An edited version of this post was originally published as a letter in The Straits Times on 30 November 2016.

The glass ceiling is, sadly, alive and well (“Glass ceiling has already been broken; Nov 27). Family norms and societal expectations of towards women remain real forces – as evidenced in statistics and state policies – which powerfully structure women’s opportunities and limit the choices open to them.

According to the 2015 Labour Force Survey, women formed the majority (64% or 0.67 million) of residents outside the labour force. 41% cited family responsibilities as their main reason for not participating in the labour force. The equivalent figure for men was 3.3%.

Policies aimed at improving work-family balance do not go far enough in equalising childcare responsibilities. For instance, recent changes allow adoptive mothers 12 weeks of adoption leave but made no similar provisions for fathers. Since considerations like breastfeeding and post-partum recovery are not applicable here, reserving this leave primarily for mothers strongly signals that childcare is considered a woman’s responsibility.

Our education system does not devote time to explicitly affirming the importance of gender equality as a foundational societal value, or to educating students about how caregiving should be the shared responsibility of both genders and to recognise gender biases in society.

Regressive stereotypes about women still exist at decision-making levels.  Women in various fields regularly report to us experiences of sexist condescension in their professional lives, at every stage from job interviews to assignment of tasks and communications in meetings. They have little recourse to address this, since employers are under no legal duty not to discriminate.

Unconscious bias can also contribute to the abysmal levels of female representation in organisational leadership. According to the Singapore Board of Directors Survey 2015, 93% of respondents relied on “personal contacts” when looking for board candidates – in other words, relying on the “old boys’ network” which systematically excludes women.

Furthermore, a 2014 survey by Robert Half found that 71 per cent of human resource managers in medium-sized firms in Singapore cited “societal perceptions of women” as holding women back. Forty-three per cent at large firms perceived a “lack of promotional opportunities for women”.  Some larger employers conduct unconscious bias training and other diversity and inclusion initiatives, but these efforts are not yet widespread.

Much more can be done to address and eradicate the perceptions, biases and structures that are still in place which limit women’s choices and opportunities.