian Business (2013) which
notes that amongst the key factors holding women back from entrepreneurship are lack
of skills and confidence in entrepreneurial abilities and hence the fear of failure. The low
TEA rate offers a partial explanation as to why Malaysian women are less likely to
become entrepreneurs.
Weak social and business networking
Systematic networking plays a vital role in providing entrepreneurs with a variety of
information sources which assist them to accomplish their goals (Ripolles and Blesa,
2005; Welter and Kautonen, 2005) and enhance the participation of women in
entrepreneurship (Ahmad and Naimat, 2010). Evidence suggests that networks are
important not only to make connections with other business owners but also to impart
skills and knowledge related to running a business effectively (Hisrich and Brush, 1984).
Unfortunately, according to studies undertaken at Harvard and MIT, women have
very weak networks in commercial marketplace (Guest Author, 2011). Kelley et al. (2011)
reported that compared to men, Malaysian women have lesser personal contacts with
other entrepreneurs. Because of this, women are less likely to venture into
entrepreneurship. In addition, networks of women entrepreneurs are generally smaller
and less diverse than those of their male counterparts, and women tend to draw more on
their personal relationships, particularly family than on other sources (Dhaliwal, 2000;
Teoh and Chong, 2008). Without a strong social and business networking, many women
entrepreneurs face financial, socio-cultural and legal barriers to scale up their
businesses.
Few laws to support working family
Laws especially related to childcare subsidies and temporary assistance for needy
family (TANF) programme to support women entrepreneurs in Malaysia are not
available. This has become an issue for women entrepreneurs, particularly single
mothers with low income and who run micro businesses, as they are the ones in need of
most help and support. In Singapore, self-employed parents have the privilege where
they are entitled for six days per year of childcare leave and/or infant care leave until the
year the child turns seven years old (under Part IX of the Employment Act and Part III
of the Child Development Co-Savings Act), as long as they are engaged in a particular

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business/trade/profession for a continuous duration of at least three months and has lost
income as a result of not engaging in the trade, business, profession or vocation during
the childcare leave period. The last three days of leave will be paid for by the
government which is capped at SGD500, including contributions to the Central
Provident Fund (CPF). From 1 May 2013, self-employed parents are also eligible for two
days of extended childcare leave every year if the youngest child is aged between seven
and 12 years old. These leaves will also paid by the government (capped at SGD500,
including CPF contributions) (Ministry of Manpower, 2013). With this law, it eases the
burden of women entrepreneurs who need money to support their family members,
especially single mothers and those within the lower income bracket.
Neglected women entrepreneurs in the cottage industry
The majority of entrepreneurs who run the cottage industry in Malaysia are women
(Hashim et al., 2012) with many of them involved in the food and beverage, clothing and
retailing sectors (Suaibah et al., 2005). Based on the Economic Census (2011) report,
women-owned establishments in the food and beverage sector accounted for 37.2 per
cent in 2010. There are also more than two-thirds of women-owned establishments in the
manufacturing of textiles, wearing apparel and leather products with a gross output of
RM540.8 million (USD178.5 million) and a value added of RM257 million (USD84.8
million). As such, this industry deserves special attention in this paper.
From the standpoint of credit facilities and mechanisation, high employment
opportunities in the cottage industry in developing countries are very negligible,
although the industry offers a huge advantage. Although not rare, cottage industries
often produce their products in huge quantity upon request by certain circles, but the
industry also faces difficulties in marketing and distributing its products. One of the
reasons cited is that the products produced especially by women entrepreneurs often
lack design and do not carry a brand and packaging, hence do not allow the products to
go beyond the borders of Malaysia (UNDP, 2005). Besides, entrepreneurs in this
industry have to deal with suppliers and retailers and selling their products at lower
prices and in the conventional way (Astarina, 2011). These have limited their
opportunities in expanding their businesses. Besides, women entrepreneurs in this
industry also lack micro-enterprise skills (UNDP, 2005).
Related to the industry is the informal sector whereby it was found that 31 per cent of
women entrepreneurs do not register formally compared to those in Singapore (14 per
cent) and the USA (9 per cent) (Farah Zamira, 2013). This is probably due to the
difficulties in getting a licence or permit from the local authorities because the majority
of women entrepreneurs work at home and that their business sizes are usually small.
Domestic help and home-based childcare
Childcare cost related to raising a child represents one of the largest percentages of
increase. In Malaysia, the total cost to raise a child today is approximately RM1.1 million
(USD 330,000) (New Straits Times, 2013). This is a prevalent problem faced by women
entrepreneurs with children. Childcare becomes a burden for women entrepreneurs
which might affect their businesses (APEC Project, 2013). Based on the study by APEC
Project (2013), women entrepreneurs from Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are
heavily relying on family and domestic help, particularly Indonesian maids, on
childcare issues. Due to a number of cases related to the physical abuse of Indonesian

