INTRODUCTION
Women in Singapore have experience great improvement in economic status, including growing female labour force participation rate and entry into professional, technical, administrative and managerial occupations. This process has been facilitated by a number of factors, such as equal education and employment opportunities, and rapid economic development which has fuelled demand for labour. All these have brought a dramatic change in the status of women in our economy and society. The change has encouraged employers to recognized work in ways which would enable them to recruit and retain talents among women. The presence of women is also now visible in community work.
According to Singapore Department of Statistics, although the female participation rate in Singapore labour force has risen significantly over the years, it remains lower than male participation rate. Across the labour force as a whole, women participation rate in year 2007 is only 54.3%, whereas the participation rate for men is 76.5%. The participation rate among women aged over 35 years is particularly low.
FACTORS DISCOURAGING FEMALE TO PARTICPATE IN THE WORKFORCE
Women are more likely to drop out of the labour force after marriage and childbirth. Several cited reasons discouraging women to join the workforce were:
▪ Balance Between Family and Work
The most cited factor affecting women labour force decision was family-related. Although women have made great strides in all fields, they remain the major caregiver in the family while the husband is still seen as the main breadwinner. This role that women perform constrains their ability in paid work. Women face great challenges in seeking to strike a balance between work and family. Thus, this lead to women with highly propensities to leave their job voluntarily.
▪ Child Care
Women with young children will more likely to leave the labour force because young children require much attention. The quality and convenience of...