Malaysian Men Still Earn Higher Median Wages Than More Qualified Female Peers

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Male employees in Malaysia continued to earn higher median monthly wages than women at the end of 2025, even as women increasingly outperformed men academically, according to new data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)

The agency's Labour Market Review Q1 2026 report showed that male formal employees earned a median monthly wage of RM3,167 in December 2025, compared to RM3,120 for female employees.

While the difference appears relatively small at RM47, the report stressed that male employees consistently earned a higher median wage than female employees throughout the final quarter of 2025.

The gap was wider earlier in the quarter.

In October 2025, male employees recorded a median wage of RM2,900 compared to RM2,811 for women, a difference of RM89.

By November, the gap narrowed slightly to RM73, with men earning RM2,900 and women earning RM2,827.

Both genders recorded identical year-on-year median wage growth of 4% compared to December 2024, suggesting that wage increases alone did not fundamentally alter the underlying disparity.

The figures were compiled from Malaysia's formal citizen workforce, which stood at 7.08 million employees as of December 2025. Men accounted for 55.1% of the workforce, while women made up 44.9%.

Women are outperforming men academically, but not economically

The report's most revealing finding lies in what DOSM described as a growing structural disconnect between education and labour market outcomes for women.

Among Malaysians aged 15 to 30, about 40.6% of women possess tertiary qualifications, compared to just 27.0% of men.

In other words, young women are now substantially more educated than their male peers.

Yet despite this academic advantage, DOSM said, "the labour market lacks the flexibility to retain highly credentialed female talent".

The consequences become more visible as women move through their twenties.

While younger women participate in education and employment at rates relatively close to men, many begin withdrawing from the labour market as caregiving and domestic responsibilities increase.

Among youths aged 15 to 24, the gender gap in the NEET category, referring to those not in employment, education, or training, remains comparatively narrow.

Female NEET rates stood at 9.6%, while male rates were 7.9%.

But across the broader 15-to-30 age group, the divergence becomes sharper.

Many women are not unemployed; they are leaving the workforce altogether

The report found that women are not simply struggling to find jobs. Many are exiting the labour force entirely.

By age 25, economically inactive women already account for more than 20% of the female cohort. By age 30, that figure expands dramatically to around 40%.

Family care and unpaid domestic work emerged as the single biggest reason behind this detachment from the workforce.

For economically inactive youths aged 15 to 30, family care and housework accounted for 61% of female inactivity.

Among men, the equivalent figure peaked at just 10.2%.

DOSM linked this directly to structural barriers such as limited childcare accessibility and rigid workplace arrangements that make long-term workforce participation more difficult for women.

Sectoral wage realities are also widening the gap

The report also highlighted how Malaysia's wage structure contributes to the disparity.

Mining and quarrying remained the country's highest-paying sector in December 2025, recording a median monthly wage of RM7,900.

However, the sector represents only 0.5% of total formal employment and is heavily male-dominated.

Meanwhile, the services sector, Malaysia's largest employer, accounting for 68.1% of all formal citizen workers or around 4.82 million people, includes several lower-paying industries with high female participation.

Sub-sectors such as food & beverages and accommodation recorded median monthly wages of just RM2,046.

The concentration of women in lower-paying service industries, combined with workforce exits during caregiving years, continues to pull aggregate female wages downward despite rising educational attainment.

DOSM says childcare and flexible work protections are key

The report concluded that wage growth alone will not solve the imbalance.

Instead, DOSM said Malaysia needs a stronger social infrastructure to reduce the unpaid domestic burden placed disproportionately on women.

Among the measures highlighted were accessible childcare infrastructure, subsidised eldercare services, and legally protected flexible working arrangements.

The agency framed the issue not only as a gender equity concern, but also as an economic risk.

Without structural reforms that allow women to remain in the workforce long term, Malaysia risks underutilising one of its most educated population groups.