Gender and Equality in the Tiny Red Dot.

Why aren’t we men, valuing women more? 

This question is something that pervades us, a society so proud of being a first-class progressive nation. 

Indeed, gender inequality is a subtle yet dreadfully real issue that still plagues the Singaporean society today. According to the study from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), women earn a staggering 16.3% less than men despite Singapore priding herself to be a highly developed nation (Phua, 2020). Such a gap is but a mere snapshot to the gender inequality that still prevails in the Singaporean society. Though the government has sought measures to reduce this gap and the adjusted wage gap is said to be only 6%, do we not want to find a way around the 10.3%? This unfortunately remains as a glass ceiling for women in the workforce.

(Image: CNA)

Using Systems Thinking, here is our point of view about the issue, the gaps within the current solutions, and how we might be able to address them in the near future.

We will break down the article into six sections:

1. Background of gender inequality in the workplace in Singapore context
2. Causes of gender inequality happening in the workspace
3. Current solutions implemented by the Singapore governments and their limitations
4. Proposed solutions

Section 1. Understanding the issue of gender inequality in the Singaporean context

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (2017) revealed that a higher proportion of individuals working full-time were males while females constituted the bulk of temporary workers. This arises because women are often constrained by family obligation, pushing them to apply for flexible working arrangements instead of juggling work and childcare (Women’s Action, n.d.). For women who do get employed as full-time workers, due to the unconscious gender bias, their promotion opportunities are often denied leading to the issue of “occupational segregation” (ILO, 2017). For instance, the percentage of males in higher positions such as managers, professionals and technicians was 73.7%, a stark comparison to the mere 26.3% occupied by females (MSF, 2017). With the persistence of such issues, it becomes unsurprising that there still exists a huge gender wage gap.

Section 2. What are the causes of gender inequality in the workforce?

The causes for gender inequality will be explained through the Causal Loop Diagram shown below. 

Causal Loop Diagram

Reinforcing (R) loops:

R1, R2: 

Household responsibility

Despite the cultural shift that we have seen to date, most women are still in charge of most household responsibilities. Local stereotypes that women are not as capable as men, and men are sole breadwinners of the family leads to the perception that men are more reliable for work purposes, increasing their time spent in work. Consequently, this decreases their participation in household chores. More household obligations are placed on women, increasing the perception that women have more family responsibilities. This form of responsibility would not only affect the number of working hours they can commit (e.g. taking time off for parents or children), it also affects their work quality as fatigue comes from both at work and at home.

R3, R4: 

Unequal work opportunities & compensation for women

Instead of empathising with women, gender bias increases. Local stereotypes that women are not as capable as men leads to gender inequality and increases biased perceptions of potential capability between genders. This results in occupational segregation, where some industries favour a particular gender. As Singapore progresses, income increases more in male-dominated industries (Randstad, 2020). This increases occupation income growth favouring men, reinforcing the gender wage gap and resulting in the impression that men are more reliable in work than women. 

There are also instances where employers demote female employees from full-time to part-time contracts just because they have to go for maternity leaves, are reluctant to promote female workers, or do not wish to hire females in certain roles just because they have the preconceived notion that females are just ‘not capable enough', or will not be committed enough.

R5:

Men as sole breadwinners

The increase in the stereotype that men are the sole breadwinner of the family pushes them to work more, decreasing time spent on household chores. This leads to the increase of the need for women to do household chores while men earn money, reinforcing the local stereotype that women have household obligations. As women’s family responsibility increases due to such duties, it causes them to rely on their male counterparts to be the lone provider of the family, reinforcing that stereotype.

[For the reinforcing loops R6, R7, R8 as well as the balancing loops (B), B1 and B2, they will be further elaborated under the third section of our article.] 

Section 3. What are the current solutions in place and its limitations?

There are two main policies that have been enacted by the government in a bid to solve the issue. 

Shared Parental Leave

(Image: Pexels)

One such policy is the Shared-parental leave. However, according to The Straits Times in 2018, 97% of eligible fathers failed to take up the offer. Research revealed that this stemmed from already ingrained attitudes towards gender roles, where males are perceived to be the sole breadwinners of the family while females are obligated to take up household chores. Moreover, a highly popular Singaporean mentality relates job dedication towards job stability (Lai & Zhuo, 2019). Therefore, by choosing to undertake the leave, fathers will inevitably feel the economic pressure from both the uncertainty towards their job stability as well as the need to provide for the family. Hence, the low rates of uptake. 

