Support for women returning to work should start before they even leave their jobs, SCWO study finds

Flexible work arrangements were the most desired form of support among women polled, and could help them stay employed, return after a career break and remain in their jobs afterwards.

Support for women returning to work should start before they even leave their jobs. (Photo: iStock/Fizkes)

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Support for women returning to work after a career break shouldn't begin only when they start sending out resumes – it should begin before they even leave their jobs.

That was one of the key findings from a study by the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) released on Friday (Sep 18), titled Women's Workforce Re-entry: Challenges, Barriers & Opportunities.

The study looked at women’s experiences returning to the workforce after a career break, including searching for a job, re-entering the workplace and remaining employed.

It is the first part of a three-year research-to-action programme by SCWO, which will focus on domestic violence in 2027 and caregiver well-being in 2028.

"Returning to work is not a single moment when a woman starts looking for a job again – the support actually must begin before she leaves the workforce and continue after she returns," said SCWO’s chief executive officer Yan Ping Koh.

"To do this, we need a mindset shift and review the way we look at caregiving in general.

“We need to look beyond simply getting women back into jobs to whether suitable opportunities exist, whether workplaces are ready to support their return alongside their caregiving duties, and whether women can stay and progress once they return."

The study, conducted by SCWO in collaboration with NTUC’s Women and Family unit, drew on 20 in-person focus group discussions with 120 women in July, an online poll of 502 women living in Singapore who were aged 24 and above in August, and a review of return-to-work initiatives in Singapore and overseas.

The focus groups included younger women returning after maternity leave, mid-career women who had taken caregiving-related career breaks, women aged 50 to 65 who had been out of the workforce for longer periods, and women who had unsuccessfully attempted to return to employment. Both PMET and non-PMET workers were represented.

According to Koh, the findings are not nationally representative of all women in Singapore. The research instead sought to capture the experiences of women at different life stages and points in their return-to-work journey.

THE STRUGGLE TO FIND SUITABLE WORK

Among the women polled, 299 had previously taken or were currently on a career break – 80 per cent of these said they wanted to return to work.

At the same time, nearly 70 per cent of all women polled believed taking a career break made finding suitable employment more difficult.

Women in the study described preparing themselves to return to work by updating their resumes, refreshing their skills and searching for jobs through multiple channels, but they did not always find roles that matched both their experience and their need for flexibility.

Women cited flexible work arrangements as the most desired form of return-to-work support. (Photo: iStock/PrathanChorruangsak)

Flexible work arrangements emerged as the most desired form of return-to-work support, cited by 61 per cent of the respondents.

SCWO's findings suggest that this flexibility can matter at several points in a woman's career: It could help prevent someone from leaving because of caregiving pressures, make returning to employment more feasible and help her remain in the job afterwards.

In the focus groups, some women said they had accepted lower pay or seniority in exchange for workable arrangements. But the study also found that flexibility alone did not necessarily make a job sustainable if workloads remained unmanageable or progression opportunities were limited.

Those returning after a shorter career break generally required less retraining, while longer breaks could mean weaker professional networks and the need to adjust to changes in technology and workplace practices.

PMET returners placed greater importance on support tailored to their industry, role and seniority. Non-PMET returners were more concerned about practical training, predictable schedules, accessible workplaces and viable pay.

NEED FOR MORE INTEGRATED SUPPORT

SCWO's review found that in addition to public support, Singapore already has 33 non-government return-to-work initiatives, including mental health organisation Club Heal’s Back-to-Work Programme and social agency ABLE’s (Abilities Beyond Limitations and Expectations) Return-to-Work programme.

Koh said the issue therefore isn't about having more programmes, but about better connecting support across the entire journey, from keeping women in employment to finding suitable roles and supporting them after they return.

SCWO will next establish a Women's Workforce Inclusion & Re-Entry Working Group, which will examine areas including workplace retention, access to suitable and flexible jobs, employers' recruitment practices, different forms of support for returners and the conditions needed for women to remain employed after returning.

Through SCWO’s CoLab, member organisations will also develop community-led responses to the gaps identified by the research.

