Malaysia Urges Women to Lead the Nation's Green Energy Transition

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Thursday, 13 August 2026

Women must actively participate in driving the nation's energy transition rather than remain mere beneficiaries, as Malaysia seeks to tap its underutilized female labor potential to build an inclusive green economy, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

Speaking at the closing of the 7th International Sustainable Energy Summit 2026, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Nancy said Malaysia has a large pool of underutilized female talent. She stressed that women should have a greater role in shaping the country’s future policies, investments and technologies.

Nancy also pointed out that the strong academic performance of Malaysian women has not translated into equal economic participation. This gap is particularly visible in technical and clean energy sectors, where greater participation from women could support the country’s transition towards a greener economy.

In 2025, Malaysia’s female labor force participation rate stood at 56.6%, compared with 83.3% for men. Of the 7.03 million people outside the labor force, 4.89 million, or 69.5%, were women. Among them, 42.8% cited housework and family responsibilities as the main reason for staying out of the workforce. These figures show that Malaysia has the talent it needs, but stronger support is required to help women enter and remain in the workforce.

Key Highlights:

• Women’s workforce participation remains low at 56.6% in Malaysia
• Women make up 15.7% of engineering, manufacturing and construction graduates
• Malaysia urged to include more women in green energy leadership and decision-making

"The issue is whether women have the opportunity, support and space to put that talent to work," Bernama reported her saying.

Data from the Asean Energy Database System indicates that women make up 15.7% of graduates in engineering, manufacturing, and construction across Malaysia. However, Minister Nancy noted that strong educational attainment has not automatically generated equal economic participation, pointing to the need for targeted, inclusive policy interventions across the energy sector.

To address these disparities, she called for Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion principles to be embedded into policy formulation, executive leadership, and governance frameworks across all sectors.

"The energy transition is not only about systems, targets and new technologies. Ultimately, it is about improving our people – how they live, work and build their future.

"The aspiration is that women should not be seen only as beneficiaries of the energy transition; women must also help shape it. That means having women at the table where policies are designed, investments are decided, technologies are developed and industries are led," she said.

"Among them, 42.8 per cent cited housework and family responsibilities as the main reason for remaining outside the workforce. These figures tell us that talent is not the problem. The issue is whether women have the opportunity, support and space to put that talent to work," she said.

Nancy said this in her speech at the closing of the 7th International Sustainable Energy Summit 2026 today. She said although women accounted for 15.7 per cent of graduates in engineering, manufacturing and construction in Malaysia, according to the Asean Energy Database System, higher academic achievement had yet to translate automatically into equal economic participation.