This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 24, 2016.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s female labour force participation has been on the rise in the past three decades. According to the Malaysia Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report, female labour force participation increased to 53.6% in 2014, from 44.5% and 47.2% in 1982 and 2000, while the ratio between female and male students improved to 1.31 in 2014.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said Malaysia had achieved and surpassed the targets for women empowerment, as laid out in the United Nations’ (UN) MDG.

“In terms of the empowerment of women, we have achieved that in education and in fact, we have surpassed it. We need to worry more about our male students now, as they are not doing as well as the females.

“On the role of women in senior leadership roles, that is improving, but still can be better. At the board of directors’ level of all registered companies, it stands at 29.5%. That is some of the unfinished business that we need to address,” he said.

Wahid was speaking at the unveiling of the Malaysia MDG 2015 report yesterday, which outlined the performance and outcome of development efforts over the past 15 years. The targets set out by the MDG aim to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empowering women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV, malaria and other diseases, and ensure environmental sustainability.

Malaysia’s key achievements include a reduction in the proportion of the population in poverty to 0.6% as at 2014, compared with 16.5% in 1990 and 3.8% in 2009. The net enrolment ratio in primary education rose to 97.9% in 2014, compared with 92.7% and 95.7% in 1990 and 2009 respectively. Youth unemployment improved to 10.2% in 2014, from 11.9% in 2009.

“Based on the MDG targets set in 2000, we have achieved most of the targets. The report outlines the targets we have achieved and areas that continue to [be] work[ed] on to meet the new targets set for 2030 under the SDGs (sustainable development goals),” said Wahid.

The UN’s 2030 agenda consists of 17 new SDGs or global goals to guide policy and funding over the next 15 years.