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The unequal, unnoticed life of a female worker

November 5th, 2018 | Employment and Labour Rights, Family and Divorce, Letters and op-eds, News, Views, Women in Leadership, Workplace Harassment

This article was originally published in Channel NewsAsia on 5 November 2018.

In Singapore, women earn a staggering S$640,000 less than their male counterparts over a 40-year career.

The differential, which includes CPF contributions, was calculated as part of AWARE’s ongoing research on how the labour market treats women unfairly and what the government, employers, and trade unions can do to address gender inequality at the workplace.

The recent spate of conversations on Oxfam’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index omitted one of its most significant findings – how gender inequality contributes to economic inequality.

How does gender inequality manifest itself in a country where men and women have equal opportunities to education and jobs?

It takes three insidious forms: Unequal pay for equal work, unpaid care work, and the fact that the labour market sorts men into higher-paying jobs and women into low-wage work.

UNEQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK