Gender Inequality in the Workplace
Darren Yap
Penultimate Business Administration (Accountancy) student at the National University of Singapore
Written By:?Aaron Lee Wei Qi,?Chen Shi Yao Stephanie, Darren Yap Chu Shun, Thee Kai Lin Jessica
Introduction
Why are women being treated unfairly in the Singapore workplace?
This question puts forth an issue prevalent in our current society, despite the government’s constant efforts in trying to mitigate and address it.
A survey conducted by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 384 respondents found that 40% of females encountered gender discrimination, compared to just 10% of males. Gender discrimination issues in the workplace include gender biases in customer and supplier interactions, promotion criteria, and pay gaps between different genders for the same rank or job. Additionally, over 50% of female respondents mentioned that they must accommodate family and caregiving demands in their employment choice, limiting their choices.
Vision
We want to move towards a world where biases against females are eradicated, by providing a safe platform for women to speak up for themselves regarding any sexism faced. Without prejudice and marginalisation, women can lead their lives without fear of being harassed, or of being denied opportunities. Without preconceived notions about their gender, women will not be held down and will be more daring in pursuing their dreams.
Mainly, we hope to achieve 3 main goals:
(I) Equal opportunities for all genders.
(II) Competency is determined based on ability and not prejudices.
(III) Women can speak up comfortably against oppression.
Using principles in Systems Thinking, we have identified the root causes of gender inequality in the workplace and have also looked at the current measures and their limitations, seeking to improve them. Thereafter, we looked at the possible solutions that could be implemented to address the issue further.
This paper will discuss the issue at hand with five sections:
(1)?Background and context of gender inequality in the Singapore workplace
(2)?The underlying causes of gender inequality in the workplace
(3)?Analysis of the current solutions and efforts implemented to address the issue
(4)?Proposed solutions
(5) Conclusion
1. Background
(Image adapted from?https://www.msf.gov.sg/research-and-data/Research-and-Statistics/Pages/Labour-Force-and-the-Economy-Labour-Force-Participation-Rate.aspx)
(Image adapted from: https://data.gov.sg/dataset/resident-labour-force-aged-15-years-and-over-by-marital-status-age-and-sex)
Data retrieved from the Singapore Department of Statistics indicates that Singapore has a sex ratio of roughly 960 males per 1000 females from years 2013 - 2021. Since the sex ratio is around 1:1, from the data on labour force participation rates retrieved, it indicates that there is approximately 15% more males employed than females in the years 2013 – 2021. When we look at data retrieved from another government database website, it shows that number of married males has been consistently higher than that of married females in the workforce, by about 250,000 from years 2010 – 2015. In comparison, the number of both unmarried and widowed/divorced individuals between genders are similar. Hence, the disparity in number of males and females employed is due to the differences between number of married males and females in the workforce. We believe that the discrepancies can be explained by a stereotype deeply rooted in our society, where males are the main breadwinners and females are the primary caregivers.?
2. Problem
The main issue is Gender Inequality in the Workforce, and it will serve as the central issue in our Causal Loop Diagram (CLD).
2.1 Stereotypical view against females
Focusing on loop R1, gender inequality in the workforce leads to stereotypical views that females are less competent in certain jobs; jobs pertaining to leading/managing roles etc. (Tabassum & Nayak, 2021). These stereotypes lead to lesser females advancing up the corporate hierarchy, and thus lesser females in higher positions. This reinforces the mindset that females are less competent in these jobs as people observe more men than women in these positions. Expanding to loop R2, having lesser females compared to males in higher management positions also reinforces gender inequality in the workforce.
2.2 Gender Defined Roles
Traditional mindsets have also contributed to the issue, where there is the presence of gender defined roles in families; the mindset that women are supposed to take up caregiving roles (Awang & Lim, 2020). With this mindset, females are pressured by their families to take on these roles. This pressure causes women to take up either one of two approaches. Firstly, they may choose to work full-time as housewives. With more full-time housewives, it would reinforce this gender defined stereotypes, as shown in reinforcing loop R3. In Singapore, many women have also entered the workforce. The expectation that these working women must carry out caregiving duties despite having a full-time job, leads to increased exhaustion. This would decrease their productivity in the workplaces, causing them to lose their jobs or give up on their career, leading to a decrease in female labour participation rates. With fewer females in the pool to choose from, it would lead to fewer promotions amongst females, exacerbating the issue described in loop R1 previously.
2.3 Gender Pay Gap
Gender inequality in the workforce also leads to a pay gap between women and men. Females may be paid less due to the perceived notion that they are less competent. This pay gap would result in the sustained stereotype that females are less competent, as well as leading back to gender inequality in the workforce, forming a reinforcing loop R4. The pay gap then leads to women’s starting salary being comparatively lower than their male counterparts. Since future salary is decided partially based on the last drawn salary, women’s future salaries would consistently be lower than their male counterparts. This would lead to a widening pay gap between females and males as shown in loop R5, exacerbating the gender inequality issue in the workforce through loop R4.?
3. Current Solutions
3.1 Reducing Gender Stereotypes through Education
领英推荐
(Image adapted from: https://www.todayonline.com/big-read/big-read-having-served-its-purpose-streaming-slowly-became-outdated)
Given the prevailing problem in Singapore currently, there are some measures implemented to mitigate the gender discrimination issue in the workplace. Focusing on loop B5, the main solution implemented here is education. The solution arises from the increase in the significance of the gender inequality issue within the parliament. The increase in the significance of the issue will lead to increased emphasis on gender equality education. This then leads to the increase in the existence of gender-neutral education in formal education. With this, more people will be aware of the issue and the consequences that gender discrimination brings about. This results in the decrease in gender stereotypes after a period as people become increasingly aware of their actions and the consequences of them. This further decreases the stereotype that females are less competent in certain jobs and decreases gender inequality in the workforce.
