A White Paper released by Singapore’s government seeks to strengthen fairness in the workplace for women and enable more female representation in leadership. The government should introduce new guidelines requiring employers to consider work-from-home requests fairly and properly, according to the paper on Singapore Women’s Development issued on Monday. Employers should also provide women with the choice to undergo elective egg freezing and encourage greater utilization of parental leave entitlements, according to the paper, which outlines 25 actions the government should take.
Women in most cities do not believe they have equality, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek last year. According to that analysis, cities such as Singapore score high on safety but poorly on ensuring protections for women at the very bottom of the labor ladder. “For Singapore to become an even fairer and more inclusive society, we must continue to evolve our mindsets on gender roles and address the practical challenges that women face,” according to the white paper, which distilled input from nearly 6,000 participants over 160 conversations.
During the debate on the bill, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said made the point that gender equality and respect cannot be left to chance, saying: “The road we are on, was and is not pre-ordained. It is because of the choices we make, and the work we have put in, to treat women properly with respect.”mMr Shanmugam said the White Paper, and discussions around it, have had a significant psychological impact and “moved us further along the path” to gender equality.
To promote workplace equality, the White Paper to Aid Women at Work includes seven action plants that the government hopes to implement in the near future.
1. Flexible Work Arrangements
To help women stay and progress in their careers, flexible work arrangements will be entrenched as a workplace norm. The government hopes to achieve this by 2024 with the new tripartite guidelines on flexible work arrangements. It will require employers to consider employees’ flexible working requests fairly and adequately.
2. Introduction of Workplace Fairness Legislation
The government will introduce workplace fairness legislation to promote fair employment practices. For one, they require employers to put in place grievance handling procedures. Additionally, employees who have experienced workplace discrimination or harassment are encouraged to speak up. The new law will protect the confidentiality of employees who report their issues. It will also safeguard them from any retaliation.
3. Mentorship and Training Opportunities
To facilitate the smooth transition of women re-entering the workplace, business organisations and community partners have introduced various programs for women. These programs include career mentorship, networking opportunities and training programmes. Having been out of the workforce, it is inevitable that they may have lost touch of their skills. As such, the programmes can help women re-entering the workforce acquire the necessary skill sets and better integrate into the workforce.
4. Parental Leave
In a bid to support work-life harmony and increase the adoption of the voluntary Tripartite Standard on Flexible Work Arrangements to 40 per cent, the government encourages greater utilisation of parental leave entitlements. Under the action plan, it proposes tangible steps beyond more encouragement and reminders from the Human Resource teams. This entails an increase in childcare and paternity leave, with hopes to equalise it with maternity leave.
5. Revised Singapore Exchange Listing Rules
The Singapore Exchange Listing Rules and Practice Guidance to the Code of Corporate Governance were revised to enhance board and gender diversity in listed companies. Hopefully, this will be a stepping stone for women to climb the corporate ladder in the workplace.
6. Promote Women in Leadership
The Council for Board Diversity aims to increase women’s representation on boards by having more women in leadership positions. More equitable representation of women in leadership positions is one step to beating old-age gender stereotypes in the workplace.
7. Support For Workplace Harassment
The government will work with its tripartite partners to provide additional support for workplace harassment. It will be much easier for victims to seek help with regard to workplace environments. On top of that, employers will be guided in handling workplace harassment complaints in a timely and appropriate manner. It will be done through the strengthening of case management and referral systems.
Bloomberg/Agencies