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maids, women entrepreneurs are increasingly requesting support from the government
to build more childcare facilities to assist them to take care of their children so that they
can focus on their businesses.
Policy recommendations
To begin with, a change in mentality towards entrepreneurship as a career choice and
the perception on women entrepreneurship are important considerations which can
possibly be achieved through a more holistic education system that fosters
entrepreneurial skills, gender equality and, more importantly, cultural change. Because
entrepreneurship education has been recognised as one of the important determinants
that could affect career decision of students (Ooi et al., 2011), it is vital to inculcate
entrepreneurial culture and the sense of equity amongst the younger generation (as
early as during the secondary level of education) to increase their understanding and
appreciation of the roles and significance of entrepreneurs along with the context of
gender. Above all, emphasis must be given to inculcate entrepreneurship as the first
career option rather than as the last resort, particularly amongst the female students for
they account for the majority of university students in Malaysia (Trading Economics,
2012), yet the number of unemployed women graduates is higher than male, i.e. 19.5 per
cent compared to male (14.4 per cent) (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2011).
Further, the education system can play an intervention role to change the perception
of Malaysians towards risk and the promotion of innovative thinking. Accordingly, the
education system must emphasise on risk-taking behaviour of entrepreneurs and instil
the importance of making informed and innovative decisions on the basis of weighing
the risk factors. This is important as education has been found to be interrelated to the
likelihood of starting a business for both the genders (Brush, 2012). Emphasising
women, the higher the education level and the more the experience they possess, the
lower the fear of failure and the greater the belief of their capabilities to become
entrepreneurs.
In addition, encouraging the participation of female students in co-curricular
activities such as entrepreneurship societies, business plan competitions and fun fairs in
which students participate as entrepreneurs, to name a few, can allow their male
counterparts to develop the sense of gender equality, as well as allow female students to
develop the confidence that they too are capable of running their own businesses.
Besides, schools can conduct a programme which allows female students at the upper
secondary level to have an alternative option to attend the 8-12 weeks of vocational
training programmes during the year-end school holidays. Schools are responsible to
select the host company, and its quality can increase the self-concept of the ability of the
students towards the project within the training period. Such an effort is to be
strengthened at the tertiary level where entrepreneurship is to be introduced as a
core module to imbue students with relevant skills. In so saying, the skills and
knowledge acquired should not be limited to traditionally feminine fields, but it should
also cover other vocational and technical fields like engineering, construction,
agriculture and the like which can attract more female students to start up businesses in
these areas. In addition, female students should be encouraged to take up internships in
the micro-, small and medium enterprises in Malaysia.
The higher education institutions (HEIs) should host regular speaker series by
inviting prominent entrepreneurs, including women business owners, to share their

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experience not only in terms of how to plan, start, manage and grow their businesses but
also the challenges faced and how they are overcome. This kind of programme can
eventually inspire and motivate the Malaysian female students in entrepreneurial
development. The women speakers can be mentors for the students and provide more
current and useful counsel similar to the initiatives by the European Union through the
setting up of the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors and the
Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs.
Related to gender inequality is access to funds. The literature suggests that flexibility
and equity are required in the allocation of funding, particularly to women
entrepreneurs. Besides the government, venture capitalists, angel investors, business
associations and banking institutions could also play an important role to help women
entrepreneurs realise good commercial ideas by accessing to financing at the early stage
of business. This is because the policy, whereby women entrepreneurs with viable
business plans are given priority in funding, can be effective in developing a larger pool
of women entrepreneurs. For this, the Malaysian banks can distribute some specific
funds similar to the Going for Growth programme practiced by the Irish Government
for women entrepreneurs who need funds to expand their existing business ventures.
In addition, the micro-finance schemes need to target women entrepreneurs,
including those who operate informal businesses as well as those aged 55 and older.
This is due to the fact that business start-ups in Malaysia have since broadened to
include a majority of women entrepreneurs between the age of 55 and 64 years (Malaysia
Labour Force Survey Report, 2011c). Further, the population of women retirees is
growing older compared to men where the number of women aged 65 years and above
will rise from the current 51.6 to 54.6 per cent by 2050 (Wolfe and Langley, 2013).
Therefore, it becomes imperative for the policymakers to encourage women retirees to
engage in business to generate their own retirement income and to avoid from facing the
risk of old age poverty. This calls for an increasing level of awareness that elderly
women can bring positive impacts to the society instead of negative impacts of ageing
(Hodges, 2012).
Because the majority of women entrepreneurs found that business-related
information is hard to obtain and is not transparent (APEC Project, 2013), business
agencies or associations can publish resource handbooks and guides for them.
Accordingly, these booklets should contain a compilation of current credit agencies,
supporting programmes, outreach programmes and other business-related information
relevant to women entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Besides hard copy, similar information
can be made available on websites. Consultants and/or advisors on credit policy issues
should be knowledgeable enough to answer all the doubts that women entrepreneurs
have in mind. They must be professionally trained and understand clearly the process of
accessing credit to give proper guidelines and advice to women who would like to start
a business venture. This is required to build the trust and confidence of women
entrepreneurs toward the services provided by government and the non-governmental
organisations.
The women entrepreneurs should be made to realise that networking is essential for
people to establish relationships with their customers and/or suppliers, as well as open
up new opportunities in an effective way. As suggested by Vossenberg (2013), a good
strategy for women entrepreneurs to pursue is to engage husbands, brothers or other
male family members in paving the way into male networks, thereby improving access

