According to the recent Women in Leadership in Asia Pacific report released by Willis Towers Watson and The Economist Corporate Network, it was found that despite implementing policies and programmes to drive gender parity at the workplace, women in Asia believe that a glass ceiling still exists within their organisations.
This perception was most prevalent in Singapore where 63 per cent of local respondents said that a glass ceiling exists and it holds back the prospects of women in their organisation.
This number is significantly higher than other countries in Asia, where 46 per cent of respondents in China believe in a glass ceiling, 45 per cent in Kuala Lumpur and 36 per cent in Hong Kong.
“While this is partly due to circumstances within individual organisations, other social pressures – not only family responsibilities, but also a lack of confidence and exclusion from circles of power – can also reinforce limitations, constricting individual ambitions and the talent pipeline of women,” Willis Towers Watson said in a release.
The research paper’s survey attracted 143 responses, of which 120 were women who hold senior executive positions, such as vice-presidents, heads of departments and directors, across Asia Pacific. Fifteen percent of the respondents were based in Singapore.
Respondents came from a range of small and medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies in industries such as manufacturing, commodities, energy, financial services, retail, consumer goods and healthcare.
Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob said: “It may sound strange that in this day and age we are still talking about the glass ceiling, but as the survey shows, there continues to be many aspects concerning women that we need to address, before we can talk about their full integration into our economy and society.”
Lack of Visibility
Meanwhile, despite Singapore ranking positively in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, 56 per cent of Singapore-based respondents to the research said they still see relatively few women in senior day-to-day management positions.
Willis Towers Watson said: “Even in the minority Singapore listed companies that do have female board members, their lack of visibility and office-level presence create an organisation-wide perception of a lack of female leadership. Women in senior positions therefore need to make a more conscious effort to increase visibility at all levels.”
According to the Diversity Action Committee’s Diversity Task Force regarding Women on Boards formed to study the underlying causes of low representation of women on the boards of listed companies, women now make up 10 per cent of board seats, up from 8 percent in 2012.
Slow Improvements
Despite these improvements, NTUC Women’s Committee Chairperson and Labour Nominated Member of Parliament K. Thanaletchimi said that progress has been slow and more needs to be done, adding that women are not being introduced to politics and the economy early enough in their lives.
“We need to change the mindset of more women. We need to build up their confidence to lead and be heard. We need to amplify our efforts. That is important. Homes must start first; we must nurture our daughters.
“This must then transcend into the schools, where women must be given opportunities to chair committees. Workplaces must also provide an environment where women can thrive and continue to progress,” said Ms Thanaletchimi.
She also called for the Government to continue to come up with progressive policies that support women in their progress at the workplace.
“I know women and men are not equal, but we can make them equal through the messages of our policies. Policies shape the attitudes of and the behaviour of a person, families, schools and employers. We can do more. And all parties must work together,” she added.
