Overview

The Women in Economy Conference convenes to work towards building a sustainable economy for the women in Penang.

The theme for Women in Economy Conference is “Rethinking Entrepreneurship for Today’s Women”. The conference will be an essential meeting place to strategise policies and programmes that support women in the economy and addressing areas that require inputs on women’s empowerment in economy.

Women are half the world’s population. Yet, according to UN Women, the world Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for women was 49.6% against the men which was 76.1% in year 2015. In Malaysia, data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia shows that the Female LFPR has gradually increased from slightly over 46% in year 2010 to 54.7% in year 2017. However, Malaysia still has one of the lowest Female LFPR in ASEAN.

Many factors including globalisation, digital innovation, climate change, socio-economic and cultural issues continue to affect how we work. Many more women are likely to enter the global labour force in the near future. But is their economic potential fully realised? Imagine a world where women played an identical role to men in the labour markets. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2017 by World Economic Forum, the world as a whole could increase global GDP by US$5.3 trillion by 2025 by closing the gender gap in economic participation by 25% over the same period. ³

This conference is also guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Goal 5 to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” and Goal 8 to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. This is in accordance with SDGs Agenda 2030 to leave no one behind.

The conference will hold two (2) keynote speeches, one (1) panel discussion, three (3) panel presentations and two (2) working sessions with 3 concurrent breakout groups to promote participation, engagement and contribution from all participants. There will be a business mapping platform to allow participants to meet and discuss potential collaboration. The conference will conclude with two (2) plenary sessions on the sharing of the tools and methodologies to support women in the economy, as well as consolidation of participants’ recommendations to empower women in the economy in a sustainable manner.

1. Panel Discussion

Title: “The Economic Pie – Every Woman Can Have a Share”

The panel discussion will discuss and deliberate strategies to empower women to participate in the labour market, especially those in the informal sector.

2. Panel Presentations

Title: “From Start to Finish”

Three panel presentations will focus on topics that will provide the know-how to run a business, its supply chain and its marketing and sales.

3. Working Sessions

The conference will hold two (2) working sessions with three (3) concurrent groups each.

Title: “What’s In It For Me?”

Working session on tools and best practices to empower women and to succeed in the economy.

Title: “Charting the Roadmap for Action”

Working session to identify the barriers to success, formulate strategies to overcome the barriers and chart action plans to move forward.

4. Networking Session

Title: “Business Mapping”

This networking session focuses on strengthening and forming new strategic partnerships and collaborations. About 40 invited organizations will showcase business ideas, products and services.