A Qualitative Case Study Exploring How Digital Platforms Support the Professional Empowerment of Urban Malaysian Women
TL;DR
The results show that empowerment, which manifests as flexibility, independence, advocacy, and resistance to gendered constraints, is associated with financial resilience, digital capability, autonomy, and group support, however, time poverty, unequal digital literacy, economic disadvantage, online harassment, and enduring cultural norms continue to limit empowerment.
Abstract
This qualitative case study explores how metropolitan Malaysian women aged 25–50 navigate overlapping technological, economic, and societal obstacles as they pursue professional empowerment through digital platforms. Little is known about women’s actual experiences with these technologies for entrepreneurship and career advancement, despite national initiatives such as EmpowerHER Digital and MyDIGITAL that aim to enhance digital inclusion. The study examines how women define empowerment, the digital tactics they use, and the obstacles that influence their engagement in online spaces. The study is guided by a phenomenological methodology and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The results show that empowerment, which manifests as flexibility, independence, advocacy, and resistance to gendered constraints, is associated with financial resilience, digital capability, autonomy, and group support. However, time poverty, unequal digital literacy, economic disadvantage, online harassment, and enduring cultural norms continue to limit empowerment. The study emphasises that women’s autonomy, digital settings, and institutional structures all influence the dynamic, relational process of empowerment.