SHAH ALAM, May 21 — State executive councillor for women empowerment and welfare Anfaal Saari said Selangor will use recommendations gathered from its artificial intelligence (AI) roundtable discussion as official policy guidance to accelerate targeted reskilling and upskilling programmes for women preparing for future digital jobs.
Rapid developments in AI and automation required faster intervention measures to ensure women were not left behind in the digital transformation.
Citing the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, she said the global gender gap remained at 68.8 per cent, while the International Labour Organisation estimated that nearly 29 per cent of jobs in women-dominated sectors could potentially be affected by automation.
“The data requires Selangor to act faster through targeted intervention programmes.
“To ensure long-term effectiveness, all inputs and recommendations from today’s roundtable will serve as official references for the Selangor government in formulating policy approaches, reskilling and upskilling initiatives for the future job market,” she said.
Anfaal was speaking during a media conference after the third series of the roundtable, themed ‘Women and AI — Building Resilience in the Digital Era’, at the State Secretariat building this afternoon.
The move reflects the state government’s commitment to ensuring that no women are left behind in the digital transition while building a more inclusive and resilient society.
Meanwhile, Wanita Berdaya Selangor chief executive officer Siti Faridah Abdul Samad said the state will begin introducing AI-related training modules for women through the ‘Jelajah Wanita Berdaya Tahan’ programme, starting in the Petaling district on June 6.
“We will begin with a Gender Careers in AI module in collaboration with TalentCorp for women participants. This is our first attempt, and we will continue improving it over time,” she said, adding that the programme will later expand to several other districts across Selangor.
When asked about the feedback gathered during the roundtable, Anfaal said discussions largely centred on preparations for future AI governance and the need to build a gender responsive digital ecosystem.
“The future must be built from now by preparing an ecosystem that is gender-responsive and ensures women are not left behind,” she said.
This included improving Internet and digital infrastructure, expanding access to devices, and increasing opportunities for women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields.
“There must also be continuous advocacy. Even if infrastructure is ready and opportunities are provided, women themselves must also be prepared,” Anfaal said.
The councillor also welcomed offers of collaboration from the National Digital Department and the National AI Office, involving digital sandbox facilities and outreach programmes for women entrepreneurs.
Similarly, the state government has allocated an initial RM200,000 under the 2026 Selangor Budget to kickstart the women and AI programme.
“We are gathering input from stakeholders to identify a suitable model that can be implemented in Selangor according to the needs of women here,” she said.
Anfaal also commented on the role of AI in caregiving, explaining that assistive technologies could help reduce domestic care burdens faced by women, especially in elderly care.
“We are not replacing caregivers with robots or AI agents but using assistive devices and technologies with AI elements to help ease caregiving responsibilities,” she said.
She noted that Selangor is exploring collaborations with South Korean and Japanese institutions involving elderly monitoring and physiotherapy support technologies.
