Potential Increase in Women's Participation in Labour Force in Relation to Gender Pay Gap

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in view of the study on Singapore's current resident labour force participation rate as reported in Macroeconomic Review published by MAS in April 2024, what will be the potential increase in the number of women participating in the labour force (i) for each percentage point of decline in gender pay gap and (ii) if the gender pay gap is eliminated.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Prime Minister): The Monetary Authority of Singapore's study of Singapore's labour force participation rate, published in the April 2024 Macroeconomic Review, suggests that a 1%-point decline in the gender wage gap, defined as the percentage difference between the median wage for resident males and the median wage for resident females, is associated with a 0.2 percentage point increase in the female labour force participation rate, and 0.1 percentage point increase in the overall labour force participation rate. 1

This result should be interpreted in the context of Singapore's already high labour force participation rate among women. In 2023, the labour force participation rate among women in Singapore was 62.6%, higher than the OECD average of 56.7%. Factors other than the gender wage gap will also affect the female and overall labour force participation rate. These factors include further improvements in educational attainment, as well as fostering the sharing of caregiving responsibilities and family-friendly workplaces to help caregivers manage work and family commitments.

Collectively, these factors will be important for reducing the gender wage gap while helping ensure that the labour force participation rate among women in Singapore continues to remain high.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 1:

1 Gender wage gap is calculated as 100% X (male earnings / female earnings) in the study, which differs slightly from the calculation that has been used in other studies, 100% X (1- female earnings / male earnings).