How to better support women returning to work: SCWO study

“To do this, we need a mindset shift and review the way we look at caregiving in general.

“We need to look beyond simply getting women back into jobs to whether suitable opportunities exist, whether workplaces are ready to support their return alongside their caregiving duties, and whether women can stay and progress once they return.”

The study, conducted by SCWO in collaboration with NTUC’s Women and Family unit, drew on 20 in-person focus group discussions with 120 women in July, an online poll of 502 women living in Singapore who were aged 24 and above in August, and a review of return-to-work initiatives in Singapore and overseas.

The focus groups included younger women returning after maternity leave, mid-career women who had taken caregiving-related career breaks, women aged 50 to 65 who had been out of the workforce for longer periods, and women who had unsuccessfully attempted to return to employment. Both PMET and non-PMET workers were represented.

According to Koh, the findings are not nationally representative of all women in Singapore. The research instead sought to capture the experiences of women at different life stages and points in their return-to-work journey.

THE STRUGGLE TO FIND SUITABLE WORK

Among the women polled, 299 had previously taken or were currently on a career break – 80 per cent of these said they wanted to return to work.

At the same time, nearly 70 per cent of all women polled believed taking a career break made finding suitable employment more difficult.

Women in the study described preparing themselves to return to work by updating their resumes, refreshing their skills and searching for jobs through multiple channels, but they did not always find roles that matched both their experience and their need for flexibility.