Kekesalan ke atas kegagalan kebanyakan parti politik di Malaysia untuk mengiktiraf wanita sebagai pemimpin dan ditampilkan sebagai calon bagi PRU15 yang lalu telah disuarakan oleh Jawatankuasa Pemantauan PRU15 (PantauPRU15). Parti politik seharusnya bertanggungjawab untuk meningkatkan jumlah wanita yang dicalonkan untuk bertanding dalam PRU. Oleh itu, satu kajian telah dijalankan untuk menilai persepsi pengundi terhadap kepimpinan wanita dan pencalonan dalam pilihan raya. Kajian ini dijalankan melalui soal selidik secara atas talian ke atas pengundi-pengundi di enam buah negeri yang telah terlibat dalam Pilihan Raya Negeri (PRN) 2023 iaitu Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pulau Pinang, Kelantan, Kedah dan Terengganu. Pengundi-pengundi dari negeri-negeri ini telah dipilih secara persampelan bertujuan bagi menjawab persoalan kajian. Jumlah responden yang telah terlibat dalam kajian ini ialah seramai 399 orang responden. Dapatan menunjukkan bahawa majoriti pengundi mempunyai persepsi positif terhadap kepimpinan wanita dan pencalonan wanita dalam pilihan raya. Lebih dari separuh responden bersetuju bahawa wanita harus diberikan lebih banyak jawatan dalam politik. Manakala kebanyakan dari reponden pula berpandangan bahawa lebih ramai wanita perlu dicalonkan sebagai ADUN. Sejumlah besar juga percaya bahawa wanita boleh memberikan komitmen yang tinggi sekiranya dilantik sebagai ADUN. Secara keseluruhannya, pengundi mempunyai persepsi yang positif dan keyakinan terhadap pemimpin wanita. Ramai yang berpandangan bahawa calon ADUN wanita boleh menjadi pemimpin yang efektif jika diberikan latihan dalam kepimpinan. Dapatan ini boleh memberi input yang penting kepada kerajaan serta agensi-agensinya untuk terus menggiatkan usaha bagi menyediakan latihan dan sokongan kepada bakal pemimpin-pemimpin politik wanita di Malaysia.

Kata kunci: Pemimpin wanita; pilihan raya negeri; politik; stereotaip gender; ADUN; kepimpinan

Abstract: Regret over the failure of most political parties in Malaysia to recognise women as leaders and be featured as candidates for the last GE15 has been voiced by the GE15 Monitoring Committee (PantauGE15). Political parties should be responsible for increasing the number of women nominated to contest in the general election. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess voters' perception of women's leadership and candidacy in elections. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire on voters in six states that have been involved in the 2023 State Elections, namely Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu. Voters from these states were selected through purposive sampling to answer the question of the study. A total number of 399 respondents were involved in this study. The findings show that the majority of voters have a positive perception of women's leadership and women's candidacy in elections. More than half of the respondents agreed that women should be given more positions in politics. Meanwhile, most of them are of the view that more women should be nominated as ADUNs. A large number also believe that women can provide high commitment if appointed as ADUNs. Overall, voters have a positive perception and confidence in women leaders. Many are of the view that female ADUN candidates can become effective leaders if given leadership training. These findings can provide an important input to the government and its agencies to continue to intensify efforts to provide training and support to future women political leaders in Malaysia.

Keywords: Female leaders; gender stereotypes; politics; state elections; ADUN; leadership

References

Ab Rahman, B., Salad, N. A., & Mapjabil, J. (2016). Ciri dan pengaruh stereotaip feminin terhadap pengurusan dalam kalangan penjawat awam (The features and implication of feminine stereotypes in public service management). Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 12(14), 10-18.

Arfana, T. & Neelam, R. (2017). Women and Politics: A Global Perspective. International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, 7(11), 53-56.

Asri, A. A., & Muhamad, R. (2023). The Role of Female Opposition Representatives in the 13th Parliament. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 19(3), 204-215. https://doi.org/10.17576/geo-2023-1903-14

Bahiru, B., Mengistu, A. B. (2018). The Challenges of Women Leaders of Business Organizations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in Balancing Work-Family Responsibilities. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 19(2), 140-158. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol19/iss2/9

Bauer, N. M. (2020). Running Local: Gender Stereotyping and Female Candidates in Local Elections. Urban Affairs Review, 56(1), 96–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087418770807

Boyman, S.N. (2019). Kecenderungan politik dalam kalangan belia wanita di Perak. E-Bangi Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 16(7), 1-15.

Cassese, E. C., & Holman, M. R. (2018). Party and gender stereotypes in campaign attacks. Political Behavior, 40, 785-807. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48694147

Chairawati, F. (2020). Model Pemerkasaan Politik Perempuan di Wilayah Konflik Aceh. Advances in Humanities and Contemporary Studies, 1(1), 35-46. https://doi.org/10.30880/ahcs.2020.01.01.003

Dahal, S. (2013). Power, empowerment and community radio: Media by and for women in Nepal. Women's Studies International Forum, 40, 44-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2013.05.003

Djasmoredjo, B. D. (2004). Persepsi Karyawan Laki-laki terhadap Pemimpin Perempuan: Apakah Pemimpin Perempuan Lebih Bersifat Asuh Daripada Pemimpin Laki-laki? Journal of Widya Management and Accounting, 4(3), 316-333.

