Penang’s gender inclusive policies have proven to be a success and since been emulated by other state governments!

Penang Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow reiterated the state government’s commitment to women empowerment by introducing and supporting initiatives that pertain to narrowing the gender gap. During the virtual launch of ‘Jelajah Sidang Wanita 2021’ last Saturday (21 August), Chow lauded the participants for portraying the spirit of self-resilience by taking up the challenge to hone their leadership skills through participation.

Chow asserted,

“Kudos to all the 275 participants! Your involvement proves that you are extraordinary and of great potential to become successful leaders in the future. I believe that this would be a starting point to unleash your talents in politics,”

The Jelajah Sidang Wanita 2021 or Penang Women’s Assembly 2021 is an all-women mock assembly which had its inaugural launch last year. This event allows for women in the state to polish their leadership skills as well as give them an opportunity to interact with ADUNs and MPs and learn from them.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Penang Women’s Assembly 2021 is held virtually this year and involves women participants from all five districts in the state.

This initiative has proven to be successful in promoting women participation in politics and have since been replicated in Negeri Sembilan by its state government. Introduced by Negeri Sembilan’s Power House Wanita Gemilang, the state government there introduced the Negeri Sembilan Women’s Assembly using the model used by Penang.

The Penang Women’s Assembly is one of many initiatives introduced by the Penang’s Women and Family Development Committee (JPWK). JPWK itself is the first committee of its kind in Malaysia and part of the effort by the Penang PH State Government to empower women to become leaders.

Furthermore, the Penang Government has also made gender inclusiveness and women empowerment part of its Penang2030 vision. This was also stressed by Penang Chief Minister during his address at the event in which he said,

“As the Chief Minister of Penang, I will always be committed to support initiatives pertaining to narrowing the gender gap.“

Besides the establishment of JPWK, the Penang State Government has also adopted gender inclusiveness policy in its agencies and departments with a ratio of 40:40:20, which is 40% women, 40% men and 20% both women and men. – The Rocket.