NTUC will continue to work with Singapore Business Federation’s (SBF) and other stakeholders to empower and advance the interest of all women.
NTUC U SME and U Women and Family (U WAF) Director Yeo Wan Ling made the pledge in her response statement to Singapore Business Federation’s (SBF) recommendations on uplifting women in the workforce.
In its paper titled “Uplifting Women in the Workforce: Investing in the Success of Women in Singapore” released on 2 December 2021, SBF arrived at 12 recommendations after exploring the opportunities and gaps that women face in the current workforce ecosystem.
SBF found that while there were effective support systems in place, there were still opportunities to further uplift women in the workforce, both as workers and entrepreneurs.
It also found that women faced challenges such as being the default caregiver when the need arose, with 63 per cent of women surveyed said to have considered or taken a career break due to such commitments.
SBF concluded that by acknowledging these challenges, employers could design policies that empower women to succeed.
The findings were researched and conducted from September to November this year, with 1,140 individuals and 116 business leaders from businesses, trade associations and chambers, government agencies and labour unions.
Ms Yeo added that U WAF was proud to have contributed to the paper through its insights from decades of experience in championing women’s interests at the workplace.
“Despite increasing female labour force participation rates and rising educational levels for women, women continue to face multiple challenges when returning to work after an extended career break.
“It is timely that SBF has put forth recommendations at the individual, business, ecosystem and national levels to support women in achieving their career aspirations,” she said.
The 12 recommendations were categorised on four levels – the company, the ecosystem, the national and the individual levels.
At the company level, SBF urged a rethink of existing processes to encourage the retention of female workers in the workforce.
As for the ecosystem level, the federation encouraged collaboration and innovation to attract women back into the workforce and foster entrepreneurship.
The paper also suggested that the Government explores policy adjustment at the national level to support companies and stakeholders to make the changes.
And at the individual level, women were encouraged to be open to embracing mindset shifts.
The recommendations reflected the collective aspirations of stakeholders to advance working women in their careers and entrepreneurial journeys, according to SBF.
“This paper showcases the business community’s efforts and highlights opportunities for the entire ecosystem to realise the immense benefits of empowering all employees to perform to their fullest potential.
“SBF will continue to deepen collaborations with our partners to drive education and outreach efforts at the individual and company level as part of our Sustainable Employment endeavour, and support the whole-of-nation effort to invest in the success of women on an ecosystem and national level,” said SBF CEO Lam Yi Young.
More details of the recommendations can be found here.
