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​Have you ever asked a colleague what his pay is? Probably not, as it would be considered impolite to do so. Yet in a capitalist society, your pay is often considered to be your value to society. "Equal pay for equal work" is a basic tenet of human rights - and it is a very important question to ask and be informed about. What you earn today has another important dimension. Besides having a bearing on current purchasing power, it also has a cumulative effect on your ability to invest and gain possible future income. As women outlive men on average, the ability to accumulate funds ahead of retirement becomes even more important. In Singapore, the current discussion on social inequality encompasses income inequality. Women are generally over-represented in lower-income bands and under-represented in the higher-income bands - an observation hardly unique to Singapore, though. For example, in the latest data available, women make up 59.2 per cent of the category "cleaners, labourers and related workers" and 37.6 per cent of "managers and administrators". The call for gender wage parity is not a recent phenomenon and predates the women's suffrage movement of the 1920s. Although the International Labour Organisation was set up in 1919, it was only in 1951 that the Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100) was formally adopted. In 1962, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, recognising the power of the women's vote, signed into law "equal pay for equal work" within the Singapore civil service. So has Singapore achieved gender pay parity today? The latest Ministry of Social and Family Development data suggests not. The median wage differential from 2012 to 2016 exists in all job categories, with mixed progress shown to close the gap. For example, for managers, the gender wage differential has shown improvement, now at 10.1 per cent, down from 16.4 per cent back in 2012. For professionals, the wage differential has been uneven. It was 15.3 per cent in 2012, fell to 13.3 per cent in 2015, but rose to 14.3 per cent in 2016. For service and sales staff, the differential has fluctuated over the years, but has remained in the high teens. Though this data does not go into further detail, these differentials may be partially explained by a larger representation of men in the senior grades within these broad bands, as well as perhaps more women working part-time. Four Ways To Take Action With Singapore's rapidly ageing population, falling birth rate and restrained immigration policy, attracting and retaining women in the workforce - the female labour force participation rate stood at 60 per cent last year - is an economic and social imperative, vital to Singapore's economic growth. As pay continues to be one of the key determinants of job attraction and retention, thoughtful action can be taken on four levels. First, the Singapore Government should continue to be the standard-bearer. The public service is the largest employer in the land - accounting for about 4 per cent of all jobs in the economy. Thus, the Government has a part to play in continuing to lead the way through role modelling, moral suasion and top-level engagement. In the same vein, government-linked companies could also help lead the way for corporate Singapore. And the role of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices in calling out unfair gender pay discrimination practices could bring further national awareness. At the corporate level, companies should ensure gender-equal pay through consistent company policies such as clearly communicated pay structures and promotion plans that are affirmed by top management and reviewed by the human resources department annually. With one of the main reasons for the gender pay gap owing to the "motherhood penalty", companies must be prepared to be more flexible over working arrangements, and help sponsor and mentor women employees to attract, nurture and retain female talent. Professional associations could also do their part by tracking and publicising wage data for their respective sectors. This may be beyond the scope of Singapore's national statistics to provide, but is no less important to members and other stakeholders. At the individual level, women of all working ages, levels and professions should take an active interest in being able to get hold of reliable information to make a proper comparison on how they are paid. This extends to even women at the board level, where the pay discrepancy is, on average, 40 per cent, according to a recent study by the National University of Singapore. To be sure, there are precious few times in one's professional life when conversations about pay and bonus can appropriately take place. One is right at the beginning, when starting off in an organisation, and then perhaps just once a year during one's performance review. These are very important milestone conversations that one must be prepared for. It is not a time to be shy about asking questions to ascertain if you are being paid fairly. Our guest contributor - Trina Liang-Lin is the president of the Singapore Committee for UN Women, board member of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations, CEO & Chair of World Food Future (WFF) for Women and co-chair of BoardAgender. She is also past president of the Financial Women's Association.​About half the skyhalf the sky (HTS) is a career platform for women in Asia. We connect women to career opportunities at companies that care. We also want to equip you with information, tips and strategies to navigate the workplace today and the future.Sign upto get career tips and job alerts directly to your inbox! Join us to shape the future of women at work together!

