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Age discrimination remained the most prevalent form of discrimination for both groups.
Singapore saw a continued decline in the proportion of employees who experienced discrimination in 2023, falling to 6% from 8.2% in 2022 and 8.5% in 2021. This figure remains significantly lower — approximately four times less — than pre-pandemic levels of 24.1% in 2018.
The recent study by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department explored employees' experiences with discrimination, based on actual incidents encountered while working as employees and/or during their job search. It also looked in whether organisations have formalised procedures in place to manage workplace discrimination, and the actions they took after experiencing discrimination.
As the report discovered, age discrimination was the most common form of discrimination at work (2.6%) in 2023. This was followed by:
- race (1.7%),
- nationality (1.6%), and
- mental health (1.6%).
Nonetheless, all forms of discrimination, including age discrimination, have dropped to below 3% in 2023 from 2022.
For a more detailed breakdown, of those who experienced discrimination at work, the most cited incidences of unfair treatment related to remuneration (salary: 43.4%; bonus: 26.8%) and work environment (workload distribution: 33.7%; daily interactions at work: 26.8%).
Areas related to career opportunities were also common points of unfair treatment:
- career development (26.3%)
- promotion (24.4%)
- appraisal: (22.9%)
On the other hand, unfair treatment related to benefits (staff welfare: 16.1%; medical benefits: 14.1%; annual leave: 12.2%) and termination of employment (dismissal: 5.4%; retrenchment: 4.9%) were less common.
Discrimination amongst job seeker continues to decline
The percentage of job seekers who experienced discrimination during their job search continued to decline, reaching 23.4% from 23.8% in 2022 — still remaining significantly lower than 42.7% in 2018.
Similarly, age discrimination remained the most prevalent form of discrimination (18.1%) during job search in 2023. This was followed by race (5.1%) and nationality (4.8%).
At whole, most forms of discrimination were still on the decline in 2023 compared to 2022, with the exception of age and nationality discrimination. These incidences were actually on the rise for the first time in 2023 after a steady decline over the years.
The most prevalent source of discrimination reported by job seekers were job advertisements which had stated a preference for applicants with specific demographic characteristics (45.7%). This was followed by discriminatory experiences arising from employers asking for personal information that was irrelevant to the job (28.3%) and being passed over due to demographic characteristics (28.3%).
In examining what went on in organisations, the report highlighted that 63.2% of resident employees worked in firms with formal procedures to manage workplace discrimination in 2023. This reflects a steady rise in the proportion since 2018 (49.6%).
According to the study, the presence of formal procedures was statistically significant in reducing the likelihood of discrimination across most forms of discrimination, except mental health discrimination.
Lead image / Fair Employment Practices 2023
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