WOMEN’S participation in Malaysian politics must be strengthened through comprehensive and structured reforms to achieve fairer representation, according to UMNO Women’s chief and Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad.

Speaking at the “Voices of HER” forum held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur on Friday; she said the political representation of women remains disproportionately low despite their strong performance in education and the labour market.

“When women dominate more than 60 per cent of university intake and the female labour force participation rate reaches 56.6 per cent, female representation in the Dewan Rakyat is still only around 13.5 per cent,” she said.

She said the figures highlight a persistent gap between women’s achievements in education and employment and their presence in political decision-making structures.

Noraini argued that the under-representation of women in politics has wider implications, affecting not only gender equality but also the inclusiveness and quality of national policymaking.

She called for a series of structural reforms, including the introduction of quota systems or incentive-based mechanisms in the electoral process, improvements to internal party candidate selection procedures, and more systematic development of women’s leadership pipelines.

She also emphasised the importance of changing societal attitudes towards female leadership, saying cultural perceptions remain a key barrier to greater participation.

“Increasing women’s participation will not happen naturally without clear, structured and sustained policy intervention,” she said.

The forum, themed “Women and Politics: Leadership, Representation and Reality”, brought together local and international participants to examine challenges and strategies for strengthening women’s role in political leadership. – May 1, 2026