More Singaporean women joining the workforce

Singapore placed fourth among 19 Asia Pacific countries with an index score of 77.4, a survey shows.

The latest MasterCard Index of Women’s Advancement, which measures the socioeconomic level of women in relation to men, showed that Singapore is progressively edging toward a society of gender parity. According to the Index results, women’s advancement in Singapore saw a record index score of 77.4 this year.

The Index is comprised of five indicators: Business Ownership, Business & Government Leadership, Workforce Participation, Regular Employment Opportunities and Tertiary Education. Each indicator is based on a gender ratio of women to men in each of the 14 Asia/Pacific markets covered by the research.

The Index revealed that Singapore’s Women Advancement Index scores have been charting a steady increase since 2009, suggesting an increasing recognition for women’s empowerment in recent years, and signaling that strides are being made by women in society.

“It is no surprise that Singapore is continuing to advance toward a nation where women are as well-represented and have as much opportunity as men in society. It is especially heartening to see that women are taking big strides forward in business ownership and business & government leadership, two areas where there is still a substantial gender gap,” said Julienne Loh, vice president and country manager, Singapore, MasterCard Worldwide. “With women increasingly making key decisions in household purchases, coupled with stronger financial power accrued to their personal incomes, they are fast becoming a critical segment for the economy.”

Through a combined weightage of five indicators, Singapore’s scores of gender parity exhibited a year-on-year increment from 2009 to 2012 across all indicators, even as males continue to dominate the charts. In one particular case of exception, women have been surpassing men in terms of Regular Employment Opportunities, and are continuing to do so increasingly.

Singapore came up fourth for the socio-economic status of women against men when compared to its peers in the Asia/Pacific region.

Frontrunners among the 14 Asia/Pacific markets were Australia and New Zealand with overall scores of 83.3 and 83.1, respectively. Following close behind are the Philippines (77.8), Singapore (77.4) and Vietnam (75.0), while India (48.4), Korea (63.5) and Japan (64.8) round off the other end of the spectrum.