What are your views on the drive to get women back to work? What more can be done to help them get a job?

In Singapore, getting women back to work has been an issue for more than a decade. The Government had previously set up a Back To Work Advisory Committee to look into among other things, the kinds of incentives that would motivate employers to introduce flexi-work arrangements, including part-time work, job-sharing and home-based work for these women. However, recent studies show that the participation rate of Singapore women in the labour force is only 54.3 percent, which is still lower than the rates in the United State, Australia and Hong Kong, which are around 60 percent. Therefore, it can be clearly seen that is a pressing need to get women back to work.

If women can be cajoled back into the work force, they can help the economy in two ways: ease the labour crunch by filling the record number of new jobs created and reduce the heavy reliance on foreign workers. Also, it will address the increasingly important social concern over their retirement savings. Looking around us we can see that women tend to live longer than men; sometimes out living their husbands for decades, thus by staying jobless, these women may face the prospect of a bleak future, without having sufficient savings on their own.

A recent government survey has also found that one in three women mid-lifers has never held a job and the 2007 Report Singapore’s Labour identifies three main reasons: housework, poor health and raising children. A significant number of women leave the work force in their 30s or 40s; dropping out of the labour force after marriage and childbirth and many do not rejoin the workforce there after. This is in stark contrast with situations in other countries, likes South Korea where most women will return to the workforce when their children are older; in United State and Britain, most women continue to work even after becoming mothers. So what is it that is holding back the women in our society from rejoining the workforce?

As mentioned previously, women are actually worried they can juggle family and jobs demand at one go. Their main concern lies in the availability of flexible work options and greater childcare support for them. Men are also a stumbling block for some as the husband often makes decisions at home. Hence women have to stay at home to take care of the children. Some others have the fear that their skills have gone irrelevant, as they have been jobless for a long time. What can be dome to help these women, most of them, housewives or retirees rejoin the workforce?

A possible solution is changing the attitudes, for example, husbands who forbid their wives from working. Open discussions with social workers and MPs could be held to coax these husbands to change their ways, however it will not be easy to tackle as this more of private family matter. Still, similar attitudes are actually appearing to decline with more men showing greater willingness to help the housework nowadays.

Currently, a work group led by labour MP the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) had set the goal of helping 2000 women enter the workforce this year. This will thus make it easier for those who need jobs to find employment. The fact is that most women find themselves freed from time-consuming demand of childcaring when their children turn older, but they face the greater financial demand on the family as their children enter the college, polytechnics or university. With the cost of living rising, dual income family will gradually become a necessity in many households.

Consequently, it is important to equip women with the right skills and jobs. As most of the women left the workforce for sometime, they will need to keep their skills up to date. A recent initiative, Women Enterprise Works, will serve to help these women work from home. This co-operative will match women with courses that will train them on how to sell their products. With such creative initiatives in place, more women will be able to work, be it in the office or at home

Most importantly, knowing what women want and meeting their needs may be the best solution to the problem. The main worry to most women will be the tussle between work and family. Hence women mostly want jobs near their homes and with flexible options so that they can take care of their children. Therefore, employers may offer part-time jobs, which have family friendly hours. For the greater childcare support, the government should lower the childcare and student care fees.

With the continual effort of the government providing remedy to the situation, more women will definitely be convinced to get back to work.

--references from "wooing women back to work",Strait Times, March 15 2008