Introduction The title of my report is: A report that looks at gender and development in Malaysia. I am going to investigate the roles of men and women in the workforce and what impact it has on the country. My report is related to the following key ideas: Theme 6, key idea 2: My report links to this key idea because my research shows that as well as men, women have a significant role to play in development. However due to gender inequality men and women are treated differently and their roles result in having an impact on development.

Malaysia is a country that has been influenced by Asian values; and this has determined the role of women in the domestic/private sphere, whereas men mostly dominate the public sphere. Theme 2, key idea 1: My report is related to key idea 1, because the changes that have been made over time, show that the condition has progressed or made significant changes. The inequality in Malaysia varies between the different communities and groups of people.

Malaysia has a mixed population, effecting development because the women from China have taken over the Malay women in the work force; due to the fact that china is a country that has developed rather fast meaning Chinese people have higher education levels. Figure 1: Map of Malaysia Rationale/Background Malaysia is a country situated in South East Asia. The country has separated into two main regions- Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysia Borneo which is by the South China Sea. The three most dominant cultures that form the majority of Malaysia’s population are the Malays 50. 4%, the Chinese 25% and the Indians 11%.

Because of the different ethnic groups, Malaysia has become a multicultural and multilingual society. During the late 20th century, Malaysia faced rapid development and had experienced an economic boom. The economic growth has transformed Malaysia into a newly industrialised country. As Malaysia is one of the top exporters in natural rubber and palm oil, which is linked to the primary sector, international trade is important to its economy. Manufacturing makes up a major sector of the country’s economy; at one time Malaysia was the largest producer of rubber and palm oil in the world.

However, not only was it the international trade and exportation that rapidly changed Malaysia. The Chinese first set foot in Malaysia in the 15th century but not only until the late 18th century was it that the Chinese community brought development to Malaysia and changed the workforce. Most of the Chinese people had settled in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur where they made the city the way it is today. It is evident that the Chinese are the economic power of Malaysia by the number of migrants in the urban and city area.

They have introduced various Chinese traditions as well as being well known for celebrating the Chinese New Year. During the time of the Chinese New Year they put up colourful displays and shows for the population, lighting up the city, attracting many people. Over time, this tradition has carried over to the Malays and Indians of Malaysia. Indians, the third largest population in Malaysia have also brought the Indian tradition over, celebrating traditional events and visiting temples. As well as the Chinese, the Indians have a big part of the business sector, especially in restaurants.

They have introduced a new taste to Malaysia. The Key Questions I will be investigating are: 1) What are the differences between the roles of men and women and what effect does this have on development? 2) How has Malaysia changed over time? 3) How does the society and environment affect the livelihoods of Malay people? Methodology To get as many sources and research possible – relevant to my key questions, all the information obtained throughout consists of secondary research as it was more openly accessed.

The use of primary research would not have been significantly considerable as the situation is taking place in Malaysia, therefore it would be difficult for me to conduct the primary data that would provide me with an honest overview of the condition. Relying on secondary data also came about as a problem as some sources were either biased to one side of an argument or were invalid and therefore unreliable. However to overcome these problems I used the snowballing effect to gather various different articles, NGO’s, statistics etc. This will result in ensuring my investigation is as honest as possible.

Question 1: What are the differences between the roles or men and women and what effect does this have on development? Figure 2 = Religiosity Table The table above shows that the majority of Malaysia’s population are Muslim. Although the many different cultures have been an advantage to Malaysia’s economy there are negative sides that also contribute towards development. The Chinese population have high education skills; most of them are able to speak English which brings them a lot more opportunities for employment. Figure 3 – Pie Chart Showing the Percentage of Foreign Workers.

Due to the fact that they have most of the jobs in the business sector, this means that there are fewer jobs for the Malay’s. According to statistics, women represent 36% of the Malaysian workforce. Men are known of having higher education levels than women and are sent to work to be able to support the family. On the other hand, women are often at home looking after the family and doing the domestic work. However, over time Malaysia has started to develop and more women are seen taking further education and pursuing a career as well as taking care of the domestic work.

The change in women’s empowerment has helped improved the economy and development of the country. Figure 4 – Graph on the Level of Education By looking at the graph, it shows that the participation of girls in the level of education is higher than boys. Out of nearly 900 million illiterate people in the world, two thirds of them are women. Many families in Malaysia think it is a waste to send their daughters to school rather than their sons mainly because they want their daughters to learn how to be able look after their children.