El ciclo de una política pública y sus productos

Many senior women in the public sector described their initial career decisions as unplanned or unintentional. While six public senior women had joined other private organisations during the first one or two initial years of their careers, eight had started their careers in the government immediately after graduation, at the average age of 23 or 24. Most senior women had joined the public sector as a result of the encouragement they received from their fathers or mothers who were also working in the government office. With respect to ethnicity, the Malay families tend to rely on the civil service for their livelihood while the non-Malays are more likely to be found working in the private sector. As discussed in Chapter Five, the analysis has shown that private patriarchal relations and family background were significant factors in relation to career choices in later life. This plays a major role in determining the future of women in the public sector. For example, Widuri was immediately asked by her father to apply for an ADO position and she did the written exam, went to the interview and passed all stages without knowing what an ADO was. Sakura commented that her late father asked her to be an ADO from a young age. Azalea’s parents had influenced her to seek employment in the public sector because her father was a retired policeman who once served in the government. Azalea confessed that her mother declined an interview invitation as a reporter for The Star, the journalist company, on behalf of Azalea and lied that her daughter had already been employed by the government. Though Azalea’s actual ambition was to be a journalist, she finally obeyed her parents’ decision and joined the service right after her graduation. From the perspectives of private patriarchal relations, the parents (including the mothers) tend to push their daughters towards the public sector. This explains the patriarchal relations discussed in Chapter Five have only been slightly modified by the move of women into employment, as men remain the dominant decision-makers.

Another reason why these Malay senior women enrolled in the government sector was because they received government scholarships under Malay privilege. In return, these women were tied to a contract where they had to serve the government for a certain number of years. Women from the public sector explained that if the duration of their degree was three years, the length of the bond for working in the government would be times two and plus 1 i.e. 3 years of undergraduate degree x 2 = 6 + 1 additional year = 7 years of commitment to serve the government. This would also explain why not many non-Malay women are to be found in the public sector, because they are not offered the scholarship.

On the other hand, Orked applied to work in the public sector with intentions to feel more relaxed and have a personal life after quitting the stressful work culture in the private sector organisation.

“To be honest, I moved out from the private sector and joining the public sector because of my family. I did not have a personal life when I was in the private sector. Even when I was at home, I still think about my workload in the office. So I heard people said working in the public sector is relaxed, so I applied the government” (Orked, Deputy Under Secretary, Public Sector)

At the time of the interviews, the three eldest senior female managers in the public sector aged 59, 56 and 52 had been in service for an average of 30 years. In two out of three cases above, these senior women worked in the department where they had started three decades before. Through long service, they had moved upwards through the ranks, however, public sector senior women asserted that they did not foresee any more upward moves in their career ladders. They then made the choice either to retire early and start their own business or to continue until retirement at the age of 60. Based on the analysis, though these women could support the notion indicated by Yukongdi and Benson (2005), that Asian women have ‘cracked’ the glass ceilings, it seems that these senior women had started to simply think about how or when to leave after reaching certain stages of their careers.

Chapter Five shows that more than half of private sector senior women in this research were educated overseas. As a result, some of the participants were interviewed when they were still abroad. The big companies were likely to recruit these senior women during their final year and offer them a job right after they had finished their studies. The participants felt that panels were particularly impressed by women who graduated from abroad considering them smart and bright enough to be employed in their organisations, which was evidenced during the interview session based on their attitudes and personality. Four senior women in the private sector sample admitted they had been recruited and had already secured a job in Malaysia before they even completed their studies abroad. For instance, Teratai, a Business Analysis and Reporting General Manager, said that when she got an offer from the company she worked with, they flew her from Washington DC where her Georgetown university was, to Florent Part to interview her. They bought the flight ticket for her and she went to the airport. When she arrived at New York airport, a stretch black limousine waited for her. After being interviewed, they offered her a place in the company immediately. Teratai’s experience was similar to Rose’s, a Chief Executive Officer, where during her final year, the company came to interview her in Australia.

