Promoting a Gender-Inclusive Digital Economy in China and Malaysia

The world economy at present is characterised by digitalisation, where the digital economy based on next-generation information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, blockchain and artificial intelligence have permeated almost all aspects of the economy.

Many countries including China and Malaysia endeavour to build and grow their digital economies. For instance, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology reports that the scale of China’s digital economy value added has expanded to RMB45.5 trillion in 2021, a remarkable improvement from RMB2.6 trillion in 2005. Meanwhile, the digital economy policies and priorities of the Malaysian Government are primarily outlined in the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital).

Digitalisation for businesses involves various technologies and business processes. The adoption of digital solutions has brought about various benefits to the country’s economy and trade as well as businesses and consumers worldwide. Among others, these

include the reduction of international trade costs, facilitation of the creation and growth of global value chains, increased technological diffusion and improved connectivity for businesses and consumers globally. Put differently, digitalisation has created internationalisation opportunities for businesses and accelerated their integration into the global value chains in a less costly and more flexible manner than traditional trade channels.

At the same time, although there has been a gradual increase in the participation of women in entrepreneurial activities in China and Malaysia over the recent decades, both countries still record relatively low ownership rates of women-owned businesses. This problem may be further exacerbated by the prevalence of digital technologies in the economy, where digitalisation may further magnify the gender inequality issues if the initiatives towards achieving a digital economy are executed without being gender sensitive.

Formally defined, the digital gender divide refers to the differences between gender in access to and skills associated with digital technologies. This phenomenon is particularly evident in terms of lower digital skills, adoption of digital technology and digital financial inclusion. Although notable progress to promote greater gender equality has been made in recent years, women still encounter a range of institutional and social barriers such as limited educational and employment opportunities, discrimination at the workplace and underrepresentation in leadership roles.

To address these issues, various policies and initiatives have been introduced to encourage women’s participation in businesses as well as to develop their digital skills. For example, China is progressively increasing its efforts to protect women’s rights and promote gender equality through stronger legal frameworks such as its latest revised Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law, which aims to safeguard the interests of women in the workplace and society, and came into effect on 1 January 2023.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has also planned various policy initiatives or measures to nurture digital talent and promote gender inclusivity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. According to the China Association for Science and Technology, women represented over 40 per cent of the country’s science and technology workforce as of 2020. In recognition of the rising role of women in these fields, the government strives to provide more training and career development programmes to women, recruit more women to hold leadership roles, as well as offer support for their entrepreneurial activities.

These government efforts are further supported by business organisations in China. Take for instance, DHGATE Group, a leading business-to-business cross-border e-commerce marketplace in China, which is committed to empowering women entrepreneurs to build their businesses and participate in the global supply chain through digital solutions. DHGATE Group has launched MyyShop, a one-stop social commerce Software-as-a-Service platform, in 2020 with the aim to lower the entry barriers to start and operate cross-border e-commerce businesses by providing digitalisation tools and step-by-step support.

In the case of Malaysia, MyDigital has acknowledged the digital gaps between gender in the country as outlined in the fifth thrust, i.e., to create an inclusive digital society, and has proposed numerous strategies to enhance inclusivity and participation in the digital

economy. Among others, these strategies include collaborative efforts with the private sector, the provision of a comprehensive online platform to facilitate the dissemination of online business-related information such as business opportunities, available financing sources and government assistance, as well as the provision of entrepreneurial and business management training and advice.

Several programmes were launched by government-owned entities in Malaysia to support women entrepreneurs. For example, TemanNita Financing Scheme by Tekun Nasional, Women Entrepreneur Financing Programme by SME Bank, Pemerkasa-Nita microfinance by Bank Simpanan Nasional and DanaNita business financing by Majlis Amanah Rakyat. Additionally, SME Corporation Malaysia has initiated the Women Netpreneur programme to develop digital skills among women entrepreneurs. Besides, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) highlights that more than 50 per cent of the participants for its initiatives such as Perkhidmatan eDagang Setempat, which assists rural entrepreneurs to sell their products on e-commerce platforms, eUsahawan Muda programme and eUsahawan Micro programme, were women. Along the same lines, women also made up more than half of the participants for its Global Online Workforce programme, which empowers Malaysians to generate income online.

To sum up, the growing digital economy presents abundant opportunities, including for women. As the global economy continues its stride towards digitalisation, policymakers should ensure that gender equality targets, such as targets to increase the ownership rates

of women in businesses as well as women’s participation in professional or technical roles in the digital sector are well-established and achieved. It is hoped that these gender-responsive policies will close the digital gender divide and promote better gender inclusivity in the digital economy.

Dr Chow Yee Peng is a Senior Lecturer at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

The SEARCH Scholar Series is a social responsibility programme jointly organised by the Southeast Asia Research Centre for Humanities (SEARCH), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.