​Many of us welcomed in the new year with joy and jubilation, celebrating the chance of new beginnings and possibilities that a new year brings. This year is shaping up to be a year of great change with geopolitical uncertainties and technological innovations creating significant disruption.The turn of the year often see’s many of us make resolutions to kick bad habits and pursue new goals and this is the time to start that transformation and in no better area than in your career!With report after report showing the world of work changing faster than ever, it’s fair to assume there’s more change in store and 2019 will be no different. What is your career outlook for 2019? Our team at half the sky have put together a list of the key skills and jobs that companies are looking to hire in 2019.Whether you are looking for a new job in 2019 or planning to stay put, it’s important to start planning for a few of the major trends that will affect your workplace and thus your career in 2019 and beyond.Let’s start off with the soft skills in high demand in 2019:A focus on emotional intelligence - companies are putting a high premium on emotional intelligence as they focus on individuals who have deep self-awareness and can deal with workplace pressures and function effectively whilst managing their emotions. Social Skills are also a must as companies seek employees who able to interact well with others and build strong rapport with leaders and co-workers. Some important social skills include active listening, verbal communication skills, nonverbal communication skills, leadership, and persuasiveness. Finally, empathy - or the ability to understand how others are feeling, is absolutely critical in a workplace that is increasingly diverse and fluid. Being empathetic also allows people to understand the power dynamics that often influence social relationships, especially in senior management or leadership roles.Also, research from Linkedin annual skills report also noted: Creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and the timeless skill of time management as critical soft skills of 2019The hard skills companies need most in 2019:The most sought-after roles in 2019 will be analytical and data driven in nature many new jobs will be created in these areas as digital and wider technological transformation takes shape across the economy.With AI, Machine Learning and Blockchain being key sectors that have received billions of investments these technologies have the potential to have a radical impact on your work and career as new products and services get rolled out more vigorously in 2019. Being familiar with these technologies will be essential for career prospects in years to come.Top roles in 2019 – according LinkedIn report:Cloud Computing ArchitectMachine Learning EngineerBusiness Intelligence AnalystE-commerceCyber security specialistUX DesignSupport and initiatives in attracting female talents into these highly skilled and highly paid jobs will also be rolled out aggressively by companies and governments especially in Singapore and Hong Kong in 2019.Whilst data driven and technological jobs are at the top of corporates agenda – jobs in traditional sectors such as accounting & finance, legal, supply management and especially human resources with an emphasis on ‘coaching and empowering’ will also be in high demand in the year ahead.​Whether you are looking for a new job in 2019 or planning to stay put, it’s important to start planning for a few of the major trends that will affect your workplace and thus your career this year and beyond.Get yourself all geared up for the year ahead to face new challenges. Reflect and rediscover yourself, and get started to be the best version of yourself.​About half the skyhalf the sky (HTS) is a career platform for women in Asia. We connect women to career opportunities at companies that care. We also want to equip you with information, tips and strategies to navigate the workplace today and the future.Sign up to get career tips and job alerts directly to your inbox! Join us to shape the future of women at work together!