“I was okay because who does not want to work at that point of time? You know job comes to you right? I think I am being blessed in that sense so when I came back, I do not have to find a job anymore. Then I came back, straight away served and been bonded for three years. So

that was where the journey begins enduring my life with this company until now" (Rose, Chief Executive Officer, Private Sector)

It is worth noting that, contrary to the public sector women, senior female managers in the private sector were more likely to have in mind which career paths they wanted to venture into that suited their interests, so there was less of an influence from home and parents. Underlying these differences in planning careers between the public and private sector senior managers was the ambition of individual senior managers. Eleven senior women in the private sector described themselves as being ambitious and stressed that having career plans was as important as having a good education and opening up opportunities. They attributed their career achievements to good planning and following the plans no matter the circumstances. As Cho et al. (2015) suggested, Asian women managers have shown a significant shift in the last few decades. Private sector women in this study reflect how they have partially escaped from the traditional private patriarchy and moved to the public arena by being more career- oriented and working in a male-dominated environment. In contrast, only seven public sector women said they had career goals. The differences in personal ambition were also apparent through the body gestures when these managers described their ambitious natures. It seemed that public sector women prefer to avoid having too much of a career challenge that some women in the private sector experienced. The private sector senior women were generally more relaxed about describing themselves as motivated and ambitious, whereas their public counterparts were more uncertain and hesitant to admit the same.

The remaining thirteen senior women in the sample (seven public and six private) suggested that they had flexible careers, with minimum planning. From the findings of the study, the lack of career guidance at schools or university level, lack of encouragement in the work setting and negative socialisation experiences, may have contributed to the lack of career planning observed amongst the senior female managers in the study. Without career planning, senior female managers were more likely to experience missed opportunities and stay longer in the same position. Senior women in the public sector mentioned that securing jobs that were matched with their personal interests was not as important as finding any job, and they had careers because they stayed in their respective jobs in the government. Others believed in the sustenance which is part of the religious belief that if they deserved to receive things they had planned, they would get it. The following comments made by three public sector and one private sector senior manager (all Malays) aptly captured these scenarios;

“We can plan but Allah will determine. We believe in that destiny. If you are the chosen one to hold that position, so it’s yours. We can plan but everything is in God’s hands” (Mawar, Principal Assistant Director, Public Sector)

“I have no target. I am sorry but I do not have that target. Just go with the flow. As a woman, come what may, I have to accept it. One more thing, I always believe that great power comes with great responsibility. So, it’s always a package like that. Now I think I have enough of my plate and this is fine with me” (Orked, Deputy Under Secretary, Public Sector) “I do not have the particular plan. I just want to give the best to the organization and personally I want the best for my children. Never have a goal to be a President. Just go with the flow. If it comes, it will come” (Kamelia, Vice President of Treasury, Private Sector)

When asked about their career satisfaction, the analysis revealed that senior women from both sectors expressed different levels of career satisfaction in the workplace. The educational level, higher-ranking positions, challenging jobs, flexible working hours and monetary reward were positively associated with career satisfaction amongst senior women interviewed in the study. The interviews in this research validated the findings of Marshall (1995) as well as Powell and Graves (2003) in which they concluded that women must possess a good level of human capital in order to be at the same par like their male counterparts. For women in the public sector, having to hold higher-ranking positions in accordance with their qualifications and skills, has elevated their social status and respectability in the Malaysian society. As explained in the preceding chapter, unlike private sector women, public sector women would take the chance to further their higher degrees up to a doctorate level. Deep-rooted patriarchal values have also led women to improve their managerial and human capital skills in the workplace. The tensions between public and private patriarchy have influenced the development of women’s career development. Left to its own devices, private patriarchy would discourage women working in the public sphere and therefore discourage them gaining human capital.

Career satisfaction for women working in the public sector was largely linked to status and prestige, which would also link with the concept of Malay privilege. Public sector women indicated that being in power-related positions like the ADO or as bureaucrats are considered prestigious, which contributes to personal qualities such as authority and charisma. It seemed that holding a top-level decision-making position was the reason for career satisfaction in light of the greater status of the position. This is linked to the ability of breaking the structural limitations in Malaysian society through the lens of intersectionality; gender and ethnicity (Crenshaw, 1991). Those who were employed in the civil service perceived to be successful for getting offered a pension scheme, which is linked to privilege working as a government servant. Belonging to relatively advantaged intersection groups especially as Malay women, they would have a strong social standing and esteem. Furthermore, public sector women thought that they were in the elite social group as they see themselves linked with the achieved

quota of having 30 percent women in senior managerial positions (see Chapter Eight), this in turn has led to career satisfaction.

On the other hand, the majority of private sector senior women interviewed perceived their wage as the major reason for their career satisfaction. The analysis found that the time requirements and stress associated with holding a top-level management position may reduce the quality of these managers’ family and personal lives. It should be noted that domestic tasks are commonly an issue associated with gender inequality in Malaysia (see Chapter Seven). Their higher salaries allowed them to hire servants to perform childcare and housework, which indirectly may increase career satisfaction as it may provide the perfect balance of prestige and family time. The fact that not many private organisations could offer flexible working hours to employees has been found to be another signal of satisfaction in women’s careers, for breaking the barriers and climbing up to the top ladder (Omar and Hamzah, 2003; White, 1992). In addition, managerial positions in the private sector can also be considered prestigious as they were likely to compete with the non-Malays in order to succeed. As elucidated in section 6.3, unlike in the government, the competition is likely higher given the fact that non-Malay men and women are heavily employed within this sector (Lee and Abdul Khalid, 2016). Therefore, those Malay women who have been promoted to senior managerial levels would be the inspiration, especially for younger women to succeed in a competitive playing field.

