Female migrants in Kuala Lumpur, 1970, with special emphasis on labour force characteristics

Abstract

This study examines the characteristics of female in-migrants to the capital, Kuala Lumpur as distinguished from total urbanward female migrants in Peninsular Malaysia. The observed pattern has common features with those of other capital cities in Southeast Asia, for example, Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila. The majority of female migrants may be streamlined into two contrasting types: those young, single and poorly educated with high labour force participation in low status service occupations, and those with at least secondary level education who were either continuing their education or holding jobs of high occupational status. In Kuala Lumpur, the latter group was characterised by older, recent migrant women above 25 years of age, married and mostly teachers by profession. The study seeks to identify the more important correlates of female labour force differentials between migrants and non-movers, and in which it is found that migration status and ethnicity are significant factors to be reckoned with. It is clearly evident that female migrants in the urban labour force in Kuala Lumpur were more likely to be employed in the service sector when compared to non-movers who were of similar age, marital status and education characteristics. Also, in these aspects, migrants with a shorter duration of residence (recent migrants) were more dissimilar from non-movers than long-term migrants.