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Position Filled: Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory (WHDA) Senior Executive

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE’s Advocacy, Research and Communications department is looking for a Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory (WHDA) Senior Executive who can provide those who have experienced discrimination and harassment in the workplace with practical support and advice.

WHDA is a new service launched by AWARE in September 2019. Besides the ARC department, WHDA advisors also liaise with AWARE’s Women’s Care Centre and Sexual Assault Care Centre on cases. Read more about WHDA here.

The role will also require significant time spent supporting the ARC team—organising events and trainings, and doing project-based work.

Position: WHDA Senior Executive
Commitment: Full time, Monday to Friday
Salary Range: $3,640 to $4,545
Starting date: Mid-November 2019
Last day of application: 10 November 2019

Please apply here.

You may view our Privacy Policy here.

Job description:

  • Managing and ensuring adequate and timely response to people reaching out to the Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory

  • Conducting intake interviews, client support and management of cases (case work), including providing and arranging for Women’s Care Centre services

  • Regular data management and filing for reporting and analysis, including creating and improving standard operating procedures for the Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory

  • Identify and improve current processes for better case management and client experience of the Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory

  • Provide support for advocacy, action and/or research

  • Organise and deliver worker’s rights trainings

  • Assist in promoting AWARE’s services and mission by organising and publicising events and liaising with external partners and stakeholders

  • Assist with the development, implementation and evaluation of community engagement strategies

Requirements:

  • 2 years of related experience in client-facing or community work

  • Relevant educational qualifications, like social work, counselling, psychology or related field

  • Experience in law or human resources, with understanding of the Employment Act, workers’ rights is advantageous

  • Excellent interpersonal, empathy and communication skills in English (verbal and written)

  • Good analytical skills

  • Excellent presentation skills

  • Proficient with computers and MS office, especially Excel and Word

  • Superb time-management and organisational skills

  • Strong project planning: highly creative, adaptable and a self-starter

  • Ability to work independently to manage projects

  • Competency to maintain positive and effective working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders

  • Experience or interest in supporting or empowering individuals

  • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE

Please note that due to the large number of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview. If you have any questions about this position, please email careers@aware.org.sg.

AWARE launches new Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory, the first service of its kind in Singapore

This post was originally published as a press release on 25 September 2019.

To provide more comprehensive support to individuals facing harassment and discrimination at work, gender-equality organisation AWARE has today launched a new Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory (WHDA) service.

WHDA offers both practical advice and emotional support to any person aged 18 and up working in Singapore, of any nationality, at any stage of their distress. Individuals calling the WHDA helpline (6777 0318, Mon-Fri 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.) will make an appointment with a specialised advisor, who will walk them through various recourse options, internal or external—including approaching their company’s HR or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), or filing a mediation request with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM). Counselling or pro-bono legal advice may also be scheduled, depending on the needs of the client.

The WHDA service is open to both union and non-union members. It is free to use, though some features that clients can opt for—like counselling—carry a low (means-tested) fee.

As with all of AWARE’s services, WHDA is primarily aimed at women. However, men experiencing gender-based discrimination and harassment (such as being denied the use of flexible work arrangements because caregiving is “not a man’s job”) can use the service as well. Types of discrimination faced by female WHDA clients may include gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, nationality, family responsibilities and maternity; types of harassment may include workplace bullying and workplace sexual harassment, physical and otherwise.

Through its long-running Women’s Helpline, as well as its workplace training arm Catalyse Consulting, AWARE has worked to address unfair treatment and misconduct in workplaces for close to three decades. In 2018, the organisation received a total of 265 calls relating to discrimination and/or harassment at work.

“This is a natural extension of our long-time efforts in this arena, and complements our existing Women’s Care Centre and Sexual Assault Care Centre suite of services,” said Ms Shailey Hingorani, AWARE’s Head of Research and Advocacy. “In our experience, many employees are not aware of the full range of actions available to them in situations of discrimination or harassment. Some fear being identified or labelled as troublemakers. Some are averse to escalating a situation; they simply wish the mistreatment to stop, so they can continue working.”

