| Abstract |
The progress of Malaysian women has significantly improved since 1980, particularly in terms of educational achievement. However, women's labor force participation rate, level of women in decision-making at the household and industry levels, is still below that of men. These instances suggested that there were still obstacles to women's empowerment
in Malaysia, particularly in decision-making. Hence, this study aims to identify factors affecting women's autonomy in household decision-making among married women in Malaysia. Data on women's autonomy in household decision-making were obtained from Fifth Malaysian Population and Family Survey in 2014 and accounted for 2595 married women aged 15-59. Kishor's Conceptual Framework and Three-domains of Women's Empowerment were adopted as a research framework. The study framework consisted of ten exogenous factors and endogenous variables of women's autonomy in household decisions. The household decision-making was divided into eight domains: household expenses, buying a house, making assets, family savings, family holidays, children's discipline, children's education, and woman's career. Each household decision domain had responses of three levels of women's autonomy (not involved, joint and sole participation) and was analyzed individually using the Multinomial Logistics Regression method. The study provides evidence that women's characteristics can restrict the
autonomous power of women in a patriarchal society like Malaysia. All selected factors significantly impacted women's autonomy in at least one decision domain in the household. Women's education was the most substantial factor that positively influenced women's autonomy in all decisions in the household. In contrast, the spousal education gap and participation in the labor force could be a barrier to women's autonomy in the household. The family should be at the forefront of the empowering process as a woman's role in caring for the family's welfare is definite. Despite the continuous efforts to empower women, the study suggested that there is a need for a balance in shaping the positive patriarchal values among the communities, particularly among men. This can be achieved by promoting shared responsibility within a household, and this initiative has the same substantial weightage as a woman's education and economic status. |