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to other entrepreneurs. Besides, they should fully utilise technology, especially in this
ICT age for crowdsourcing purposes. There must be realisation that technology could
ease them in promoting their products and services online. Networks can also provide
substantial help to penetrate wider markets so that the women entrepreneurs can
expand their business outreach. Ueno (2013) reported that there are only 15 per cent of
SMEs with websites in Malaysia. It is therefore important to change the mindset that
websites are not only meant for large companies. Government agencies and business
associations can help women entrepreneurs to create websites with mobile application
system to drive their sales and to maintain its status and position in its own industry.
In this case, the government can create access to technology for young women
enterprises so that they can tap on the right networks and start leveraging on them to get
more businesses for themselves. For the existing entrepreneurs, the government could
assist women entrepreneurs to diversify to countries with high growth like China, India
and Middle-East by reconsidering their branding and marketing initiatives and to boost
export and foreign economic relations through technology adoption. In addition, a
system must be put in place to register the Malaysian women entrepreneurs with the
SME Corporation as it was reported that 31 per cent of the SMEs are not doing so,
resulting in the women entrepreneurs losing many opportunities and assistance
programmes provided by the agency (Bernama, 2013). For the start, the government can
consider the step taken by the government of the Philippines to launch a Simplified
Business Registration System which can encourage and attract more women
entrepreneurs to use the online system to register their businesses. The government can
also organise more entrepreneurial events such as bazaars, seminars, exhibitions,
forums and the like for new women entrants into business, as well as by inviting
advisory panels, i.e. advisors, angel investors, incubators and venture capitalists to
network with each other and to facilitate the women entrepreneurs by providing
consultancy on procedures of registration and issues related to business and financial
planning. This is, in fact, a concept applied in Europe under one of the training packages
named European Ready for Equity! to support the creation and growth of women
ventures (Piacentini, 2013).
According to Chuah (2013, cottage industries are often spared from being hit by
economic downturns. As such, knowing the opportunities of involving in such
industries will bring good economical returns and competitive advantage to the
Malaysian women entrepreneurs. To overcome the difficulties in marketing and
distributing products, women entrepreneurs can work with the various ministries and
agencies which provide such services. One such example is the Ministry of Tourism
which helps women entrepreneurs to promote their handmade products (e.g. songket,
Sarawak layered cake, mat weaving, batik and so on) to different countries, as well as
provide consultation by way of innovation, good branding and intellectual property
laws. In addition, it is equally important for the government to facilitate the issuance of
license and permit through the local authorities so that the women entrepreneurs do not
have to worry about the legal implications of running their businesses. The government
should create awareness through various media such as television, radio, Internet and
other social media, e.g. Facebook and Twitter to highlight the importance of business
licensing and protection of intellectual property rights.
Besides, research and development (R&D) is of great importance in the modern
business world as the level of competition escalates. In this case, the Malaysian

