Singapore, 18 Dec 2024 –43% of working professionals in Singapore felt that their personal diversity factors have limited their career advancement opportunities within their organisation, according to a new Hays report researching current attitudes and the effectiveness of diversity, equity and inclusivity (DE&I) practices in the workplace. 

The report, ‘Building Inclusive Hiring Practices: A Blueprint for Action’, surveyed 966 working professionals and hiring managers across Singapore, China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand in July 2024. 

Respondents were asked how various diversity factors affected their careers within their organisation, and where they felt their companies stood today with DE&I initiatives. Diversity factors taken into account included ethnicity, gender identity, socio economic background, disability, sexual orientation, neurodiversity or status as a caregiver. 

“Professionals in Singapore want to feel included and equitably treated by their companies,” says John Borneman, Regional Director at Hays Singapore. “And for good cause. Individuals whose needs were met indicated that they were more likely to stay with their current employer.” 

Among the groups surveyed in Singapore, people in underrepresented ethnic groups within their companies felt they were most likely to face barriers to career growth, at 68 per cent compared to 32% of people in well represented ethnic groups. 

47% of women were also more likely to feel limitations to career progression, compared to men at 36%.

“Fostering an inclusive and equitable environment can help eliminate bias, promote diversity and ensure qualified candidates are given equal opportunity to compete for open positions. The better organisations are at embedding DE&I practices into the recruitment process, the broader their reach for talent will be and the better they will be at recruiting the right person for a role,” says John. 

When asked what steps organisations could take to make them feel more equitably treated, the most popular actions voted by respondents were transparent inclusive recruitment, progression and promotion processes (46%), followed by clear policies against discrimination and harassment (39%), and diverse representation in all levels of the organisation (36%). 

“Management boards and senior leadership are seen as pivotal to achieving DE&I goals here in Singapore. Organisations can improve perceptions by formalising accountability and implementing systems to measure and track inclusivity outcomes,” says John.