1 in 3 women in APAC feel that gender is a barrier to opportunity — but organisations can help change this by leading the charge towards equality

In this year’s edition of our research, LinkedIn Opportunity Index, we found that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women at work, and as a result, we know that women feel less optimistic about the future.

Our data shows that 41% of women in APAC feel they get fewer career development opportunities than men. This is more prevalent in China (44%), Malaysia (45%), Japan (47%) and Singapore (49%). In India, over 4 in 5 (85%) women said they have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender.

LinkedIn’s vision is to create opportunity for every member of the global workforce — and this is even more relevant today, especially for women, who are equal contributors to this workforce. There is much to do towards this end, and I hope that our research in this area will ignite some important conversations, and drive the change I know many of us want to see.

Women still face significant barriers in achieving job-related opportunities

While many women in APAC now have the flexibility to work from home, they face other barriers when it comes to achieving opportunities, including the lack of time, lack of required skills and lack of guidance from their network. In addition, 1 in 3 women in APAC feel that gender is a significant barrier to opportunity, especially in countries such as China and India. 

Specifically, across APAC, we are seeing that:

• A lack of time is cited as the main barrier for women in many markets including Australia, India, Philippines and Singapore, however it is ranked 6th for Japan.
• In Japan, lack of professional skills is the main barrier faced by women.
• In China and India, lack of guidance through networks and connections is more pronounced as a key barrier for women.

I believe that if we begin to change our mindset and implement policies that champion women, these barriers can be circumvented and we can eventually level the playing field for working women.

Organisations can lead the charge for equality at the workplace, and helping women achieve opportunities

Organisations have a big role to play in ensuring equality at the workplace. As a working woman and mother myself, it’s very important for the workplace our children will enter in the future is an equal and fair one, a workplace that builds up, supports, and holds space for women. 

With that in mind, I’d like to share a few personal guiding principles that fellow business leaders can refer to when looking to better support women at all levels to achieve their personal best and reach for the opportunities that they seek.

1.Drive conversations around diversity & inclusion in the workplace, which must be supported by or even led by our male allies.

• Our data shows that only 23% of working professionals in APAC strongly agree that gender diversity is a priority in their organisation. Our findings also speak to the mindset that most hold — almost 7 in 10 of those surveyed believe that gender equality is an important aspect for a fair society, but 4 in 10 believe gender equality is impossible to achieve as women and men are different. 
• The only way to make gender diversity a priority is to start changing these mindsets.
• Today, we already see conversations around diversity growing in APAC — but there is room for more of these conversations. LinkedIn data shows posts on diversity will get on average 125% more engagement than the average company post. We’ve also seen a 77% increase in members posts on diversity, inclusion and belonging. 
• We have unlocked learning pathways to help women, and men, become better allies in these conversations on diversity and inclusion. For example, Skills for Inclusive Conversations and Unconscious Bias. Our free LinkedIn Learning course on Becoming a Male Ally at Work also gives practical tips on how men can help to champion women at the workplace.

2. Increase the number of women in leadership roles

• We know that women do not have enough representation in the workforce. As it currently stands, our survey shows that on average in any organisation in APAC, only 39% of their workforce comprises women. Looking at leadership positions, the representation is even lower — only 30% of senior level positions (senior manager and above) are held by women. This percentage is even lower in Japan and China.
• This year, we have committed to hiring more women for leadership roles at LinkedIn. We also have internal programmes that seek to catapult current women employees into leadership positions by providing them with the know-how and tools to navigate their paths within our organisation.

3. Establish family-friendly policies and implement flexibility programmes to better support women 

• Our research shows that women in the workplace still struggle to balance career and family. In APAC, 45% of working women felt that managing familial responsibilities often comes in their way of career development. This is the most prevalent in India, where over 7 in 10 women (71%) and mothers (77%) agreed that managing familial responsibilities often comes in their way of career development. In fact, about two-thirds of women (63%) and mothers (69%) in India said they have faced discrimination at work because of familial responsibilities. 
• A number of women in APAC expect organisations to provide them with policies for maternity leave and childcare responsibilities. In Japan, a part-time schedule is most prominently sought after by working mothers (40%) compared to working dads, whereas in Australia, maternity leave is most sought after by working mothers. In Southeast Asia, telecommuting is most sought after and in particular, we see more women expecting this in Singapore. 
• Organisations can support in this regard by providing flexible work arrangements and even ramping up paternity leave benefits to help parents with their life changes. 
• At LinkedIn, we have a suite of “Family First” programmes. Our maternity and parental policies — which offer global minimums beyond local legislative requirements — support families to care for and bond with their newborns. In addition, new parents at LinkedIn can take their time to transition back to work. Following a Maternity or Parental Leave, parents can work on a part-time basis for up to four weeks. 

4. Initiate group mentoring programmes in the company to give women a strong network and be part of a community

• Lack of guidance through networks and connections are among the top three barriers that women face, especially in China and India, with close to 7 in 10 saying it keeps them from achieving the opportunities they want.
• At LinkedIn, we have programmes that support our community of women in their professional growth. For example, EmpowerIn is a leadership development programme to help high-performing women realise their full potential at the workplace. After three very successful cycles of the programme, we are committed to running our fourth cycle virtually this year.
• These types of programmes require investment and commitment from organisations, but I believe they can foster a more inclusive workforce.

5. Help women to gain new skills so they can seek out job opportunities

• Our findings show that skill-related job and learning opportunities are highly sought-after by professionals across APAC. Pursuing an opportunity where one’s skills are utilized is ranked 4th in APAC at 49%, #2 in China and among the top 5 in all markets. Learning new hard skills is ranked 1st in APAC and is among top 2 ranks in all countries, and opportunity to learn new soft skills is ranked 2 in APAC.
• We know that a lack of skills is one of the barriers cited by women to achieving opportunities. To stay relevant and get ahead in life, women need access to relevant skill sets that are in demand today. By learning new hard skills, or by acquiring soft skills from experienced mentors, women could have a better shot at opportunity — be it for an upward career movement or a shift into a totally new career altogether.
• Organisations can help bring women closer to these learning opportunities by investing in their learning and development. And they have a lot to gain from a well-rounded talent strategy that focuses on reskilling, upskilling and internal mobility programs. The beauty is that learning isn’t constricted in classrooms anymore. Through the flexibility offered by online learning courses, organisations can help support their employees’ learning pursuits at their own time and their own pace.

I’d love to hear and learn what you or your organisation is doing to help women get closer to opportunities. 

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I would encourage everyone to #ChooseToChallenge gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping. To all my fellow working women, I would also like to learn how others have made an impact on your careers with #WeCanDoIt.