Workplace support systems failing single women with caregiving duties
PETALING JAYA: More single women who are juggling their careers with caregiving responsibilities, delayed marriages and longer life expectancy are often overlooked in traditional workplace support systems.
International Islamic University Malaysia Sociology and Anthropology Department assistant professor Dr Sharifah Fatimah Alzahrah Syed Hussein said traditional caregiving arrangements have changed as more women pursue higher education, achieve financial independence and remain active in the workforce.
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“In the past, unpaid care work was often carried out by women who were not in paid employment.
“Today, most people are working, which means families have fewer resources in terms of someone being available to manage caregiving responsibilities,” she said.
She said these changes, coupled with longer life expectancy and delayed marriages, have resulted in unmarried women increasingly being expected to care for elderly parents, support relatives and, in some cases, help look after nieces and nephews.
Fatimah stressed that despite these evolving realities, workplace policies remain largely centred on the traditional nuclear family model, with caregiving support often focused on parents rather than employees with wider family responsibilities.
“We have not fully explored how to support workers who need time off to care for elderly relatives or other family members,” she added.
She said many employers continue to focus flexibility measures and leave entitlements on workers with children, despite Malaysia’s ageing population creating a growing need for employees to care for elderly parents and other dependants.
Fatimah emphasised that growing caregiving responsibilities could affect the wellbeing of single family members, particularly when they are forced to balance paid employment with unpaid care work without adequate workplace support.
She added that greater workplace flexibility and care-related leave policies would become increasingly important as Malaysia moves towards an ageing society and the number of workers caring for elderly family members continues to rise.
