Singapore best country in the world for female finance professionals

When it comes to creating a female friendly working environment, Singapore offers the best culture for gender diversity in the world.

That was the key finding of the eFinancialCareers' Diversity Survey, which polled nearly 5,000 professionals globally working in banking and finance, including 1,244 living and working in Singapore.

Almost nine in 10 (87%) of Singaporean respondents said they would recommend their company to a female friend. This was the most positive response globally, with Australia (83%) the UK and the US (82%) coming in close behind.

“Singapore is a great place for female professionals in financial services,” George McFerran, sales and marketing director at eFinancialCareers, said.

“We are seeing many of the local and international financial services institutions here developing gender diversity initiatives. Flexible working hours, childcare benefits and mentoring programs are among the most popular.”

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The survey highlighted, however, room for improvement exists when it comes to equal compensation and representation at senior levels.

While 89% of local financial services professionals believed women are equally represented at junior levels, only 66% believed women are fairly represented at senior positions.

A little over half (54%) of female finance professionals Singapore think they are fairly paid, while 68% of women believe “men are paid more than women in equivalent positions”.

“Getting more women into senior positions is a priority for many financial services companies, and while many are spending a great deal of time and effort on this there is no quick solution,” McFerran said.

“Another crucial step will be addressing the perception of unequal pay, it is damaging both for the industry and the people in it.”

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