Ernst, K. P., Pagot, R., & Prá, J. R. (2024). Sustainable development goal 5: Women's political participation in South America, World Development Sustainability, 4, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2024.100138

Junaidah, M. & Pratiwi, T. (2023). The role of women leaders in developing the organizational culture of madrasah. Conference paper in International Conference on Multidisciplinary Science, KNE Life Sciences, 273–282. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v8i16.14048

Jonsen, K., Maznevski, M. L., & Schneider, S. C. (2010). Gender differences in leadership: Believing is seeing: implications for managing diversity. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 29(6), 549-572. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610151011067504

Kaushik, N., Sharma, A., & Kaushik, V. K. (2014). Equality in the workplace: A study of gender issues in Indian organisations. Journal of Management Development, 33(2), 90-106.

Krejcie, R. V. & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining Sample Size for Research Activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607-610.

Lai, C. W. (2021). The prevalence and causes of gender discrimination in the workplace in Malaysia. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research, 11(1), 12-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i5/16791

Lestari, Y., Prastyawan, A., & Isbandono, P. (2022). Women Leadership Based on Local Wisdom. Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Arts and Humanities 2021 (IJCAH 2021).

Moorthy, K., Salleh, N. M. Z. N., T'ing, L. C., & Ling, L. P. (2022). Gender Inequality Affecting Women’s Career Progression in Malaysia. Journal of International Women's Studies, 23(1), 310-332. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol23/iss1/32

Muktar, S. A., Desta, B. F., Damte, H. D., Heyi, W. K., & Gurmamo, E. M. (2022). Exploring the opportunities and challenges of female health leaders in three regional states of Ethiopia: A phenomenological study. BMC Public Health, 22, 1-10. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13871-w.

New, K. H., & Wong, J. X. (2023). Breaking Barriers: An Examination of Gender Inequality and Discrimination in Malaysia’s Workplace. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(5), 1113 – 1127. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i5/16791

Powell G. N., & Graves L.M. (2003). Women and men in management (3rd ed.). Sage Publication.

Powell, G. N. (1999). Reflections on the glass ceiling: Recent trends and future prospects. In G. N. Powell (Eds.), Handbook of gender and work (pp. 325–345). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452231365.n17

Raja, B. I. (2016). Social factors and women’s career advancement to senior management position in Pakistan. Asia Pacific Journal of Contemporary Education and Communication Technology, 2(1), 134-145.

Rashila Ramli & Saliha Hassan. (2010). Wanita dan pembangunan politik di Malaysia: Alaf baru, politik baru. Dlm. Himpunan Makalah Wanita dan Pembangunan di Malaysia: Satu Kesinambungan Menyusuli Perubahan Selama Empat Dekad. Kuala Lumpur: MPH Group Printing.

Ismail, R. (2003). Penyertaan wanita dalam politik: Satu kajian kes sikap lelaki Islam di Terengganu. Laporan Teknikal. Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu.

Baharun, S. (2019, Mac 8). Kedudukan Wanita Belum Capai 30 peratus. Sinar Harian.

Saidon, N. R., Daud, S., & Samsudin, M. (2017). Faktor kepimpinan dan gender dalam penglibatan politik wanita di Malaysia (1980-2013). Akademika, 87(3), 61-73. http://ejournal.ukm.my/akademika/issue/view/949

Saidon, N.R., Daud, S., & Samsudin, M. (2017). Penglibatan politik: Pemerkasaan kepimpinan wanita di Malaysia (1980-2013). E-Bangi Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 14(1), 137-150.

Sophia, Z. (2020). Overcoming Barriers to Women’s Leadership and Unlocking the Power of Diversity. Center for Creative Leadership, Singapore.

Siti Marziah, Z,, Sarnon, N., Omar, F. I., Mohd Hoesni, S., & Shafurdin, N. S. (2018). Hubungan antara Konflik Peranan, Sokongan Sosial dan Kesejahteraan Emosi Wanita dwi-Peranan di Lembah Klang. Jurnal Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah, 5(2), 77-88.

Subramaniam, I. D. & Arumugam, T. (2013). What is preventing Malaysian women managers' career progression? Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 3(5), 286-296. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n1p86

Syed Shikh, S. S. (2022). Patriarki, Politik Malaysia dan Pilihan Raya Umum. Journal of the Malaysian Parliament, 2, 149-176. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54313/journalmp.v2i.65

Talib, A., & Yusoff, N.H. (2023). Gender dan ruang pekerjaan: Persepsi pegawai rendah polis terhadap kepimpinan pegawai kanan polis wanita. e-Bangi Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 20(4), 292-300.

Tremmel, M. & Wahl, I. (2023). Gender stereotypes in leadership: Analyzing the content and evaluation of stereotypes about typical male and female leaders. Frontiers Psychology, 14, 1034258. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1034258.

Zuhriyah, A., & Arifin, Z. (2022). Kepemimpinan Pendidikan Bu Nyai dalam Pengambilan Keputusan dan Motivasi Pemimpin di Pesantren Al-Quran. Intelektual: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Studi Keislaman, 11(3), 263-276. https://doi.org/10.33367/ji.v11i3.2057