Singaporeans most pessimistic about workplace gender equality

A large gender divide in opinions was also observed.

Recruitment firm Randstad's global Workmonitor report for Q3 of 2016 looked into the highly debated topic of workplace gender equality. The research dived into the sentiments of Singaporean employees, revealing that employees in Singapore were the most pessimistic in the region.

The Workmonitor report also revealed a large gap between male and female employee sentiment.

The findings revealed that 81% of Singaporean employees felt that men and women were treated equally within their organisation. While this percentage was the same as the global average, it was lower than both Hong Kong (85%) and Malaysia (86%). This sentiment was further divided by a large gap between the genders -- with 86% male vs 77% female respondents feeling they have received equal treatment in their workplace.

76% of Singapore employees perceived that both men and women are equally supported when applying for a job or when asking for promotions. This was higher than the global average of 70%, but lower than Hong Kong (81%) and Malaysia (84%). The genders continued to be divided in their opinions, with 80% of men compared to 72% of women supporting this statement.

Most employees surveyed felt that men and women are equally rewarded in similar positions with Singapore employees (81%) ranking closely with Hong Kong (81%), Malaysian (83%) and global employees (79%). This number was boosted by the large gap in sentiment between men (87%) and women (75%) who supported the statement.

Ms Jaya Dass, Country Director for Randstad Singapore noted, "It's interesting to see that Singapore ranked much closer to the global average than Hong Kong and Malaysia, possibly showing a greater awareness around the issues of gender inequality in the workplace."

The findings also show a large gap between the sentiments of male and female workers, possibly highlighting that female employees in Singapore are more aware about the issues of gender inequality than employees elsewhere. This awareness could come from the strong international exposure Singapore has in its day to day business environment.

"It's important for organisations to take gender equality research into consideration when formulating their human resources strategies to ensure that their employer brand continues to attract and retain the talent they need to drive their businesses forward," added Ms Dass.