How Gender Dynamics Affect Teleworkers' Performance in Malaysia

Abstract

eHomemakers (http://www.ehomemakers.net), also known as Mothers for Mothers when it was first formed in 1998 in Malaysia, is a network of mothers and working-at-home persons from multiethnic communities. They are of various ages and are involved in networking activities to develop and promote the concept of working at home. The network believes that through ICT, homemakers, especially mothers, can earn an income without having to leave their homes or sacrifice their family responsibilities in the Malaysian social context. ICTs allow women to balance home and work life, thus enabling them to have the best of both worlds (Yip, 2000). In 2003, eHomemakers was a testing partner of the Association of Progressive Communications’ (APC, n.d.) worldwide Gender Evaluation Methodology, and an evaluation plan titled “How Gender Dynamics Affect Teleworkers’ Performance in Malaysia” was written. eHomemakers aims to use the evaluation results to promote the creation of telecommuting opportunities and the establishment of virtual offices to the Malaysian government and the corporate sector. The findings are especially valuable to organisations that have tried telecommuting unsuccessfully. They also serve as a performance guide for teleworkers and would-be teleworkers who juggle child care, household chores, and paid work at the same time. The study was also used as a guide for eHomemakers to launch a special national campaign to advocate the promotion of teleworking for women.