Prejudice by society against women in leadership still prevalent

Interestingly, women exhibited bias against female leaders, although men showed a greater bias.

Do you think men or women are better suited to leadership positions? This was the question asked to over 14,000 respondents between the ages of 18-65 across 14 countries via an online survey for the Reykjavik Index for Leadership 2022-23 report.

The data reveals that prejudices against women in leadership roles still persist in Singapore, with only 30% of respondents reporting being very comfortable with a woman holding positions such as Head of Government, Minister, or CEO of a major or SME company.

Interestingly, women themselves also exhibited bias against female leaders, although men showed a greater bias. There is a nine-point difference between women (71) and men (62).

Occupational segregation was also evident, with women perceived as better suited for traditionally female-dominated sectors such as childcare and fashion & beauty, while stereotypes around men dominate fields including high-tech, artificial intelligence, gaming, engineering, defence, and police.

The report, put together by Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) and Kantar Public, assesses society's perceptions of men's and women's suitability for leadership positions. A score of 100 indicates complete agreement that men and women are equally suited for leadership across the economy, and any score of less than 100 is an indication of prejudice in society.

Other key findings from the Singapore edition of the report included:

• Considering Singapore’s global status in comparison to G7 countries, Singapore scored lower on the index, with an average score of 72 for G7 nations and a score of 66 for Singapore. Meanwhile, Singapore outperformed Indonesia, and is slightly behind Thailand in terms of gender parity.
• The younger generation (18-34-year-olds) in Singapore showed a more progressive view on gender equality in leadership, providing hope for future improvement.
• Singaporeans rated 7.3 out of 10 when asked how important gender equality is for their society (on a scale of one to 10; 10 being most important).
• Three in five (60%) of female respondents and 70% of male respondents felt that gender equality has been achieved in Singapore.

Globally, Singapore had a score of 66 in 2022, compared to 69 in Thailand and 74 in Japan. However, Singapore was ahead of Indonesia with a score of 44 as seen in the image below. 

While Singapore has made significant progress in achieving gender parity in leadership positions, SCWO emphasises the need for continued efforts to raise awareness and address gender biases among both genders and the younger generation. According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development's White Paper on Singapore Women's Development, the percentage of women on boards of Top 100 SGX companies has tripled since 2014 to reach 21.5% in 2022.

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Lead image & Inline image / SCWO