3.2 Council for board diversity initiative
(Image adapted from: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/council-for-board-diversity-singapore/?originalSubdomain=sg)
Branching out from the same fundamental variable of the increase in the significance of the gender inequality issue in the parliament, looking at loop B6, it led to the restructuring of the “Diversity Action Community” into the current “Council for board diversity”. The restructuring of the council focuses on sustaining an increase in female participation on the boards of corporations as well as organisations in people and public sectors as they believe that diversity on boards provides fresh perspectives for better decision making and risk management. The council has helped to increase the representation of females in higher management positions. With the opportunity to take up these positions, women can prove their competency within these positions and decrease the stereotypes that they are less competent. This would lead to decreased discrimination in the workplaces through loop R1 and R2.
3.3 Female Gender Discrimination Reporting System
The main solution introduced in loop B1 is female gender discrimination reports. Such reports increase the general publics and corporation’s awareness of the issue and in turn, drive corporations to take action as they need to manage their image as well.?The corporations would take these reports seriously, and work on resolving the female discrimination in the workplaces. After a period, when it is held that management treats these reports seriously, it also acts as a deterrence to possible gender discrimination, eventually decreasing the gender inequality in the workplace. Moving on to loop B4, the increase in companies’ awareness of gender inequality due to the government’s focus on the issue also increases the likelihood to improve the reporting system of such gender issues which leads back to loop B1, eventually reducing gender discrimination.?
3.4 Forums for Mentorship Opportunities
Branching out from the increase in companies’ awareness of gender inequality in loop B3, some companies have created forums for female employees to gain mentorship opportunities (Salim, 2021). These forums allow female employees to improve their networking skills and gain more connections, aiding them in their career progression up the corporate ladder. With more females in the higher management positions, it reduces gender inequality in the workforce.
3.5 Maternity and Adoption Leave for Females
(Image adapted from: https://www.rikvin.com/relocation/statutory-maternal-leave/)
Looking at loop B2, the increase in companies’ awareness of gender inequality would increase companies’ focus on family-friendly culture (Salim, 2021), as companies started to recognise the importance of good work-life balance for women. This results in companies implementing maternity leave for female employees, in an attempt to protect their interests and welfare, which addresses gender discrimination in the workplace.
However, this solution brings up unintended consequences. Referring to loop R6, the implementation of maternity leave leads to the employers having unconscious bias against females for taking leave. AWARE states that 70% of discrimination cases reviewed were due to discrimination against pregnant women, where employers attempted to get pregnant employees to leave the company when they anticipate maternity leave to be taken (Hingorani, 2020). This biasness then results in an unintended outcome of the implementation of maternity leave; where females are unable to be promoted. This leads back to gender inequality through loop R2.
This is an example of the system archetype, “Fixes that Fail”. Instead of maternity leave helping to address gender inequality by protecting the interests of females, it instead brings about an unintended consequence where there may be biases against females when considering them for promotion. The point of leverage that we have identified would be the unconscious bias that arises from the maternity leave being given to the female employees. By mitigating the bias, we can improve the effectiveness of current solutions.?
4. Proposed Solutions
4.1 Education
Having found the point of leverage, which is the unconscious gender bias in many people, we would like to explore potential solutions to mitigate its impact, both short and long term. We believe that increased focus on education should be the first step, and can come a long way in erasing the gender stereotypes we have today. Many have their beliefs rooted in misconceptions, and it is up to the current generation to fix it. Students in schools and workers in companies should be taught to identify these biases, and to come up with effective solutions to mitigate the effects of these biases in a respectful and fair manner. With that said, we recognise that this solution will have a delayed effect and propose another solution that may take effect faster.
4.2 Wage Transparency
(Image adapted from?https://business.cornell.edu/hub/2019/02/01/research-wage-transparency-gender-pay-gap/)
Our second proposed solution is wage transparency in the workforce, from a top down and bottom-up approach. This will target another point of leverage we identified: “Pay Gap”, as it can self-perpetuate and sustain competency stereotypes. For the bottom-up approach, workers are encouraged to discuss their wages with each other together with the rationale of why they are paid as such to ensure that no one is paid unfairly. Should such a case occur, the workers should bring it up to management or higher authorities such as the Ministry of Manpower to question the disparity in wages. This ensures that wages are paid out fairly. In fact, a report by compensation data and software firm PayScale, reveals that disclosing how wages and salaries are set, how pay raises are decided and the criteria for awarding bonuses can mitigate the unconscious bias of managers and HR leaders who determine compensation. For the top-down approach, government agencies such as the Ministry of Manpower should request reports from corporations regarding payroll. The report will note down wage differences between employees of the same rank and job scope. Any discrepancies in payments must be clearly noted down, to ensure fairness amongst employees. With a need to justify wage discrepancies, we believe that employers will be less likely to give an unfair wage based-off discrimination, addressing the pay gap issue.
5.?Conclusion
(Image adapted from?https://www.azquotes.com/quote/877037)
We understand that completely eradicating gender discrimination and stereotypes may be a distant dream that might take many more generations’ worth of efforts to achieve. However, we have already come a long way, and with more awareness and effective solutions, we believe that our vision may not be as impossible as it seems.?
References
Director of External Programmes at Residential College 4 | Senior Lecturer and Teaching Academy Fellow at National University of Singapore | Author | Poet
2 年An effective use of systems thinking to approach a critical issue -- gender inequality needs to be addressed and eradicated. Great work Darren.
CEO | Founder | SBN Ambassador | EGN | Global Scot | Endurance Athlete
2 年Great job Darren and a topic that’s very current needs a lot of focus from the world.