Attracting and retaining female talent: providing a non-frozen environment

In Singapore, female representation in SGX-listed company boards increased to 8.3% in 2013 from 7.9% in 2012. However, Singapore remains behind its peers in the region and at about half the rates seen in the European Union, America, and Australia, according to the Singapore Board Diversity Report 2014.

The benefit of including women in the workforce is well known with The Global Leadership Forecast 2014/2015 report revealing that the top 20% of high performing organisations have women in 37% of high level leader roles versus the bottom 20% which only have 18% of women in such roles.

Higher levels of collaboration, improved problem solving of difficult and complex tasks, and more innovative thinking to address competitive environments are achieved with diverse groups of leaders, including women.

As a result, female participation in the workforce, particularly at senior levels, remains a struggle for many organisations and has prompted multinational companies to implement creative benefits to attract, retain, and develop female employees.

Silicon Valley giants Apple and Facebook recently announced they would support health insurance coverage to women who wish to freeze their eggs. While this policy is controversial, it surely reflects how corporations are exploring innovative approaches to promote gender diversity in the workplace.

For many organisations, egg-freezing may be a step too far when it comes to offering family-friendly work benefits. Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, which ranks fourth in the Global Gender Gap Index, is renowned for having a well-established support network that encourages women to continue to work while also managing the responsibilities of having a family.

For example, both men and women are entitled to 480 days of parental leave when a child is born or adopted, and employers are required by law to pursue specific goals to promote gender equality in the workplace.

What can Singaporean and other ASEAN companies do to overcome culture, tradition, and social norms which have had a heavy influence on the bias that determines how they recruit and promote women and make their workplaces more encouraging of women across ages and with different family situations? Start with the basics.

1. Flexibility is key

Providing a flexible work environment is key to attracting and retaining employees with family obligations or anyone looking for better work/life balance.

Offering non-traditional work hours, providing options to work from home or take on project-based tasks are especially helpful for women and their partners who have young children and helps in managing work and family responsibilities. This is also important when caring for aging parents.

In order to achieve greater flexibility, companies should embrace workers' results instead of focusing on the amount of time physically spent in the office. This is a particular problem in Singapore where employees often feel obligated to work long hours to impress management and is reflected in the Morgan McKinley Working Hours Survey 2014 which states that nearly two thirds of Singapore's professionals say they feel this way.

Providing support to women is vital in maintaining their participation in the workforce, and should also extend to their partners. The reassurance of being able to share the load through access to paternity leave and flexible work options for partners can also be a determining factor in encouraging a female back into work.

2. Tailored compensation packages make an impact

According to the World Economic Forum, men continue to earn more than women in Singapore with a score of 0.81 (score of 1 denoting gender equality) in 2012. As a result, offering competitive salaries for women might be  a more practical approach to attracting and retaining female talent, especially in traditionally male-dominated sectors like technology.

In addition to monetary incentives, tailoring benefit packages can also make an impact. Like male employees, the role of women in the workplace is constantly changing throughout their career.

Therefore benefit packages should be tailored to align with different stages of their family life and career progression, not just the peak period of career development.

Aside from including egg-freezing into their employee benefit plan, Apple also offers lengthy maternity and paternity leave, childcare subsidies for up to $15,000, and adoption assistance programmes, which demonstrate a comprehensive offering to support a range of needs for different families at different times of their life.

Providing more equality in salary, together with a range of benefits that are reflective of employee needs and desires can establish an organisation as an employer of choice.

3. Top level commitment makes a difference

To ensure female employees continue to grow into senior positions, managers should take a greater lead in providing mentorship and talent development to cultivate skills and required knowledge, as well as sponsorship and increased visibility of women to executives.

In turn this commitment in investing in future development can facilitate greater engagement and foster greater loyalty to the company, resulting in a win for female employees and management. 

Attracting, retaining, and developing female talent is a well-established concern the HR world still continues to grapple with. The best solutions might not always be the most forward thinking or innovative, but simply address the most basic needs.

By providing a supportive work environment through demonstrating understanding, choice, and flexibility, women and men will not have to give up work for family and vice versa.