Women have fewer work opportunities than men: survey

Six in 10 women say gender plays a role in terms of promotion and pay.

Two in five Singaporeans believe women have fewer career advancement opportunities and are paid lower than men in their individual lines of work, according to professional network LinkedIn’s Opportunity Index 2021.

A sentiment more pronounced amongst women and working mothers, six in 10 of them say their gender “plays a role in missing out on opportunities, promotion and pay”.

“This mindset may stem from broader societal perceptions around gender,” the research suggests, noting that whilst 70% of respondents agreed gender equality was a necessary factor for a fair society, half already believed it had been achieved to a satisfactory level.

Meanwhile, nearly six in 10 agreed gender equality had “improved compared to their parents’ time,” though many believe gender bias still existed in the workplace.

Further, four in 10 respondents said gender equality was “impossible to achieve”, a sentiment strongly resonant amongst the men completing the survey.

Many women in Singapore now have the option to work from home, though they still face hindrances in grabbing opportunities. These hurdles include lack of time (62%), the difficult job market (58%), an inadequacy of required skills (55%), and lack of guidance from their network (50%).

“Our data shows that only 14% of working professionals in Singapore strongly agree that gender diversity is a priority in their organisation,” LinkedIn said, noting that diversity-focused content on the platform records an average 144% more engagement than a typical company post.

To help women maintain a healthy work-life balance, respondents suggest organisations can offer work from home (40%), reduced schedules (35%) and part-time schedule (29%) options.

“As a society, we need to start changing our societal perceptions on gender In our organisations, too, we need to level the playing field for women,” said Feon Ang, LinkedIn's vice president for talent and learning solutions for Asia Pacific. “When we succeed, the economy and our organisations succeed as well — the government has announced that 2021 as the year of Celebrating SG Women, and this is an opportune time for all of us to carry this torch forward together.”