Gender Pay Gap: More Women Are Seeking Financial Stability in Their Future Partners

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29 Nov 2022

Paraphrase the question and you will be asking “What do you look for in a partner?”

This is a question I posed to my friends whenever they shared their (unsuccessful) dating encounters.

While these expectations differ from person to person, there are some qualities that are harder to compromise, and that includes… financial stability.

Most recently, I came across a survey that found that nine in 10 men have no problems dating women who earn more, but in contrast, only one in five women are happy to date men who earn less.

Money is only one aspect identified of course, but it is nonetheless very important.

But… I think we have to address the elephant in the room. With these characteristics in mind, one can infer two things:

Women are able to find men who earn a higher income
Men earn more than women in Singapore

How true are these assumptions? Let’s find out!

TL;DR: Gender Pay Gap, Is It Easy to Find a Man With a Higher Pay?

Click here to jump:

Lunch Actually Survey Findings 2022
What’s the gender pay difference in Singapore?
What are the chances of finding someone who has higher pay than you?

Disclaimer: The information provided by Seedly serves as an educational piece and is not intended to be personalised advice.

Lunch Actually 2022 Singles Survey

For the uninitiated, the survey was conducted by a local dating agency, Lunch Actually.

It was administered to 2,390 singles across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

With a simple infographic, the top three characteristics men and women look for in a partner were summarised below:

A quick look above would’ve given away the top three characteristics single men look for in a woman: Age (71%), Body Type (59%), followed by Religion (36%).

And for women: Education level (56%), income level (54%), followed by age (51%).

One of the reasons that could explain this finding was economic uncertainty. This is nicely summed up by Violet Lim, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Lunch Actually:

Economic uncertainty could be one of the reasons why women are getting more specific about men’s earnings… Coming out of the pandemic this year, it has been challenging for most of us, as we are now facing financial uncertainty. However, our survey has shown that for most singles in Singapore, price increases have not impacted much on their dating life

While it seems like income is a determining factor, don’t let this scare you because of character and personality matter.

Aside from having a financially stable partner, 49% of those surveyed will still consider having a second date if they get along well with the other party during the first date, and 39% said that the date’s character matters more than their employment status.

So, if you can ‘click’ well during the first date, your chance of scoring a second one could also be higher!

How Much Is the Gender Pay Gap 2022?

According to the latest data, the median monthly salary from full-time work in Singapore is $4,680 in 2021, including CPF contributions from employers.

Wages are typically benchmarked using average monthly income and income from employment is a key indicator of economic well-being.

For the uninitiated, the pay gap between full-time female employees aged 25 to 54 and men was 14.4% in 2020, down from 16.3% in 2018.

This brought about an adjusted gender pay gap that takes into account human capital and labor market characteristics, which was 6.0% in 2018. And in 2020, as women’s vocational profiles improved, the adjusted gender pay gap in Singapore narrowed and became 4.3%.

Taking a deeper dive into 2021’s labour force participation, the difference in the average salary is 11% (still waiting for the announcement):

Age	Male	Female
15 - 19	$800	$1,100
20 - 24	$2,130	$2,449
25 - 29	$3,500	$3,510
30 - 34	$4,592	$4,333
35 - 39	$5,625	$5,000
40 - 44	$6,282	$5,417
45 - 49	$5,958	$4,750
50 - 54	$4,875	$4,000
55 - 59	$3,500	$3,150
60 & Over	$2,500	$2,167
Average	$4,300	$3,836

Source: Ministry of Manpower

If we zoom into the table, we will notice that between 20 and 29 years old, just upon graduation and early jobbers, females actually earn slightly more than their male counterparts.

However, after 30 years old, the wage difference starts settling, with the largest difference between 45 and 49 years old, at about 20%.

Why The Difference After 30 Years Old?

One possible reason identified for the difference includes a lower labour force participation by women due to family planning and motherhood.

According to Singstat, the age group 31 to 34 years old has the highest fertility rate, and after 35 years old, female labour force participation is 17% lower than male labour force participation, and approximately 74% of men are employed or looking for work, compared to 61% of women.

Two other possible reasons include occupational segregation and qualifications.

Occupational Segregation

This is a difference in the line of work men and women choose to do.

Males are more likely to be employed in professions that pay more, whereas females typically work in professions that pay less.’

Without boring you with statistics, this infographic below should give you some idea of the type of work each gender prefers.

Females are more likely to be working in occupations that don’t pay as well, such as clerical support, admin staff, sales, and social service managers.

It is debatable whether this is due to personal preference or because society has shaped certain professions to be more gendered and female-centric, but regardless, it does appear that more women are typically employed in people-oriented occupations such as human resources, education, and healthcare-related fields, and this does affect pay.

Qualifications

Did your parents nag and lament that you must have a degree?

Well, this is because you tend to be paid better with better and higher qualifications.

Generally, the pay difference widens between those with a degree and those with below secondary qualifications, at 21% and 19% respectively.

Singapore’s Gender Ratio And Population

For those who are unfamiliar with Singapore’s population, we have 5.45 million people in 2021 – for every 1,000 females, we have 960 males.

And for simplicity’s sake, we will use the median income of $4,680 as a benchmark.

The number of male employed residents who earn more than the median income in 2021 was 589,200.

If we were to find the percentage of (1) a woman meeting a man, and fulfilling the condition of (2) a man who earns a monthly income of at least $4,680, it is … 10.8%.

Just looking at this number alone, it seems like it will be quite hard to meet a male counterpart who earns more than the median income, just on the street alone.

But, do take this number with a pinch of salt. There are other conditions that are not accounted for, such as the exact number of men whose income AND age range fit a woman’s criteria and income level.

(Disclaimer: Data is obtained from 2021’s edition of Labour Force in Singapore. The number of males employed mentioned above did not account for the age range of men)

What Do You Look For In A Partner?

The list goes on and on, but we are clear that the chance of finding a man with higher pay (in this case, the median pay) is quite… low.

This is not to say that it’s impossible, of course.

But beyond just income, regardless of gender, you would want to assess your future partner’s character and values, as those are more long-term.

On a related note, if you don’t wish to have a second date, just be respectful and communicative about it (note: we don’t encourage ghosting!).

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About Hui Juan Neo

A savvy shopper and foodie at heart, I'm always on a lookout for discounts and deals to snag the best bargains.

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