Essay Outline

Research question
Does gender inequality lead to income disparity in Singapore?

Thesis statement
Because of the patriarchal structure in Singapore, income disparity persists between genders.


Introduction
In his TED talk, Goldin (2009) talks about the unequal development of globalisation. As the world globalises, countries are getting wealthier, mobile phones now are more advanced than the computer systems in the past and women are getting better education. However, as not everyone experiences the same rate of development (Sen, 2002), the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer in most cases. Despite equal or even greater contributions from women in many countries, they are often not rewarded equally. Because of the patriarchal structure in Singapore, income disparity persists between genders. In order to address the income disparity between genders, laws need to be enacted to empower women.

Body
Brief Outline:
- why is there a gender bias in developing country? 
   - traditional values/culture. eg. Singapore - women as primary care-givers
   - education level of women eg. men are preferred over women to pursue education in the past leading to a male dominant society

- why this gender bias persist
   - patriarchal state 

- how does this biasness affect their social status, in turn affecting their income
   - submissive to men, therefore inferior? eg. Other patriarchal states- Malaysia - Obedient Wives Club, women are to sexually satisfy their husband
   - main role as mothers, not as breadwinner - economically dependent
   - family policies are targeted and implemented through men. eg. Singapore - family policies are targeted at men - head of household
   - lack of education for women 
      - lowly skilled, lowly paid
      - unable to find jobs thus not contributing to economy
   - even for those who are employed, lack of wage law results in unequal pay
      - reasons: women are troublesome due to pregnancy leading to loss of productivity
         - maternity leave (paid/unpaid)
      - more women problems, thus need to provide higher medical benefits

Solutions - how to alleviate gender bias, thus leading to closing income gap
  
  - implement law on equal pay for women, eg Singapore's Women's Charter did fight for equal wage for women but was not passed - equal pay day 2013
          - Singapore has regulations on employers regarding maternity leave, eg. 8 weeks of paid maternity leave, retaining employer status after returning from pregnancy
          - however it reinforces the notion that women are primary care-givers and their roles as mothers
    - compulsory education for women
          - equipped necessary skills for employment
              - better opportunities
              - higher contributions
    - educate the population in terms of gender equality, change perspective of women
          - not as subservient to men but as equal

- give more political attention to civil societies not just as "gestural" politics eg. AWARE, SCWO

Evaluation of solutions
- traditional asian values are hard to change even when laws are implemented to empower women
- Singapore's political scene takes a top-down approach. Decision making is in one single body, civil societies may voice their opinions but its implementation (or not) is ultimately set by the state.



http://youngbpwinternational.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/bpw-singapores-inaugural-equal-pay-day-event/


http://www.scwo.org.sg/index.php/events/454-women-are-not-asking-for-the-bar-to-be-lowered-they-just-want-a-level-playing-field


References:

Sen, A. (2002). How To Judge Globalism. The American Prospect, 13(1), 1-14. Last retrieved from: http://www2.econ.uu.nl/users/marrewijk/pdf/ihs/geo/sen%202000%20judge%20glob.pdf on 18 February, 2014.