Exploring the Socioeconomic Drivers of Female Labour Force Participation: Evidence from Malaysia

Pain, Nur Aalyah (2025) Exploring the Socioeconomic Drivers of Female Labour Force Participation: Evidence from Malaysia. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Despite notable progress in educational attainment, women remain underrepresented in Malaysia’s labour force, reflecting a persistent gap in gender equality and economic participation. This study investigates the key determinants of female labour force participation (FLFP) in Malaysia, with a focus on education, income inequality (measured by the GINI index), and fertility rate. Using annual data from 2002 to 2023, the study applies the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to examine both the short-run and long-run relationships among these socioeconomic variables and FLFP. Empirical data sourced from the Department of Statistics Malaysia and the World Development Indicators provide the foundation for the analysis. The findings reveal that while education has a significant positive impact on FLFP, fertility rate and income inequality exhibit negative correlations. Marital status is also found to play a limiting role in women’s labour force engagement. These results underscore the need for targeted policy measures to enhance women’s workforce participation, such as expanding access to education, reducing income disparities, and offering supportive family and childcare policies. The study contributes to the literature by providing recent empirical evidence on the structural factors influencing FLFP in Malaysia and offers actionable insights for policymakers seeking to foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth Keywords: Female Labour Force Participation, Education, Income Inequality (GINI index), Fertility Rate, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model.