Committee of Supply 2024 debate, Day 4: Desmond Choo on a resilient and inclusive workforce
In Parliament on Monday (Mar 4), Speaker Seah Kian Peng dealt with the expenditure estimates for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). MP Desmond Choo then told the House that Singapore needs to tackle the structural problem of the gender pay gap. He pointed to how human resource (HR) practices such as performance grading could involve inherent biases against women - what he called the “motherhood penalty”. This is when a woman’s career progression is derailed over multiple childbirths because promotion depends on multi-year performance consistency, he explained. Mr Choo called on HR practitioners to review and improve their performance evaluation criteria. He also sought more transparency in the gender composition of senior management roles and compensation. Finally, he urged all businesses to consider offering caregiving leave. Mr Choo also spoke about supporting older workers to stay gainfully employed. He suggested reinstating WorkPro, a scheme that gave companies grants to implement age-friendly work practices with an emphasis on retaining older workers.
In Parliament on Monday (Mar 4), Speaker Seah Kian Peng dealt with the expenditure estimates for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). MP Desmond Choo then told the House that Singapore needs to tackle the structural problem of the gender pay gap. He pointed to how human resource (HR) practices such as performance grading could involve inherent biases against women - what he called the “motherhood penalty”. This is when a woman’s career progression is derailed over multiple childbirths because promotion depends on multi-year performance consistency, he explained. Mr Choo called on HR practitioners to review and improve their performance evaluation criteria. He also sought more transparency in the gender composition of senior management roles and compensation. Finally, he urged all businesses to consider offering caregiving leave. Mr Choo also spoke about supporting older workers to stay gainfully employed. He suggested reinstating WorkPro, a scheme that gave companies grants to implement age-friendly work practices with an emphasis on retaining older workers.
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