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Government can play a vital role to support and assist the women entrepreneurs by
providing funding to R&D and advice on innovation. This is to provide quality
assurance to the products produced so that they can be competitive enough in the global
marketplace.
As to the laws to support working women entrepreneurs, the government can play a
greater role by providing daycare centres and homecare which has been widely
practiced in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Korea and Sweden. In Austria, some
regional business incubators even provide childcare facilities for women entrepreneurs
(Jong, 2013). Taking the cue, the Malaysian Government can initiate such childcare
benefit to ease the burden of women entrepreneurs for better workfamily balance. The
taxation law is another area which could make a big difference in encouraging and
sustaining women entrepreneurship (Casserly, 2012).
Over the past decades, women have to juggle between work and family. To reduce
stress and to balance between work and leisure, women should have high self-efficacy as
an entrepreneur. This is due to the fact that self-efficacy is the main factor contributing
to successful women entrepreneurs (Javadian and Singh, 2012). Besides, they need to
express emotions at the right time rather than exaggerate their feelings. Men and
women have their own glass ceilings; they themselves should decide whether family or
career is their priority in life. Women entrepreneurs can communicate with their family
members, especially their spouses, about their household responsibilities and slowly
adapt to the long working hours as prevalent in Malaysia. Furthermore, their
spouses should show the support by caring for their children. This will give their
children the best influence, particularly the daughters who may eventually take up
entrepreneurship. In fact, this practice is currently implemented by the Japanese
Government to empower women in the country.
Conclusion and future research direction
This paper has identified eight major issues faced by women entrepreneurs in Malaysia
based on the review of literature. It has contributed to knowledge for it has addressed the
scarcity of research in the context of development of women entrepreneurship in
Malaysia and possibly beyond. To some extent, comparisons are carried out with other
countries, both developed and developing, to justify the issues highlighted. The
similarities identified infer that some of the issues and recommendations may be
applicable across borders, subject to further empirical investigation.
The eight highlighted issues imply that financial, skills and business development
are just some of the many challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. In actual fact, the
issues faced by women entrepreneurs vary and are far more complicated than what they
have been perceived to be. Although some efforts have been made by the government
and/or the private sectors to address these issues through the provision of financial
schemes, skills development and business development support, the decreasing trend in
the rates of TEA, as well as participation of women in entrepreneurship, signify that the
eight issues deserve significant attention. Hence, a thorough understanding of the issues
is especially paramount so that appropriate strategies and policy measures can be
formulated through the concerted efforts of the many stakeholders policymakers,
(HEIs), entrepreneurs themselves, their peers and even family members to achieve the
aim of increasing the number of Malaysian women in business to 35 per cent by 2020.

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It is timely that the society changes its mindset not only to reduce the gender gaps but
also to acknowledge the role of women entrepreneurs. As Sandberg (2013, p. 161) wrote
in Lean In: Women, Work, and The Will to Lead, [] Equal opportunity is not equal
unless everyone receives the encouragement that makes seizing those opportunities
possible []. Support and encouragement from the community, as well as from all the
other stakeholders, are required because women entrepreneurs encountered many more
barriers than men to become successful. The awareness should be enhanced to empower
women entrepreneurs in the world economy and to be recognised in the coming future
(Brush, 2012). This is true where:
[] if more women lean in, we can change the power structure of our world and expand
opportunities for all. More female leadership will lead to fairer treatment for all women []
(Sandberg, 2013, p. 172).

As insisted by Vossenberg (2013), countries with high levels of support for

entrepreneurship in general plus positive societal attitudes towards women in general,
display higher levels of participation of women in entrepreneurship.
Future research should focus on issues related to gender gaps with the support of
feminist theory to clearly understand the motivation and barriers of women
entrepreneurs in developing countries. Qualitative approach should be used to further
determine the strategy and policy to assist in business expansion of women
entrepreneurs, as well as encouraging more participation of women in entrepreneurship.
In terms of family issues, future studies can consider the perception and attitude of
spouses in taking equal childcare and household responsibilities. In so doing, it is
imperative to clearly define women entrepreneurship and, subsequently, the scope of
women entrepreneurs (for instance own and operate, rather than merely funding the
ventures) so that accurate findings can be derived at.
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About the authors
Wendy Ming Yen Teoh is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Business, Multimedia University, Malaysia.
Her research interests include entrepreneurship, women studies and human resource
management. Miss Teoh has published her research works in several international refereed
journals and conference proceedings.
Siong Choy Chong is the Director of Accreditation at the Finance Accreditation Agency,
Malaysia. Prior to that, he was a Professor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and
Research at Linton University College, Malaysia. He received his PhD from Multimedia
University, Malaysia. Dr Chong has published over 100 articles in international refereed journals,
conference proceedings and in book chapters. His vast research interests include knowledge
management, human resource management, information technology management, management
in higher education and entrepreneurship. Siong Choy Chong is the corresponding author and can
be contacted at: eddychong@faa.org.my

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