Work-life grant

Work-life grant on the other hand encourages corporations to switch to flexible work arrangements, which includes greater amounts of work from home. Despite the natural perception that an increased work from home can better equalise the share of household chores between the male and female, the converse of an even greater burden placed on the females is more likely to occur. Work from home inevitably eliminates the physical boundaries of work and non-work domains (Chung & Van der Lippe, 2018). With the stereotype of women possessing the obligations to be responsible for household chores, women consequently have to juggle both work and family in an increasingly blurred boundary (Chung & Van der Lippe, 2018). Multitasking increases, which inherently adds to greater stress in the females’ lives, decreasing work performance and therefore contributes to the persistent perception that females are not as capable as males.

Section 4. What are our proposed solutions?

Changing the gender mindset

Incorporating programmes to remove gender stereotypes in school

(Image: ChampionTutor)

To ensure gender equality, the education system could include programmes to develop awareness and empathy among gender which include students roleplaying gender stereotypes of the opposite sex. Furthermore, teaching students the importance of doing household chores regardless of gender will help ensure equal participation between male and female in household responsibilities. 

Workplace inclusivity

More women in managerial roles

Companies could place more women in managerial positions. Studies have shown that companies with no female executive committee members earn ten times less than their counterparts (BBC, 2020). This shows that it is beneficial for companies to have a more inclusive workspace. Furthermore, in male-dominated industries, companies could also publicise female workers to encourage other females to apply for similar openings.

(Image: Tech Wire) 

Gender-blind recruitment

recruitment processes done by Human Resource should be gender-blind to remove unconscious bias. This bias could lead to gender inequality since the biodata of the candidate is shown and potentially influence hiring decisions (Callister, 2020). Hence, a gender-blind recruitment process would ensure a fair recruitment based on talent rather than gender.

Overall 

Gender inequality within the workplace has proven itself to be a deep-seated issue in Singapore. Undeniably, the government has made progress through existing policies. Yet, more should be done to shift the paradigms regarding gender stereotypes whilst promoting more equal gender opportunities in the workforce. As Minister of Law and Home Affairs, K Shanmugam cites, “A society which does not recognise the equal position of women is a society which can never live up to its potential, even more so in Singapore where people are our only assets.” (Zhang, 2020). 

Inarguably, a step towards gender equality is also a step towards progress.

This was warmly written in collaboration with Chen Sirui, Tsu Jia Yi, Stevanus Williem and Veronica Hartono.

References 

BBC. (2020, July 27). Firms with more female executives 'perform better'. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53548704

Callister, L. (2020, May 14). 10 Ways to Reduce Unconscious Bias in the Workplace. skillcast. Retrieved 26 March 2021, from https://www.skillcast.com/blog/10-ways-reduce-workplace-unconscious-bias

Chung, H., & Van der Lippe, T. (2018). Flexible Working, Work–Life Balance, and Gender Equality: Introduction. Soc Indic Res. 151, 365–381 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2025-x 

ILO. (2017, August). Breaking barriers: Unconscious gender bias in the workplace. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_601276.pdf

Lai, L., & Zhuo, T. (2019, August 6). 6 in 10 DADS did not take paternity leave last year, Says msf. Straits Times. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/6-in-10-dads-did-not-take-paternity-leave-last-year-says-msf 

MSF. (2017, June). Labour Force And The Economy: Full-Time Work Force. Retrieved  March 25, 2021, from https://www.msf.gov.sg/research-and-data/Research-and-Statistics/Pages/Labour-Force-and-the-Economy-Full-Time-Work-Force.aspx

MSF. (2017, June). Labour Force And The Economy:Managers, Professionals, Work Proprietors, Technicians And Associate Professionals. Retrieved  March 25, from https://www.msf.gov.sg/research-and-data/Research-and-Statistics/Pages/Labour-Force-and-the-Economy-Managers-Professionals-Work-Proprietors-Technicians-and-Associate-Professionals.aspx

Phua, R. (2020, January 9). Women in Singapore earn 6% less than men for similar work: MOM study. CNA. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/women-singapore-earn-6-per-cent-less-than-men-wage-gap-12247034

Randstad. (2020, March 6). What women (and men) can do to close the gender wage gap. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.randstad.com.sg/career-advice/career-development/what-women-and-men-can-do-to-close-the-gender-pay-gap/#:~:text=A%20gender%20pay%20gap%20is,adjusted%20pay%20gap%20at%206%25 

Women’s Action. (n.d.). Singapore and the Women’s Movement. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.womensaction.sg/article/overview

Zhang, L. (2020, September 20). Review aims to change mindset and improve women's position in Singapore: Shanmugam. THE STRAITS TIMES. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/womens-position-in-singapore-has-improved-significantly-but-some-areas-still-work-in