Literature Review

Labor economics is a concept under which various aspects of the workforce worldwide are studied and analyzed. The labor economics includes employees, employers, Unemployed people and the workers involved in various activities in the organization (Azid et al., 2022). In labor economics, the compensation paid to all the labor in the market is in the form of wages. This discussion focuses on the labor economic issues in Malaysia and the immigrant labor that works in different industries in the country. Moreover, for this discussion, a journal article is reviewed that discusses the differences in workers’ wages in Malaysia. The theories of labor economics are also included to understand the basic difference of wages among the workers in Malaysia and the issues they face.

The reviewed article is about the difference in male and female labor earnings in the region of Sarawak Malaysia. The journal article discusses various issues that promote the difference between male and female labor features in the area (Long & Goy, 2006). The labor working in Sarawak Malaysia faces issues due to the difference in the wages of male and female workers. It is a very sad state of affairs that glass ceiling is not a very famous in general and this creates a discrepancy between the salary or wage structure between the two genders (Sarpong & Shahudin 2022). While examining and analyzing the difference in male and female labor earnings in Malaysia, their skills play a major role. The difference in the earnings of male and female labor in Malaysia negatively impacts society and the mindset of the people. The journal article has discussed the productivity of the employees in the organization based on the productivity among the male and female employees (Azid et al., 2022). It is observed in the journal article that the male employees in the labor market of Malaysia are paid more as compared to the female labor in the market.

Moreover, discrimination among the male and female labor in the market is observed while paying the wages to them. The journal article talks about various external factors that influence the differentiation in the wages of male and female labor in the market of Malaysia. In Sarawak Malaysia, the population of labor involved in the activity is of different industries in the region is comparatively more from the other parts of Malaysia (Sarpong & Shahudin 2022). While observing the discrimination among the male and female labor in the market of Malaysia, it is analyzed that the level of education plays a significant role in this differentiation of wages. Moreover, the kind of training provided to the male and female labor in the market also differs according to the work and skills required at the workplace. In the service sector of Malaysia, it is absorbed that approximately 28% of the cases where differentiation of wages among the male and female employees is seen are justified (Movsesyan, 2022). Another factor discussed in the journal article is the occupational choice of the labor in the market. The occupational choice of the labor in the industry also creates the difference of wages among the male and female labor in the market. The differences in wages in the male and female labor in the market are also affected and influenced by the experience of work that they gain.

Methodology

Along with gender discrimination, the labor with more work experience can get a higher amount of age than the individual who has less work experience in the industry. The journal article is all about the labor market of Sarabhai Malaysia, under which various kinds of job characteristics and demographic factors are considered. The kind of job also influences the male and female labor earnings in the market is conducted at the workplace and the amount of work done by the employees in the organization (Long & Goy, 2006). It is also observed in this journal article that gender discriminates individual income growth in the labor market. For the personal development and growth of the employee in the organization, one of the factors is considered: gender. The difference of income among the male and female labor in the market of Malaysia also creates inequality among the employees and the people in the society (Sarpong & Shahudin 2022). Due to the inequality in the payment of wages to the male and female labor in the market, the unemployment rate increases in the economy of Malaysia and other countries. Apart from the gender of the labor in the market, some other demographic factors influence the decision of difference in their wages. Other demographic factors include race, religion, ethnicity and others.

The methodology is the kind of research method used to collect the data and analyze it. The methodology used to review this journal article on the labor economic issues in Malaysia is secondary research of qualitative method (Bell, 2022). The author of this journal article has considered secondary qualitative research as the most suitable method. Under this method, the author has used some other journal articles and newspapers to collect information about the labor economic issues in Malaysia. The author has selected the secondary qualitative method for research because it provides a large amount of information about the topic with more accuracy. This research method also enabled the author to find the monthly earnings of labor in the market and the average monthly wages of the labor (Fateh, Mohamed & Omar, 2022). With the help of the qualitative secondary research method, the author can provide a wide range of information from various online sources available. Moreover, this research method is used to avoid duplication of the data and other information collected for research.

From the research of this journal article on the discrimination on wages among the male and female labor in the market of Malaysia, some findings are undertaken. This journal article shows that almost 10 to 11% average monthly earnings of the labor in Malaysia’s markets are considered differentiated because of gender (Sarpong & Shahudin 2022). The findings of this research also suggest that some notable factors promote the difference in the wages of male and female labor in the market. These factors include educational attainment, work experience, amount of work done, and labor occupation. The findings also suggest that the mentioned factors contribute to the discrimination and difference in the earnings of the male and female labor in the market of Malaysia. It is also observed from the findings that approximately 56% of the labor in the area of Sarawak Malaysia is part of the discriminated wage earnings among male and female people. Moreover, it is found that the cost of being female labor in the market of Malaysia is considered around 5 to 8% of the average monthly wages (Sarpong & Shahudin 2022).

Conclusion

From the above discussion about the labor economic issues in the market of Sarawak Malaysia, it is concluded that various factors are involved in the discrimination of wages among male and female labor. It is observed that the major factors involved are the work experience of the labor and the quality of training that is provided to them. Moreover, it is seen that the difference in the payment of wages of male and female labor in the market creates a feeling of inequality among the people in the society. The discussion helps to understand the difference in labor wages through demographic factors such as race, caste and sex. It is also absorbed in the discussion that the level of education in the labor market of Sarawak Malaysia is also low due to which the condition of discrimination among the labor rises.

 References

Azid, T., Burki, U., Khawaja, M. J., Shirazi, N. S., & Tahir, M. (2022). Labor Economics in an Islamic Framework: Theory and Practice. Routledge. https://api.taylorfrancis.com/content/books/mono/download?identifierName=doi&identifierValue=10.4324/9781032019550&type=googlepdf 

Bell, E. (2022). Business research methods. Oxford university press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hptjEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=qualitative+secondary+research+2022&ots=Dcnl0eCY_w&sig=pnEAEzu9kPHUzsSplZLl7SxgkqM 

Mohd Fateh, M. A., Mohamed, M. R., & Omar, S. A. (2022). The Involvement of Local Skilled Labour in Malaysia’s Construction Industry. Front. Built Environ, l8, 86-89. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohd-Ashraf-Mohd-Fateh/publication/359001661_The_Involvement_of_Local_Skilled_Labour_in_Malaysia’s_Construction_Industry/links/6221a6af9f7b3246340c7a00/The-Involvement-of-Local-Skilled-Labour-in-Malaysias-Construction-Industry.pdf 

Long, L. K., & Goy, S. C. (2006). Male-Female Earnings Differentials in Sarawak, Malaysia. International Journal of the Humanities, 3(8). https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=14479508&AN=25038955&h=vDD3LQz5bhFutUNNWGHdOuco1GwWWBop43paY5ADA6qOfogT1pe6nkRuSTS%2FW%2F%2F4%2FaM9NSx5lZwsRG7jPm6lUA%3D%3D&crl=c 

Movsesyan, G. (2022). Essays on Labor Economics (Doctoral dissertation, City University of New York). https://search.proquest.com/openview/afae010361fb744cfe803c6722cb9116/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y 

Sarpong, S., & Shahudin, F. (2022). Giving meaning to ‘division of labour’: is Malaysia sliding into ethnic labour caucuses? Labor History, 1-12. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0023656X.2022.2050194