Nur Syakiran Akmal Ismail

Women face significant challenges in accessing affordable and adequate housing, particularly in developing countries where discriminatory practices, gender inequality, and restrictive legal frameworks persist. Despite housing being recognised as a fundamental human right by international laws, many women around the world continue to face insecurity in this area. This issue remains largely underexplored, even though it directly impacts women’s economic and social well-being, safety, and overall quality of life. This study seeks to explore the patterns of research on women’s housing issues, identify the global challenges faced by women in accessing housing, and provide suggestions for the adoption of international practices and regulations to overcome these barriers. The research was based on a systematic literature review (SLR), which critically examined global studies on women’s housing to understand the core issues and solutions proposed by various nations. Key findings indicated that women encounter major obstacles, such as housing insecurity, gender inequality in housing access, and risks related to safety, including sexual violence. International practices, such as the Housing First model, gender-sensitive urban planning, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), offer frameworks to mitigate these issues. Policy recommendations include the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, expansion of affordable housing programmes, and the provision of integrated support services for women facing housing insecurity.

Nowadays, corruption is a serious issue in Malaysia and international levels. Digital technology that can detect and prevent fraud and corruption is particularly important to manage processes in public sector activities more transparently. The availability of information and the application process to support the delivery system in certain public sectors is more transparent to the public if through digital technology. Therefore, this paper aims to understand the use of digital technology in an effort to eliminate the symptoms of corruption, overcome fraud, and increase transparency in the government service delivery system for the well-being of the community. The method used is literature review analysis. The paper's results can provide information to the government about the importance of improving digital technology for more efficient control mechanisms in Malaysia. Therefore, the government should focus on efforts to streamline better regulatory affairs and standards by using additional anti-corruption technology in service delivery processes with more transparent access to the public through digital technology.

Setiap tahun Malaysia kehilangan tenaga kerja yang sangat berharga kerana konflik keluarga-kerjaya yang dihadapi oleh wanita-wanita muda yang sudah berkahwin. Banyak kajian mendapati bahawa ibu muda yang bekerja mempunyai kesukaran untuk mengimbangi antara pekerjaan dan kehidupan keluarga (Delina & Raya, 2013; Pradhan, 2016 dan Boushey, 2016). Terdapat pelbagai faktor yang mendorong fenomena tersebut. Faktor-faktor lain yang juga menyumbang kepada masalah ini ialah penyediaan yang tidak cukup dari segi fasiliti, perkhidmatan dan prasarana yang sesuai untuk menyokong keperluan wanita dalam mencapai keseimbangan kehidupan kerja dan pekerjaan. Keseimbangan kehidupan dan pekerjaan adalah penting untuk meningkatkan kebahagiaan serta kualiti hidup keluarga mereka dan seterusnya mempengaruhi produktiviti dan kreativiti mereka dalam pekerjaan. Melalui sistem sokongan yang lebih baik sebenarnya akan memberi banyak pilihan untuk wanita memilih untuk kekal dalam sektor pekerjaan walaupun harus menjaga anak-anak dan menguruskan kehidupan keluarga mereka. Oleh itu, kertas kerja ini akan membincangkan halangan-halangan yang menyumbang kepada masalah untuk mencapai keseimbangan kerja-kehidupan wanita yang bekerja di Kedah. Kaedah kajian ini adalah secara temubual. Kajian ini melibatkan responden dalam kalangan kakitangan pentadbiran dan staf sokongan di sektor awam. Kepentingan kajian adalah, dapat membantu pihak berkepentingan seperti pembuat dasar, pihak pentadbir dan agensi awam serta pelaksana untuk mendapatkan maklumat mengenai pandangan wanita di Kedah dalam konteks keseimbangan kehidupan dan kerjaya mereka. Every year Malaysia loses a very valuable workforce due to the family conflicts faced by young married women. Many studies have found that young working mothers have difficulty balancing between work and family (Delina & Raya, 2013; Pradhan, 2016; Boushey, 2016). There are various factors that drive the phenomenon. Other factors that also contribute to this problem are the inadequate provision in terms of appropriate facilities, services, and infrastructure to support the needs of women in achieving work-life balance. Life and work balance is important to increase the happiness as well as the quality of life of their families, and in turn, influence their productivity and creativity in work. A better support system will provide many options for women to choose to remain in the employment sector despite having to take care of children and manage their family life. Therefore, this paper will discuss the barriers that contribute to the problem of achieving a work-life balance for working women in Kedah. The method of this study is the interview. The study involved respondents among administrative staff and support staff in the public sector. The importance of the study is, will be able to help the important parties such as policymakers, administrators, and public agencies as well as implementers to obtain information on the views of women in Kedah in the context of their work-life balance.