IPOH, Malaysia: Wanita MCA has called on the Human Resources Ministry to be on the lookout for companies that have laid off women first in the current economic slowdown.

Its chief, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, said the wing had received complaints of companies taking the opportunity to retrench more women instead of men.

"Women who are married or pregnant normally top the list of those retrenched," she said at a dinner here on Sunday in conjunction with the International Women's Day celebration organised by the Perak Wanita MCA.

Chew said women should be treated equally to men.

"The Human Resources Ministry should seriously look into gender equality to protect women," she said.

She also said that as more women tend to be factory workers than men, they were more affected in the economic crisis. -The Star/ANN