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SINGAPORE STATISTICS- On average, Singapore women earn 91 cents to $1 earned by Singapore men34
- 64% of women, compared with 38% of men, rely on their immediate families to assist with medical expenses.35
SINGAPORE CHALLENGEAccording to the 2014 Human Development Report by the UN, Singapore ranks 13th out of the 155 countries surveyed, and comes up as the top Asian nation for gender equality. This is measured through the differences between men and women in reproductive health*, empowerment** and labour participation rates.
Despite the high rankings on an international level, there are still several gender gaps that needs to be addressed including equal pay, representation at senior management level and ease of retiring from the workforce. Singaporean women are still espoused with more caregiving and households responsibilities, which are frequently associated with the many issues mentioned above. These issues are further amplified when it comes to vulnerable minority groups such as single mothers, LBT groups and women with disabilities.
Read more: 5 gender gaps that Singapore women still face in 2015
Read more: 5 biggest challenges of single mothers*Reproductive health looks at maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy rates
**Empowerment takes into account parliamentary seats held by women and how they figure in higher education
SINGAPORE OPPORTUNITY
“Empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also has a multiplier effect across all other development areas.”32
“Ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health, and affording women equal rights to economic resources such as land and property, are vital targets to realizing this goal. There are now more women in public office than ever before, but encouraging more women leaders across all regions will help strengthen policies and legislation for greater gender equality.”33
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GLOBAL STATISTICS- Women and girls are more likely to live in poverty than their male counterparts.
- Globally, women earn 24% less than men. They are also more likely to be unemployed, underemployed, or excluded from the workforce than their male counterparts.
- In developing countries, a woman is 14 times more likely to die from childbirth than in the developed world.
- 800 women die each day from pregnancy or pregnancy-related complications which have been mostly eliminated in developed countries (2013)
- 12% of married or partnered women who wanted to avoid pregnancy did not have access to birth control and related health care services. (2015)29
GLOBAL CHALLENGEWomen and girls are more empowered than ever before in human history, with greater access to education, economic opportunities and political power30. Despite the successes in movement for greater equality, women and girls are still more likely to be affected by extreme poverty and struggle with getting access to paid employment in some regions. Barriers to ending discrimination against women and girls include “sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public decision making”31.
GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY
“Empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also has a multiplier effect across all other development areas.”32
“Ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health, and affording women equal rights to economic resources such as land and property, are vital targets to realizing this goal. There are now more women in public office than ever before, but encouraging more women leaders across all regions will help strengthen policies and legislation for greater gender equality.”33
