Civil society coalition urges bold gender measures in Budget 2026

Summary

• GBG urges the government to use Budget 2026 to advance women’s rights through an anti-discrimination bill, awareness campaigns, and stronger protections.

• The civil society coalition calls for better labour policies, disability inclusion, investment in the care economy, and EPF reform for elderly security.

The Gender Budget Group (GBG) has urged Putrajaya to make Budget 2026 a turning point for women’s rights by fast-tracking a bill against the discrimination of women.

The coalition of civil society organisations, academics, and experts also called for the budget to include national campaigns to raise awareness of intimate partner violence, or abuse that occurs within romantic relationships.

In a statement today, GBG highlighted the importance of budget measures to prevent teen pregnancies, including the allocation of resources to NGOs to provide support services.

“Despite government initiatives, progress on gender equality is not catching up with the realities and needs of women today, underscoring urgent opportunities for bold and progressive acceleration.

“The GBG’s analysis identifies persistent gaps in women’s political representation, economic participation, and protection from violence, alongside systemic barriers faced by marginalised groups, including persons with disabilities,” said GBG lead Omna Sreeni-Ong.

In August, the Finance Ministry announced that Budget 2026 will be tabled in Parliament on Oct 10.

Women in the labour force

Commenting further, GBG called on the government to improve female labour force participation.

“These include expanding returnship programmes, mandating gender pay gap reporting, incentivising flexible work arrangements, and significantly investing in the care economy with accessible, affordable, and quality child, special needs, and eldercare, (that is) primarily community-based,” said the group.

It further suggested improved support for women going through menopause.

Citing a 2025 study, GBG reported a significant decline in the labour participation rate among women undergoing menopause.

It urged the government to carry out a national study to identify the type of support needed by menopausal women.

It recommended the launch of a public awareness campaign aimed at destigmatising menopause and empowering women to seek help.

Workplaces could be incentivised to provide support, it added.

GBG also pushed the government to improve the representation of disabled people in the workforce.

“For persons with disabilities, representation remains well below one percent of the workforce.

“The one percent quota promised for the civil service since 1988 has never been achieved, with actual levels closer to 0.3 to 0.4 percent.

“Budget 2026 must break this ceiling by ring-fencing and expanding existing incentives,” it added.

Besides that, the group emphasised the need for greater social protection for the elderly.

It proposed restructuring the Employment Provident Fund (EPF) into a “dual-component scheme” to guarantee better retirement security.

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