On 8 March, the world celebrates International Women’s Day (“IWD”), a day dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. In line with one of IWD’s mission to raising greater awareness about issues impacting women's equality, the campaign theme for IWD 2022 is #BreakTheBias.

Gender bias is essentially the tendency to prefer one gender over another and is often based on prejudices and stereotypes. Gender bias can be conscious or unconscious, the latter occurring when one unconsciously assigns certain attributes to another person or group of people based simply on their gender. Unconscious bias is a persistent issue in the workplace, affecting recruitment, training, access to opportunities, and promotion.

In most workplaces today, gender bias refers to the preferential treatment that men receive. While women face many forms of gender bias in the workplace, research shows that motherhood bias is the strongest form of gender bias.

What is Motherhood Bias?

Motherhood bias is a form of discrimination that many working mothers experience, when employers or colleagues (mostly male) make false assumptions that women are less competent and less committed to their careers after they become mothers. Mothers may also be overlooked for challenging assignments, training opportunities, or promotions because of their assumed lack of time or interest to advance their careers. It is no surprise that motherhood bias starts early, in some cases, even before the woman has been hired, where questions of marital status and family planning may be asked at the interview.

Motherhood bias can dramatically compound other challenges women already face at work, and lead to what experts refer to as the “motherhood penalty”, a severe economic penalty associated with motherhood. In the US, studies have shown that the wage gap between mothers and non-mothers is now larger than that between men and women, and motherhood accounts for much of the pay gap between men and women.

Although we do not have such statistics in Singapore, we know from data gathered by the Ministry of Manpower that female labour force participation rate rose from 60.2% in 2018 to 61.2% in 2020[1]. Since 2018, there has also been a steady increase in women going into full-time employment. Yet, pervasive issues such as gender pay gap continue to exist. In 2020, full-time female employees aged 25 to 54 earned 14.4% less than their male counterparts.[2]

In March 2018, the Law Society of Singapore’s Women in Practice Taskforce (the “Taskforce”) conducted a survey of female lawyers of varying seniorities, with a goal to better understand the needs and experiences of female lawyers in active practice. The findings were reported in the Report on Gender Diversity in the Singapore Legal Profession[3]. Amongst other findings, the survey results revealed a group of female lawyers who face particularly pressing circumstances, namely, women lawyers with young children. Of the respondents who indicated they had children, more than 70% stated their children were under the age of 7. In light of this overwhelming statistic, the Taskforce recommended that specific focus be given to how this group of practitioners can be better supported in balancing their child-rearing and professional commitments.

Easing Mothers’ Return to Work

Transitioning back to work after maternity leave can be stressful and overwhelming, when mothers return to the office as a different person with new priorities and concerns.

A case can be made that more support for new mothers should be provided in the form of longer maternity leave. In Singapore, working mothers are entitled to either 16 weeks of government-paid maternity leave or 12 weeks of maternity leave, depending on whether the child is a Singapore citizen and other criteria[4]. For comparison, in Australia, employees can get government-paid parental leave of 18 weeks as well as paid parental leave from their employer, the length of which is subject to agreement[5]. In addition, employees are entitled to up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave. They can also request up to an additional 12 months of leave[6].

Having a longer maternity leave has many upsides. Studies have shown a positive relationship between the length of maternity leave and mothers’ mental health and duration of breastfeeding. It also encourages greater parent/child closeness in those crucial first few months of a new-born’s life. Extended maternity leave would give parents more time to firm up childcare arrangements before the mother’s return to work and reduce their stress as a result.

But having a longer maternity leave may have the unintended effect of intensifying the biases that mothers encounter at work, further reducing their employability. It may also perpetuate entrenched social expectations that mothers should be the primary caregivers and assume more domestic responsibilities.

Our directors, Jonathan and Mark, contend that it’s a matter of changing mindsets. This can be done by companies taking a more proactive role in shaping policies that support mothers and reprogramming employees to re-evaluate their ways of thinking to spark change. This could lead to greater acceptance and understanding towards working mothers.

Creating Workplaces that Help Mothers Thrive

Attaining a healthy work life balance is something every working mother struggles with. Be it having better time management or delegating more, working mothers have constantly had to adapt to reach a balance that works best for them and their families.

