A majority of the Republic’s women feel they are under-represented in top corporate jobs.
Female executives in Singapore are also are less likely to help or mentor other women, compared with their counterparts in Malaysia and Indonesia.
These were some of findings in a HSBC-commissioned survey released on Friday (Mar 4).
The HSBC study, entitled “Mind the gaps: Perceptions of gender equality in corporate Southeast Asia”, was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It involved 300 female executives from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
According to the study, 56 per cent of Singapore women say females are under-represented in senior management. This compares with 44 per cent for both Indonesia and Malaysia.
The study also showed that 69 per cent and 74 per cent of senior women professionals in Malaysia and Indonesia respectively, feel it is their responsibility to help other women. In contrast, only 54 per cent of Singapore women see it as their responsibility.
One woman in a top job says a diverse workforce can boost a company’s performance. “I think where opinions are sourced from different people, from different male and female, that adds to more variety of ideas,” said Ms Lynette Leong, Chief Executive Officer of CapitaLand Commercial Trust. “And from the variety of ideas you can generate more innovation, as well as greater perspectives, and the perspectives will be cut across different situations which any single gender may not be able to come up with, and that will provide better balance in the organization and better creativity”.
news source: channelnewsasia.com
