Survey says workplace challenges for women include pay, work-life balance, job security, and company culture
A new report has found that a significant number of women in Singapore feel uncomfortable to ask for a pay rise or a promotion in their organisation.
Indeed's Promoting Women for Better Work report, which surveyed 1,196 Singapore women, found that 44% feel uncomfortable in asking for a pay rise. Another 39% said they feel don't feel comfortable to ask for a promotion.
"The study found that women worldwide face similar workplace challenges, including pay, work-life balance, job security, and company culture," said Nishita Lalvani, Marketing Director, Indeed, India and SEA, in a statement.
Asking for a pay rise
The discomfort has led to only 32% of female employees asking for a pay rise at work, while a bigger 65% said they have never asked for it.
This is despite 59% of women also saying they don't get paid enough, with 48% citing fear of negative consequences as their reason for not asking for an increase.
The report, however, found that 76% of those who asked for an increase have received some form of compensation hike.
Concerns over pay comes as 37% of women believe that gender pay gap is the biggest countrywide, rather than just in their organisation (24%) or sector (28%).
Only 30% of women believe the pay gap can be resolved in the next five years, while half of the respondents said it would likely take 50 years.
Asking for a promotion
Meanwhile, the report also found the rate of Singaporean women afraid to ask for a promotion (39%) is higher than the global average (35%).
It comes as 43% of women in Singapore believe that it is easier for men than women to progress in their careers. Another 57% said they believe they need to work harder than men to gain recognition for their achievements.
When asked why men have it easier, 56% said it was because of sexism or society's unconscious bias, while 54% cited their caregiver responsibilities.
What can employers do?
Lalvani said achieving gender parity requires significant work in terms of salary and compensation, career progression, and wellbeing. Employees in the report also said the following factors bring most job satisfaction:
- Positive work culture (82%)
- Work-life balance (82%)
- Job security (79%)
Another 40% of Singaporean women added impactful diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies would create a welcoming working environment.
"Employers in our region need to understand how highly female employees value a positive work culture, work-life balance and job security. Understanding these factors and implementing them will be the first step in helping improve the job satisfaction of this key demographic," Lalvani said.
Indeed's Promoting Women for Better Work report surveyed a total of 14,677 female respondents across 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, UK, USA.