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调查显示，灵活的工作安排是受访女性最希望获得的支持形式，可以帮助她们保住工作，在职业中断后重返职场，并在之后继续从事相关工作。

对重返职场的女性的支持应该从她们离开工作岗位之前就开始。（图片：iStock/Fizkes）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

对职业中断后重返职场的女性的支持不应仅仅从她们开始投递简历时才开始，而应该在她们离开工作岗位之前就开始。

这是新加坡妇女组织理事会 (SCWO) 于周五（9 月 18 日）发布的一项研究的主要发现之一，该研究题为《女性重返职场：挑战、障碍和机遇》。

该研究调查了女性在职业中断后重返职场的经历，包括寻找工作、重新进入职场和保持就业。

这是 SCWO 为期三年的研究行动计划的第一部分，该计划将于 2027 年重点关注家庭暴力，2028 年重点关注照顾者的福祉。

“重返工作岗位并不是女性重新开始找工作的那一刻——实际上，支持必须在她离开职场之前就开始，并在她重返职场之后继续下去，”新加坡妇女理事会首席执行官许彦平表示。

“要做到这一点，我们需要转变思维方式，重新审视我们看待照护的总体方式。”

“我们不仅要考虑如何让女性重返工作岗位，还要考虑是否存在合适的就业机会，工作场所是否准备好支持她们在履行照顾家庭职责的同时重返工作岗位，以及女性重返工作岗位后能否留下来并获得晋升。”

这项研究由新加坡妇女理事会 (SCWO) 与全国职工总会 (NTUC) 妇女和家庭部门合作开展，研究方法包括：7 月份与 120 名女性进行了 20 次面对面的焦点小组讨论；8 月份对 502 名居住在新加坡、年龄在 24 岁及以上的女性进行了在线调查；以及对新加坡和海外重返工作岗位计划的审查。

焦点小组的参与者包括产假后重返职场的年轻女性、曾因照顾家庭而中断职业生涯的中年女性、50至65岁长期脱离职场的女性，以及曾尝试重返职场但未成功的女性。专业人士、经理、执行人员和非专业人士、经理、执行人员均有代表参与。

Koh指出，这些发现并不具有全国代表性，无法代表新加坡所有女性的情况。这项研究旨在了解处于不同人生阶段和重返职场历程不同阶段的女性的经历。

寻找合适工作的艰难

在接受调查的女性中，有 299 人曾有过或目前正在经历职业中断——其中 80% 的人表示她们想重返工作岗位。

与此同时，近 70% 的受访女性认为，职业中断会使找到合适的工作变得更加困难。

研究中的女性描述了她们如何通过更新简历、提升技能和通过多种渠道寻找工作来为重返工作岗位做准备，但她们并不总是能找到既符合自身经验又满足其灵活性需求的职位。

女性表示，灵活的工作安排是她们最希望获得的重返工作岗位支持形式。（图片：iStock/PrathanChorruangsak）

灵活的工作安排成为最受欢迎的重返工作岗位支持形式，61% 的受访者表示希望获得这种支持。

SCWO 的研究结果表明，这种灵活性在女性职业生涯的几个阶段都非常重要：它可以帮助防止女性因照顾家庭的压力而离职，使重返工作岗位更加可行，并帮助她们之后继续留在工作岗位上。

在焦点小组访谈中，一些女性表示，她们为了获得可行的工作安排，接受了较低的薪酬或较低的资历。但研究也发现，如果工作量仍然难以承受或晋升机会有限，仅仅依靠灵活性并不一定能使工作可持续发展。

那些在较短的职业中断后重返职场的人通常需要的再培训较少，而较长的职业中断可能意味着较弱的专业人脉网络以及需要适应技术和工作场所实践的变化。

重返职场的专业人士、经理、执行人员和技术人员（PMET）更重视针对其行业、职位和资历量身定制的支持。而非PMET重返职场人员则更关注实践培训、可预测的工作安排、便利的工作场所和合理的薪酬。

需要更全面的支持

SCWO 的审查发现，除了公众的支持外，新加坡还有 33 个非政府重返工作岗位计划，包括心理健康组织 Club Heal 的重返工作岗位计划和社会机构 ABLE（超越限制和期望的能力）的重返工作岗位计划。

Koh表示，因此问题的关键不在于增加项目数量，而在于更好地衔接整个过程的支持，从帮助女性就业到寻找合适的岗位，以及在她们回国后为她们提供支持。

苏格兰妇女组织理事会接下来将成立一个妇女劳动力包容和重返工作岗位工作组，该工作组将研究工作场所保留、获得合适和灵活的工作、雇主的招聘做法、对重返工作岗位者的不同形式的支持以及妇女重返工作岗位后保持就业所需的条件等领域。

通过 SCWO 的 CoLab，成员组织还将针对研究中发现的差距制定社区主导的应对措施。

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