Currently, there is no other service in Singapore providing confidential, bespoke, holistic support for workplace harassment and discrimination.

“You don’t have to wait to have been terminated to call WHDA,” noted Ms Hingorani. “You don’t even have to be certain that what you’re facing is discrimination or harassment. WHDA will help you make sense of your situation.”

 

For more information about AWARE’s Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory, click here.

Position Filled: Administrative Assistant, Secretariat Department

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE is looking for a part-time Administrative Assistant for the Secretariat department. The Secretariat Department is the backbone for fundraising, membership management, finance and HR for AWARE, and plays an important role in supporting the whole organisation. This position is suitable for someone strong in organisational and administrative work. If you are accurate, reliable and dependable, we want you.

(Read our privacy policy here.)

Position: Administrative Assistant
Commitment: Part-Time (4 days a week, Monday to Thursday)
Salary Range: $1,928 to $2,968
Starting date: 14 October 2019
Last date of application: 8 October 2019

Job Description

  • Carry out administrative tasks related to accounts and financial management
  • Assist with HR and Secretariat administration, including assisting with recruitment and administering employment letters and contracts
  • Assist with managing and ensuring safety and cleanliness of the centre
  • Liaise with vendors and suppliers
  • Assist with administration of donations and membership

Minimum Requirements

    • At least 3 years experience in providing administrative support to functions such as HR, Accounts, IT, donor and member management
    • Adept at using Excel to do simple computations
    • Experience in government IT systems and services
    • Very strong organisational and administrative skills
    • Good communication and interpersonal skills
    • Meticulous and pays strong attention to detail
    • Comfortable using cloud systems to manage records and workflow processes
    • Good planning and time-management skills
    • Able to work independently and has initiative

If you have any questions about this position, please email careers@aware.org.sg.

AWARE urges six days of paid eldercare leave, right to request flexible work arrangements, and support grant to improve family caregivers’ retirement adequacy

This post was originally published as a press release on 18 September 2019.

To ensure that the retirement readiness of family caregivers of older persons is not compromised by caregiving, gender-equality group AWARE recommends that caregivers who are still working are given six days of paid eldercare leave and the statutory right to flexible work arrangements; and those who are not working be supported through a CPF and cash grant. 

These recommendations were announced today as AWARE launched its latest research report, Make Care Count, which investigates the financial toll that eldercare takes on family caregivers. The report is based on in-depth interviews with 22 family caregivers and validation interviews with 22 stakeholders, including eldercare service providers, academics, and medical social workers. 

As caregiving is associated with certain unequal gender norms, more women than men tend to undertake this work. Accordingly, the caregiver respondents featured in “Make Care Count” were all female. They were aged 45-65, without children under the age of 21, and caring for someone older than 65 (typically a parent).

For many older persons in Singapore, being cared for by a family member is a way to age in place, i.e. without being moved into a facility. However, AWARE’s findings show that these caregiving responsibilities compromise a caregiver’s ability to continue working, decreases her income (respondents with employment changes suffered a 63% average loss in income), and expands out-of-pocket care-related expenses to a significant portion of her monthly household income.

Besides paid leave, the right to request flexible work arrangements and the grant (which could match prevailing CPF contribution rates for employers and the salaries of paid care workers), AWARE’s other recommendations include more comprehensive regulation and licensing of private providers of eldercare services, and modifications to Singapore’s CareShield Life long-term insurance scheme. 

Ms Shailey Hingorani, AWARE’s Head of Research and Advocacy, said, “Given Singapore’s imminent demographic changes, and the growing family caregiving burden that individuals can expect to face, more action in this arena would be very timely. The filial piety demonstrated by family caregivers is truly something to admire – but we should recognise that devotion alone is not sustainable. It needs to be supported by more concrete assistance from the state.”

“Data on the amount of money spent by family caregivers on providing care and support to their older family members is largely lacking in Singapore,” noted Dr Rahul Malhotra, Assistant Professor and Head of Research at Centre for Ageing Research and Education, Duke-NUS Medical School. “This qualitative study contributes in filling an important gap in the research on caregivers of older persons in Singapore.”

