Employment

One of the key challenges faced by working women is striking a harmony between work and personal or family life. To be a good mother necessitates less time spent at the workplace, and to have a full time job means less time spent with their children. In the present work environment, women can have more children and continue to work but they will suffer from anxiety over their children's welfare, or their children will suffer because of the physical and mental burden women have of balancing family concerns and work. However, if women opt out of the work force, they will forgo the benefits of employment, including social integration, social status and financial independence. As life expectancy of women increases, good health and effective financial management are important to ensure that when they live and work longer, they are also financially well prepared for old age. The female participation in the Singapore labor force has risen significantly over the years however it is still lower than that in many developed countries. Singapore women are more likely to drop out of the labor force after marriage and childbirth. Many do not resume work, unlike in Japan and Korea where most of the women would rejoin the workforce when their children are older.

2. INTEREST IN RETURNING TO WORK

In November 1995, the Ministry of Manpower released its report on Women Returning to Work. The 152 women respondents were participants at a series of workshops organized by the NTUC from July to September 1995 to encourage women to return to work. The findings showed that more then three-quarters of non-working women who were keen to go back to work prefer part time jobs 77% and only 13% preferred to work full time. Majority of those who were interested to work preferred clerical (59%) and sales & service jobs (15%). 13% preferred professional, technical & administrative work and 4% preferred production & cleaners work. These preferences could be explained by the educational attainment of the respondents, majority of who had lower secondary or secondary education.

3. REASONS HOLDING WOMEN BACK FROM REJOINING THE WORKFORCE

The most commonly cited reasons holding the women back from joining the workforce were children and household responsibilities, the lack of suitable jobs near their homes, пЂ lack of part-time working arrangements and the пЂ lack of required qualifications or skills.

A proportion of the females mainly in the 40 to 49 years age group did not know where to look for jobs and had problems adjusting to working life, possibly due to a lack of confidence after a long absence from the workplace. Other reasons cited by the women in the survey findings were the lack of support for care of children aged 2 to 6 years, infants and aged family members. It also includes the need to spend more time with their children and low take home pay.

4. JOB SEEKERS AND EMPLOYERS’ PREFERENCE

Workers seek the best paying jobs after taking into consideration their personal endowments like education and experience, constraints including childcare responsibilities and preferences. Women recognizing that family responsibilities may force them out of the labor force could have a tendency to choose occupations with lower experience and lower penalties for temporary withdrawal from the labor force.

Other than income, education and occupation based differences; men and women are likely to apply for work in different industries and different job openings. Females are less likely to apply for jobs which have longer working hours, physically more demanding jobs or jobs involving overseas postings as compared to the male. They tend to take on jobs that involve customer service and part-time jobs. The main reason for this gender division of labor among Singaporean families are because women are more likely to take on more family care responsibilities as compared to their spouses.

Employers, on the other hand, are concerned with two main factors in their hiring decision which are productivity and labor cost. Therefore, employers realizing that women are more likely than men to leave the labor market could be less inclined to hire them for occupations where experience and on-the-job training are important.

5. WAYS TO ENCOURAGE WOMEN TO REJOIN THE WORKFORCE

5.1 Assist to find jobs near their homes

One of the key motivators that would encourage non-working women to enter and re-enter the workforce is the close proximity between their workplaces and homes. Jobs at workplaces that are nearer their homes cut down on traveling costs and time, and would allow working women with family care responsibilities to return home quickly should they need to tend to their families’ needs or any emergencies.

5.2 Give more support in childcare and care for aged family members

Another key challenge faced by women returning back to work or staying on the job is the availability, quality and affordability of childcare services, preschool education and before and after school care services. Women with babies and small children need childcare on site or close by. They need someone to call on when their children are sick, because whatever their job, they do not want to lessen their value to their employer by taking time off to look after their children. With the starting up of NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited in Singapore to focus on supporting families in developing their preschool children, it helped more women to rejoin the workforce and also support the industry in developing early childhood educators. The NTUC Childcare Bright Horizons Trust Fund was also set up by Singapore labor movement in October 2006 to provide financial assistance to low income families for their children’s preschool education as part of the labor movement’s aim to create a more inclusive society.

NTUC Eldercare Co-operative Limited was