7 of 10 Singapore employers have no DE&I policies

This is according to a joint report by SNEF & Kincentric.

In a report released by Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and Kincentric, seven out of 10 employers have not instated a formal approach towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I).

The 2021 survey included 186 Singapore-based employers with 19 sectors covered.

Employers, however, believe in the importance of DE&I. Areas such as company culture at 71% and employee engagement at 55% were seen by companies as the most positively impacted. Majority of the employers, or  62%, have made a head start with introducing DE&I as a factor of their hiring and promotion processes.

Findings of the survey also showed that one-fourth of employers had trouble implementing DE&I. Lack of available data on gender pay gap, inequality in career progression, age-based performance, and barriers to participation in work for those with disabilities or caring responsibilities were the reasons for this. 

Other firms, meanwhile, pointed to other factors. Inability to embed DE&I into organisational values, people management and employee behavior stood at 24%, whilst ineffectiveness of line managers when managing their teams in a non-discriminatory manner was at 22%. Events such as International Women’s Day were also seen as less effective at 11%.

Andrew How, Managing Partner, Kimcentric, reiterated the need for DE&I. “To set direction and demonstrate commitment, it is crucial to lead by example. Having advised senior leaders, we have observed that many firms struggle in making employees feel emotionally safe, understood, and empowered. Therefore, the first step to remedying the situation is to conduct an honest, internal assessment of the organisation’s current situation using a holistic, evidence-based approach. It is a much-needed reality check to assess where the gaps are. Following which, they need to enact new ways of leading which involves creating active, intentional efforts with coaching, developmental journeys, tools and resources to improve one’s ability to identify and mitigate any unconscious bias.”