What did the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations’ 2026 study find about the challenges women in Singapore face before, during and after returning to work from a career break; why are flexible arrangements important but not sufficient; how do support needs differ by length

SCWO’s 2026 study found a gap between women’s willingness to return and their ability to secure suitable work: about eight in ten women polled who were on or had taken a career break intended to return, while nearly seven in ten believed the break made finding suitable employment harder. SCWO’s central point is that support must begin before a woman leaves work and continue through the job search and after she is hired. 116

Challenges across the career break

• Before leaving: Care responsibilities can make continued employment difficult, so options to adjust work before resigning matter—not just help with a later job search. 6
• During the break and job search: Women described preparing to work but struggling to turn that readiness into interviews and opportunities; a suitable job must also fit their circumstances. 511
• After returning: Getting hired is not the end of the problem. Arrangements that let women manage responsibilities and keep working are important to retention and career growth. 65

Why flexibility is not enough

Flexible work was the most requested support, chosen by 61% of women polled, and can help women avoid leaving, return, and stay employed. But it cannot by itself resolve difficulty getting interviews or finding a suitable role; SCWO and NTUC also point to job redesign and opportunities to refresh skills. Flexibility need not mean only working from home—it can include different hours or ways of sharing a job. 1154

Tailoring support and changing the pathway

Women returning after different lengths of break, or to different kinds of work, should not be treated as if they need one identical arrangement: a longer break may call for more skills-refresh support, while the form of flexibility must fit the job rather than assume every role can be done remotely. SCWO’s proposed direction is therefore support before exit, during re-entry and after hiring, alongside more flexible roles, job redesign and skills opportunities that allow women not merely to find work, but to remain and progress. 564

The available evidence does not establish precise break-length thresholds or a definitive set of recommendations for each occupation, so those distinctions should not be read as quantified findings of the study.