By Ang Yiying
News Reporter
ayiying@sph.com.sg

 

GENDER disparity still exists in Singapore, going by the results of the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women's Advancement.

In the latest index, Singapore scored a 88.3, an improvement over previous years but still indicating gender inequality in favour of males. Perfect gender equality would measure 100 points while a score above 100 indicates gender inequality in favour of females.

Two of the four socio-economic indicators for the index are subjective and self-reported by survey respondents.

In these aspects, the results seem to indicate a narrowing gap. About 86 women to every 100 men perceived that they were in the management league; about 98 women to every 100 men perceived they were being paid an above median salary.

Unfortunately, the results don't capture how the respondents' perceptions compare to their actual situation, which would have made for an interesting analysis.

While more women have joined the workforce over the years, women are still under-represented in the top rungs of the corporate ladder.

Flip through the newspaper and you'll see that the CEOs or experts mentioned or quoted are usually men. And I don't think journalists are being sexist in their choice of interviewees, afterall there are more female journalists in the newsroom.

Official figures also show that an income gap still exists.

In Singapore, the median monthly income for full-time employed females is 86 per cent that of fully employed males. While this figure is an improvement as compared to the figure 10 years ago (83 per cent), it's hardly anything to shout about.

It would be too simplistic to attribute the gap to any single factor, such as social conditioning or discrimination. 

Rather, it's a combination and intertwining of factors, including women's reluctance to expect more for themselves. It's probably also less obvious than - though equally damaging as - discrimination.

Anecdotally, I know of a friend who was offered a higher salary than she had asked for when she switched jobs within the same field.

Was the hiring company just being generous? As it turns out, her asking salary had been too low. She later learnt that even with the offered salary, a less experienced, lower-ranking male colleague was earning more than her.

But don't take it from me. 

The book Women Don’t Ask by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever provides some excellent insights and examples: Studies have shown that women in the same position as their male counterparts tend to be contented with lesser pay. 

Women are also less likely to negotiate pay packages than their male counterparts with the same qualifications. 

Which makes you wonder: Is that our form of self-discrimination? After all, if you don't ask, you don't get.

Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Read more about the Gender Gap closing in Singapore