Men still paid more than women in Malaysia
PUTRAJAYA: The median monthly salaries and wages of male employees were higher than female staff in 2016, according to the Department of Statistics.
In a briefing yesterday, it revealed that male employees earned a median monthly income of RM1,721 compared with RM1,685 received by their female counterparts.
In terms of the mean, male employees received higher monthly salaries of RM2,500, compared to their female counterparts (RM2,398).
The “mean salary” is essentially the average salary, while the “median salary” is the middle point between the highest and lowest salary and is commonly accepted as a more accurate indicator when extremely low or high numbers may skew results.
Overall, the median monthly salaries and wages received by paid staff increased by 6.2% to RM1,703 in 2016 from RM1,600 in 2015. The mean monthly salaries recorded an annual growth rate of 6.3% to RM2,463 from RM2,312 the previous year.
The findings showed that the median and mean monthly salaries and wages of employees with a tertiary education were about twice the amount received by employees with only a secondary education.
It showed that salaries and wages also increased with age, and peaked at the age group of 55-59 years old.
Employees in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor received the highest monthly median salaries, while those in Sabah, Kelantan and Sarawak received the lowest.
The Department of Statistics also revealed that employees of Chinese descent earned the highest median and mean monthly salaries compared with other ethnic groups in Malaysia.
They received the highest median salary of RM2,350 a month as of 2016.
Bumiputra employees in comparison, received RM1,931, while Indians got RM1,790.
Chinese employees also received the highest mean monthly salary of RM3,009.
Bumiputera employees got RM2,561, while Indian staff received RM2,399.