Dr Malhotra added that more research on eldercare’s financial impact would be productive and valuable. “Future research studies should strive to estimate both the direct and indirect costs associated with family caregiving using quantitative methods in larger, representative samples of family caregivers.”   

Ms Kris Foo, a primary caregiver to her 86-year-old mother, said, “Being single, the role of caregiver in my family has inevitably fallen upon my shoulders. Yet as my savings are used up, and my livelihood threatened, in caring for my mum, I worry about my own ability to age comfortably. I am unsure if I can sustain my self-employment in the years to come, to finance my own future care. Hence, I would appreciate more financial support in the form of caregiver grants.”

Next month, AWARE is organising a public launch for its Make Care Count report at National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre’s A Good Space. The free event is entitled “Make Care Count… in the National Budget”, and will take place on Saturday 5 October, 2019—shortly after the International Day of Older Persons on 1 October. Participants will be invited to devise care-related recommendations for AWARE to include in its submission to the National Budget in January 2020. 

The full Make Care Count report can be read here.

Photograph by Kaspen Paraskakis Narayan.

19 October 2019: Sexual Assault First Responder Training

 

“Are you sure that happened? Why didn’t you fight back? You should have known better.” These are some common responses survivors of sexual assault have heard, which may further their feelings of doubt, guilt and shame.

First response that is sensitive to the survivor’s needs and choices is necessary in preventing re-victimisation. One experience of sexual assault is one experience too many. We may not always know the right words to say, but we can all agree that sexual assault should never happen to anyone.

One way to show zero tolerance for sexual assault is through our own words and actions. It is not always easy for survivors to tell someone about what happened. In fact, for some survivors, it can be especially daunting.

As an individual that they put their trust in, our response becomes pivotal in their journey of recovery. SACC’s First Responder Training helps familiarize participants with trauma reactions and symptoms to better contribute to a survivor’s well-being. In this workshop, SACC will share more on the following:

1. Definition of sexual assault and harassment

2. Recognising Singapore’s legal framework

3. Understanding consent

4. Understanding the impact of sexual assault and trauma on survivors

5. Role of a first responder

6. Providing support to survivors of sexual assault

7. Resources available for help

8. Key skills such as ensuring safety, active listening and empathy

Under AWARE’s #AimForZeroSG campaign, this popular workshop has been made affordable to all. While you are welcome to pay what you can, we suggest a sum of $10 per workshop attendee. Please note that all proceeds to towards SACC and that the donation made towards the workshop is non-refundable.

When: 19 October 2019, 10.00am – 2.30pm [4.5 hours]
Where: 5 Dover Crescent #01-22 S(130005) (to be confirmed)
For whom: Parents, educators, all NGO/VWO staff and volunteers, social sector professionals or students above 16 years old studying a relevant discipline (e.g. psychology, counselling, social work etc.)
Cost: Pay what you can; suggested donation $10 (Light refreshments will be provided)

Persons of all genders and nationalities are more than welcome to attend.

We strongly request that all participants commit to the full duration of the 4.5-hour workshop to ensure that everyone will get the opportunity to engage in interactive discussions and learn useful skills.

Register now!

5 October 2019 Report Launch and Panel: Make Care Count… in the National Budget

We all know the woes of Singapore’s ageing population, and the heavy burden of caregiving falling upon younger generations. But have you ever considered how gender factors into this?

Unequal gender norms disproportionately task women with the responsibility of caregiving for older persons in Singapore. Increasingly, these women tend to be a family’s unmarried daughters. They tend to stay out of the workforce for an average of nine years in order to provide care.

These findings are the result of “Make Care Count”, AWARE’s year-long research project on the retirement adequacy of female caregivers for older persons—a qualitative study of 22 caregivers and 22 eldercare industry stakeholders, including academics, service providers, medical social workers, community hospitals, cluster support services, relevant government ministries.

Will these female caregivers be able to save for their own future needs, against increasing odds of ageing into frailty and poorer health? And if not, what can we all do about it?

