SINGAPORE : Singapore is ranked seventh in a survey which
compares the socio-economic level of women to men in the Asia
Pacific region.
Although the survey shows that Singapore women are closing the gap
with their male counterparts in terms of tertiary education, the
women are lagging behind when it comes to salaries.
The survey by MasterCard compares the data from 13 countries in the
Asia Pacific region.
A score above 100 means gender inequality in favour of women; a
score of 40 for - above average income, shows that Singapore women
surveyed say they are underpaid.
One woman said, "It's not fair, we're doing the same standard with
the guys but salary wise it's not fair."
Meanwhile a man said, "Women are not paid as well. I think it's the
same as everywhere in the world at this moment; it's still like
that because women are not taken as seriously as men."
Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Economic Advisor, MasterCard International,
said, "The women executive would tend to believe she is actually
better, superior compared to a male counterpart because the
environment is so tough, she really has work so much harder and
excel and out-perform her male counterparts in the same
position."
Most of the women Channel NewsAsia spoke to agreed Singapore women
are progressing well in terms of education and career advancement;
but in some cases, they had to put their careers on hold in favour
of marriage and having children.
On the other hand, Thailand topped the study with the highest
overall index of 92, partly due to the large number of tertiary
educated women there. - CNA