Impact of Work-from-home Arrangements on Reduction of Gender Inequalities and Increase in Female Labour Participation Rate

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has conducted local studies on the impact of allowing working from home in (i) reducing gender inequality, (ii) reducing gender stereotypes, (iii) reducing gender wage gap and (iv) increasing the female labour force participation rate respectively; (b) if so, what are the results of the respective studies; and (c) if not, whether the Ministry intends to do so.

We have not commissioned any local studies described by the Member. Nevertheless, we welcome interested stakeholders to conduct robust studies on these issues and to share the findings to enrich the discussion.

Even without such studies, MOM, unions and many progressive employers, both locally and globally, already firmly believe in the benefits of flexible work arrangements (FWAs), of which working from home is but one type. FWAs are key enablers in helping workers balance work and personal responsibilities, such as caregiving. As women tend to still play the primary caregiving roles in families, FWAs will certainly help them. But we also need society’s mindsets to shift and encourage more men to also tap on FWAs and more equally share in caregiving responsibilities.

The White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development has laid out our action plans to better support women in the workplace and will positively impact some of the indicators the Member has mentioned. For example, a joint study published in 2020 by MOM and Assoc Prof Jessica Pan from the National University of Singapore found that a large proportion of Singapore’s gender pay gap was attributable to occupational segregation where men tend to be better represented in higher paying occupations. This can occur in part when women either choose not to enter or leave these occupations mid-career to manage personal responsibilities, such as caregiving. As such, FWAs, such as flexi-time and flexi-place arrangements, could enable women to remain and progress in the workforce and help reduce the gender pay gap.