The responses received on what these women felt about their career accomplishment to date were either ‘satisfied’, ‘not really satisfied but sufficient’, or ‘never satisfied’. While more than half of the senior women were satisfied and felt grateful for what they had achieved, five were never satisfied (two women and three women from the public and private sectors respectively) and three were dissatisfied but sufficient (two in the public and one from the private sector). Of five non-Malays interviewed in this research, two of them (one Chinese and one Indian) never felt satisfied with their career achievements, whereas the remainder were very contented with where they are now, which reflects that they had reached the most senior positions in their careers.

“I am very satisfied, and I think I have fulfilled all my ambitions to be honest with you” (Madhuri, Director, Private Sector)

This is not the case for Daisy, being a Chinese career woman, who never felt satisfied and always wanted to contribute more to the organisation.

“Never satisfied [laugh]. I am a workaholic. Even though I hate to admit it, but in the end, I admit I am a career woman” (Daisy, Chief Finance Officer, Private Sector)

Financially, Malay senior women, on the whole, tended to feel satisfied with their careers though in some circumstances the level of satisfaction was not at the highest. It is possible that this situation could be influenced by a religious belief whereby the Malays believe that as a female Muslim, they have to just accept a given situation, and things will come at the right place at the right time, but nothing can happen unless permitted by Allah. They also use the word alhamdulillah [Praise to Allah] to demonstrate their satisfaction, happiness and gratitude that they had been able to be in their current positions. It is noteworthy to mention here that the word alhamdulillah [Praise to Allah] is an Arabic word that Malay people often use as a statement of appreciation to Allah for whatever good things are happening to them at that time.

Moreover, women appeared to feel satisfied when they had been placed in positions where they would be most effective and have the best opportunities to demonstrate their abilities. This becomes more pronounced with status when senior women obtained their overall life satisfaction both emotionally and socially from the contributions of many areas throughout their career trajectory. However, this was not the case for Melur. Though she was happy with things she had been blessed with, Melur thought that she could be earning more.

“Not really satisfied. Supposed at my age people will be earning RM50k and above” (Melur, Director, Private Sector)

To conclude, more than half of senior women in the private sector really enjoyed being in their current senior positions and always worked towards their goals, unlike public sector senior women whose careers had always happened to them by chance and over time. While some senior women in the government had spent their entire life working in one organisation, quicker promotions, higher pay and being hungry to learn were also cited as a major reason for senior women planning to have a career in the private sector because they had been motivated by the needs of career growth. Based on the analysis, private sector women, regardless of ethnicity, appeared to be more career-oriented as compared to their public sector counterparts, the majority of whom were Malays. They were more likely to plan their career in advance in order for them to achieve their targets for career promotions. Contrary to this, public sector senior women were likely to accept what had been offered even if it did not suit their career interests. Equally important, the major reason behind career satisfaction was socio-economic class, as some respondents belong to upper and middle classes, where ethnicity is considered a symbol of class due to structural privilege systems in Malaysia. Both public and private sector women in the study were likely to measure their career satisfaction as more objective, but in different ways. Private sector women were more attracted with the amount of salary offered to them whereas for public sector women, given the opportunity to become an ADO, a prestigious position in the government, has made them feel satisfied with their career. In terms of ethnicity, Malay women appeared to feel grateful with things they have achieved due to religious backgrounds and believe that if a position was meant to be theirs, it would be. On the other

hand, the non-Malay women always wanted to earn more and never felt satisfied with their career achievements. Being career-oriented, these women believe they have a lot more to offer to organisations and are wanting to drive their career to the next level of success.

6.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter has explored the theme of women’s careers and public patriarchy in Malaysia. The evidence presented in this chapter has been related to women’s interpretation of the traditional patriarchal values in Malaysia. The responses of the senior women managers demonstrate that they are not an homogenous group and that differences can be attributed to their education, age, ethnicity, social position, as well as the sector in which they work. It is also argued that intersectional social categories such as gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status have a significant influence on women’s career progression. Throughout this chapter, the understanding of women’s career experiences in the public sphere has led to the comparative profile of the work experience faced by public and private sector senior female managers. It summarises how occupational gender segregation and privilege may have