{
  "id": 18610480,
  "title": "Better care support needed to keep women in the workforce",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/better-care-support-needed-to-keep-women-in-the-workforce",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-07T00:59:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/11/1572579/better-care-support-needed-keep-women-workforce"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The article highlights the ongoing challenge of women's empowerment in the Malaysian workforce, despite progress in participation rates. While women's labour force participation is at 56.6%, compared to 83.3% for men, experts argue that true empowerment involves more than just participation rates, including job quality, leadership positions, and financial control. A significant barrier, according to the Universiti Utara Malaysia Centre for Applied Psychology, Policy and Social Work, is the unequal sharing of family caregiving responsibilities, particularly for single mothers and those with limited access to affordable childcare. This issue is compounded by workplace cultures that do not accommodate family needs, such as flexibility for breastfeeding or caregiving. The article emphasizes that women's decisions to leave their jobs or limit their career advancement are often influenced by these family responsibilities and the lack of support, rather than personal choice.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}