SINGAPORE: After reading an article section about the average median income in Singapore by gender, an online user took to a public forum to ask, “Why do Singaporean men earn more on average than women when women have a headstart of two years?”
According to a 2023 SmartWealth report, females earn more than males at an early age. However, as time passes, males eventually take the lead when it comes to what they earn.
Some possible explanations that the article mentions are the two-year National Service that Singaporean males are required to undertake and how some women prefer to take a step back from their careers for some time to be hands-on with their children when they become mothers.
Men earn less than women at a younger age, but over time, they start to earn more
An online user was struck by these statistics and turned to an online forum to share their interest in the topic.
“I was reading this article and noticed something interesting,” the post read. “While men initially actually earned less than women in their twenties, men began to quickly outpace women in income from their thirties onwards.
What’s up with this trend? I’d understand (that because) of National Service, men earn less in their early twenties, but why do they suddenly start to earn way more several years later despite women having the initial headstart?”
Many online users took part in the conversation by sharing their two cents on the matter.
“Women’s careers take a hit once they start a family,” wrote one. “Another reason is that male-dominated industries tend to pay higher.”
Read related: SG mum says parents must earn S$30-40K/month to give their children ‘more options’ in life
Online users weigh in
Another wrote, “Part of it is personality. A lot of the women at work tend to want a work/life balance and focus on their family, actively reject promotions and work opportunities.”
Still, a third said, “Some of this is how genders ask for more. Whenever generalising we are on dangerous ground but, my experience dealing with employees from both genders is that men ask for more upfront in negotiations and ask for more annually. Women generally do not.
I have asked many peers about this and it does have some legs. If a man asks for a 10 per cent higher starting salary and then demands five per cent every year versus a woman who accepts three per cent and two per cent annually…those numbers start to add up.
As an ex-partner (female) used to say: ‘Women need to go into negotiations on pay thinking like an average male.'”
Another took a deeper approach, saying, “I think while there’s a bulk of comments stating ‘family’ and I strongly feel that there is an underlying dynamic that is greatly discounted which incentivises women to leave industries/workplaces that are under-appreciated (think tech in the 90s where people felt that it was geeky/niche and wasn’t as highly paid) before said industry grows into mainstream appeal.
Whereas Men tend to be stuck in a workplace regardless and not a lot of men take up the option to provide childcare/homemaking and are more senior by the time the industry pops.
Just my two cents in my opinion, I’d say these days I can’t imagine an employer explicitly paying men more given women have surpassed men in education, paternity leave is a thing and corporates are desperate for female talent so I reckon if the gap doesn’t close in 5 years, there’s probably some deeper reason”
Read related: Salary hike for Singapore workers expected to be flat in 2024