Working women in Singapore are finding it harder to break the glass ceiling compared with counterparts elsewhere in Southeast Asia, a report from business consultancy Grant Thornton suggests. The study found the city-state's ratio of women in senior management slipped to 31% in the last quarter of 2019, from 33% a year earlier. This was below Southeast Asia's aggregate of 35%, up from 28%. The report is based on 4,900 interviews and surveys of senior business leaders from 32 countries. Singapore recorded the lowest ratio of women in leadership roles among Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand -- though Grant Thornton stressed that the comparisons do not give a full picture, as study sample sizes differed across countries. According to research from services company Accenture, most Singapore business leaders felt that diversity was not a top priority. It found that around three-quarters of leaders ranked brand recognition, quality and financial performance as the most important issues, while only 35% felt diversity was the most important.

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Asian Nikkei