SINGAPORE : Singapore is ranked seventh in a survey which compares the socio-economic level of women to men in the Asia Pacific region.
Although the survey shows that Singapore women are closing the gap with their male counterparts in terms of tertiary education, the women are lagging behind when it comes to salaries.
The survey by MasterCard compares the data from 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
A score above 100 means gender inequality in favour of women; a score of 40 for - above average income, shows that Singapore women surveyed say they are underpaid.
One woman said, "It's not fair, we're doing the same standard with the guys but salary wise it's not fair."
Meanwhile a man said, "Women are not paid as well. I think it's the same as everywhere in the world at this moment; it's still like that because women are not taken as seriously as men."
Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Economic Advisor, MasterCard International, said, "The women executive would tend to believe she is actually better, superior compared to a male counterpart because the environment is so tough, she really has work so much harder and excel and out-perform her male counterparts in the same position."
Most of the women Channel NewsAsia spoke to agreed Singapore women are progressing well in terms of education and career advancement; but in some cases, they had to put their careers on hold in favour of marriage and having children.
On the other hand, Thailand topped the study with the highest overall index of 92, partly due to the large number of tertiary educated women there. - CNA
Come on, males get higher start up pay because of the 2 year NS