In many developing countries, occupational segregation by gender is a topic that is much discussed but very few
researches had been carried out. In Malaysia, secondary sources of data, such as the Population and Housing Census
reports and Social Statistics Bulletins of the Malaysian Statistics Department do show that there have been some
changes in the general trends of occupational segregation in the country but factual details of occupational segregation
based on gender are rather scanty. This paper seeks to throw some lights on this subject of occupational segregation by
presenting findings of a micro study conducted in a village in the district of Seremban, Negeri Sembilan Malaysia,
involving a sample of 12 families. Analyses of the primary data had pointed out six factors that influenced occupational
segregation, that is, formal education and training, the division of labour in the household, culture of local Malay
society, working conditions, facilities at the work place is not woman friendly, and individual preferences in terms of
taste, property and talent. The micro findings lead to the conclusion of three ways whereby not only working women
may be empowered to widen their career paths but also that the division of work by gender may be simultaneously
reduced. These are the introduction of more woman friendly procedures in the work place, the re-organization of work
that seeks to demolish traditional identification of occupations with gender, and the improvement of education and
training policies that would enable women to climb the occupational ladder.