​More proactive about empowering ourselvesEquipped with a broad range of skillsActively working on building our self-esteemHelping other women to growDespite the fact that the percentage of men and women population in Indonesia is almost equal, it doesn’t reflect the number of both genders in the workforce, especially women’s participation higher in the career ladder.According to the World Bank data, women’s participation has already at 47% of the entry-level professionals. But the number decreases as it moves to the middle and high-level management positions. In the mid-level management, women have only 20% covered. Meanwhile, there are 5% women occupying CEO positions and 5% of the board membership.Women participation in management roles of Indonesian corporates is the lowest across the region.We saw a similar observation in the specific industry in Indonesia. A recent study has found there is a lack of women participation at the highest management levels of Indonesian e-commerce market.Despite 65% online shoppers being women, only 31% women occupy the top management of 13 e-commerce platforms with strategic capability to conquer online consumers. The study also found there is a wider gender participation gap in higher level management. Only 36% in the Head level and 21% of women occupy the CEO and VP level.The same study has shared its finding across the region. The lack of women participation in the e-commerce industry is also still found in Singapore with 34% participation, Vietnam at 37%, Thailand at 40%, and Malaysia at 42%. The Philippines is the country in SEA that has highest women participation at 55%. Meanwhile, unfortunately, Indonesia is the lowest with 31% participation.Based on the World Economics Forum index, Indonesia is in the 10th position in the Gender Gap index. This means Indonesia is still far behind other developing countries such as The Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand in gender equality. This dissatisfactory rank is due to the small women participation in overall senior and managerial positions.The opportunities are available, but what factors that hold women back?Indonesia has a huge potential to increase the GDP of US$135 billion in 2025 if we can encourage more women participation in the productive sector, according to McKinsey & Company.It means there are actually a lot of potential and opportunities for women to pursue career growth. But what factors that hold women back from corporate success? I have highlighted two challenges that we need to overcome:Lack of support networksA report from Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), there are several reasons that bring constraints for women to pursue a higher career, i.e being a mother (41%), having responsibilities in their family (41%), unsupportive environment (31%), and gender discriminations (24%).With these findings, we can see the main reason why there is a lack of women participation isn’t because of the lack of opportunities, but rather the mindset of portraying women in leadership roles. Managing Partner Grant Thornton Indonesia, Johanna Gani stated Indonesian culture is still strongly influenced by hierarchical structures and dominant of patrilineality. This collective mindset believes that any leadership roles should be ruled by men because they are still considered more competent.As reported by Tirto, 30 million Indonesian women haven’t decided to pursue a higher level in their career. Shinta Kamdani, CEO of Sintesa Group stated that being in the higher roles at the company is considered having a bigger responsibility that will disrupt their work-life balance and marriage life.It’s no wonder if a woman who has a successful career tend to be considered incompetent in taking care of their household and neglecting their family. This observation shows many Indonesian women are afraid to pursue a higher career due to the social norms.Lack of confidenceAnother factor holding women back from pursuing their true potential is fear and a lack of confidence. Women often undersell themselves, underestimate their potential, power, and influence in the workplace. In contrast, men are typically quite confident in themselves and their capabilities.The Bain & Company survey of over 1000 women found a loss of confidence amongst women in middle management positions that they could rise to the top. At this level, some respondents noted political imbalances that were difficult to overcome, while their male colleagues had access to a mentor from the same sex to help navigate these issues.Mentoring and a supportive environment are the keys to changeEmpowering women has long-term positive socioeconomic impacts. Mentorship is a crucial component of career success, offering both mentor and mentee opportunities to learn and grow. With mentorship and training, women can actually pull out some strengths they possess which they may not be aware of.Women also need a supportive social environment that allows them to perform in various spheres of their lives. Director of PT Marga Mandala Sakti Wiwiek Santoso emphasizes women can’t be separated from their nature to have children and are preoccupied with household affairs. Therefore, there is a need for cooperation with husbands how they can take care of children while achieving a successful career.Besides, women need to become more proactive about empowering themselves, equipped with a broad range of skills, actively working on building their self-esteem and helping other women to grow – both personally and professionally.A study performed by MSCI says there is a positive correlation between the presence of women in corporate leadership and performance. Companies in the MSCI World Index with strong female leadership generated a Return on Equity of 10,1% per year versus 7.4% for those without.Considering the research concluded gender diversity on the board has significant benefits for both productivity and profits, Indonesian enterprises need to become more proactive about supporting gender diversity on their management board to optimize its growth potential.​About half the skyhalf the sky (HTS) is a career platform for women in Asia. We connect women to career opportunities at companies that care. We also want to equip you with information, tips and strategies to navigate the workplace today and the future.Sign up to get career tips and job alerts directly to your inbox! Join us to shape the future of women at work together!