SINGAPORE: “Do women have it easier when finding a good job?” This question was recently raised by a Singaporean man on Reddit after one of his female friends took a six-month vacation and then quickly landed a great job afterwards.
In his post, he expressed frustration, explaining that if he were in his friend’s position, he would have been forced to “explain the gaps in my resume like I’m a criminal!”
The man also shared the story of another female friend who had graduated from ITE (Institute of Technical Education) and successfully worked her way up to become a sales consultant at a multinational corporation (MNC).
“I’ve never seen such thing happen to a guy here before,” he wrote.
“We don’t have it easy”
In the comments section, some users echoed the man’s frustrations, agreeing that women might have certain advantages when it comes to career opportunities, particularly when the woman is physically attractive.
A user, who worked as a recruiter before, shared, “Yes, it’s easier for a female to get jobs. Unless the male candidate is exceptional during the interview. They’d rather choose a female.
“Even my manager previously told me. If the girl has minimal experience, but she looks good, that’s enough. Just send her for the interview.”
Another remarked, “In Singapore, women generally have easier lives than men.”
However, not all users agreed that gender or appearance plays a major role in hiring decisions.
One user said, “I will hire anyone who can do the job. No preference.”
Some also pointed out that being a female in the workplace can sometimes be disadvantageous. Several users shared experiences of women being dismissed or overlooked for leadership roles, being subjected to gender biases, or having their achievements undervalued.
One user wrote, “I found a job then got kicked out when I got pregnant. It’s ok to get a job, but management won’t like it if we decide to have children and go on maternity leave or no pay leave due to health complications arising from the pregnancy. So no, we don’t have it easy.”
LinkedIn research shows women are more likely to be hired but less likely to apply
In 2019, LinkedIn studied how men and women interact with job postings and found that, while both engage with job listings and research companies in similar ways, there’s a noticeable difference when it comes to applying for jobs.
On average, 44 women and 46 men will view every job listing on LinkedIn. The numbers are quite close when it comes to researching companies as well—around 41% of women will do some research about the company, compared to 42% of men.
However, when it comes to taking the next step—applying for the job—women tend to hold back more than men. Despite showing similar interest in the position, women are 16% less likely than men to apply after viewing a job listing. Additionally, women apply to 20% fewer jobs overall compared to men.
One reason for this may be rooted in confidence. A Hewlett Packard internal report found that women often feel they need to meet 100% of the job criteria before applying, whereas men are more likely to apply after meeting only about 60% of the requirements.
Marc Cenedella, founder of The Ladders and Leet Resumes, explained this mindset by saying: “Female professionals tend to look at a job description and say ‘OK, there are five requirements and I only meet four out of five so I’m not going to apply. Men read the same description and say ‘I got one! Let me apply.”
Despite the trend of applying less, there is some positive news for women in the job market. When women do apply for jobs, they are 16% more likely to be hired than men.
In senior roles, women have an even bigger advantage, with an 18% higher chance of being hired compared to their male counterparts.
Employers tend to look at men’s LinkedIn profiles
The same LinkedIn study also found that employers are more likely to view men’s profiles than women’s.
Specifically, when women appear in search results, employers are 13% less likely to click on their profile and 3% less likely to send them an InMail message after reviewing their profile.
This suggests that while women are more likely to get hired than men, they may also face some bias when it comes to being noticed by potential employers in the first place.
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)