Part of this equation that cannot be ignored is the commitment of companies to create workplaces that help ease the struggles mothers face and to value female employees even after they become mothers.

Our Executive Director, Mark, posits that flexibility and technology are key to creating a workplace that helps mothers thrive.

“The COVID-19 crisis has prompted companies to rethink traditional beliefs about remote work. By normalising remote work, companies can correct the common misconception that those who work from home, or on flexible hours (i.e., mainly mothers), are not less efficient or less committed.”

Mark observes that such remote work arrangements would only be possible if supported by a robust technology infrastructure.

“Whether for videoconferencing, file sharing, project management, or time-tracking, there are now many tools available to ensure that remote work can be done seamlessly and efficiently.”

This is echoed in the results of the survey conducted by the Taskforce. More than half the respondents indicated that their law firms permitted alternate work arrangements, including remote work. Almost 90% of the respondents credit the success of their flexible work arrangement to technology, which allowed for the seamless ability to work from home. Interestingly, only 25% of respondents indicated that they did not feel that the policies within their law firm on this issue were discriminatory (i.e., only permitting women or men access to flexible work arrangements).

Companies are shifting the way employees work, and with the ushering in of the new era of remote work, there can be significant benefits. Companies may be able to tap into larger talent pools, increasing diversity in their hiring. Remote work will also increase opportunities for existing employees, particularly mothers, who will be able to advance in jobs that previously would have required them to relocate, travel extensively, or endure a long commute.

Mark comments, "This could result in a win-win situation for both employers and employees."

Flexibility Empowers Mothers at That.Legal

Last year, we published a feature on Gillian, Of Counsel at That.Legal (https://www.that.legal/blog/2021/7/17/know-your-lawyer-gillian-tan-of-counsel-at-thatlegal-believes-that-working-from-home-as-a-new-mother-is-empowering), highlighting That.Legal’s unique digital practice operating procedures that has allowed Gillian to not only manage her own work efficiently, but also to take on a management role, along with providing sufficient quality time for her to spend with her young son.

Months later, Gillian continues to appreciate the benefits that come with having autonomy over her work schedule - feeling empowered and being in control of her life even when something unexpected happens.

"If my son were to suddenly fall sick, I can care for him at home without worrying that I am neglecting my work. Because I know that I have the flexibility of clocking in hours after my son has fallen asleep, or on the weekend."

But trying to have it all is not without its challenges. The reality is that sacrifices will be made along the way. However, Gillian believes that having a flexible work arrangement empowers her to navigate those challenges more smoothly.

"Although the balance between work and life can't be a perfect 50/50 all the time, having flexibility in my work schedule greatly reduces the stress and anxiety that comes with wanting to succeed both in motherhood and in my career."

New mother-to-be, ChaoYing, our IP Specialist, echoes this sentiment. Being able to work remotely will give ChaoYing the flexibility she needs to care for her new-born and at the same time, advance her legal career.

“As the first few years of a new-born’s life are essential to his/her development, I am happy and relieved that I am able to work remotely after my maternity leave as it would give me more time to bond and take care of my baby without sacrificing my career.”

Closing Thoughts

The path to gender equality in the workplace will not be an easy one for most companies. It will require strong leadership, long-term thinking, and a continued commitment to valuing women as important members of their organisations.

The choices and policies companies make could shape the workplace for women for better or for worse. If companies acknowledge the biases female employees face and introduce initiatives to address these issues, not only can they help their employees navigate these adversities, they can be the catalyst for change and hasten the breaking down of old stereotypes.

That is what we strive to at That.Legal, in our aim to #breakthebias.

[1] https://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/a-gender-inclusive-workforce.aspx

[2] https://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/Update-on-Singapores-Adjusted-Gender-Pay-Gap.aspx

[3] https://law-society-singapore-prod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/2020/08/WIP-Report-Levelling-the-Playing-Field.pdf

[4] https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/leave/maternity-leave/eligibility-and-entitlement

[5] https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/maternity-and-parental-leave/paid-parental-leave

[6] https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/maternity-and-parental-leave