AWARE has a way for you to help. On 5 October, join us to devise concrete recommendations for AWARE to submit to the 2020 National Budget. These policy recommendations are a great way to ask the Singapore government to recognise and alleviate the financial cost of caregiving that family caregivers bear.

Some ideas we will discuss are:

  • ensuring a more equal distribution of care,
  • allowing working caregivers to better balance work and care,
  • giving financial recognition for caregiving labour, and
  • reducing caregivers’ out of pocket expenditure on care-related expenses.

Event Schedule:

  1. Presentation of AWARE’s research findings from the “Make Care Count” report
  2. A panel discussion (panelists to be announced)
  3. Facilitated small group discussions. From your experiences, ideas and opinions, we’ll generate a list of budget recommendations. AWARE will then curate and raise these to the government in January 2020.

This event is free, and designed for anyone who believes in supporting caregivers now, before they become crippled by a lack of financial resources in the future. We will all be affected by ageing and distribution of care in Singapore. Have your voice heard in this urgent national discussion.

About A Good Space:

This event is co-hosted with A Good Space, where changemakers flourish as a community to imagine and create experiences that expand perspectives across diverse social issues. From Poverty Simulations to a Feast with Seniors, come learn about a wide range of social issues through innovative activities. To learn more and join the community, visit their website at agoodspace.org

In registering for this event, you consent to the collection and processing of your personal information for the purposes of this event only, in accordance to the Personal Data Protection Act (2012).

Register now!

Closed: Recruiting interviewers for AWARE’s research on migrant domestic workers providing eldercare

We are hiring interviewers for our next qualitative research project, which explores the role of migrant domestic workers in providing eldercare in Singapore.

Interview details:

  1. Each interview will be one hour long and conducted at a time and place of the respondent’s convenience.
  2. Interviewers must be willing to travel to the interview location independently. Travel expenses will not be reimbursed.
  3. Interviews will be conducted between November 2019 – February 2020.
  4. Each interviewer is expected to conduct at least three interviews.
  5. Interviewers must also transcribe the interview and submit the transcript to AWARE within two weeks of the interview.
  6. Interviewers will be paid $100 for each interview they conduct and transcribe satisfactorily.
  7. Interviewers must attend at least one training session in mid-late October, prior to conducting the interviews.

If you are interested, please fill in this google form by 11 October 2019. If you have any questions, please email Preethi at projects@aware.org.sg.

*Please note that due to payment restrictions, we will only be able to pay Singaporean/PR interviewers.

Closed: Recruiting respondents for AWARE’s research on migrant domestic workers providing eldercare

We are interested in interviewing live-in migrant domestic workers currently employed to provide care for an older person in the household (above the age of 65), by Singaporean/PR family caregivers or the care recipients themselves. We will be conducting qualitative interviews with migrant domestic workers to find out more about their experiences providing eldercare.

The profile of respondents we are looking to interview is as follows:

  1. Must be currently providing care, or have provided care within the past two years, to an older person in the household (above the age of 65)
  2. Must be employed by a Singaporean/PR family caregiver, or by a Singaporean/PR care recipient (above the age of 65)
  3. Must be residing in the same residence as the care recipient
  4. Must be providing care for an older person that needs help with at least one Activity of Daily Living (washing, feeding, dressing, transferring, toileting or mobility), or needs help due to a mental condition (dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc.)
  5. Preferably English-speaking

The interviews will be one hour long and conducted at a time and place of the respondent’s convenience. They will be conducted between February – April 2020.

If you are interested, or know a migrant domestic worker who might be, please email Preethi at projects@aware.org.sg. Do feel free to ask for more clarifications about whether you, or the migrant domestic worker you know, fits the profile. Please also indicate in your email if the migrant domestic worker is English-speaking.

We are also interested in interviewing some pairs of migrant domestic workers and their employers, if the latter are family caregivers for older people. Both interviews can be conducted on the same day, but the migrant domestic worker and her employer will be interviewed separately. Do indicate in your email which kind of interview (single or pair) you are interested in.

All respondents will be given a $30 NTUC voucher as a token of appreciation for their time.

28 August 2019 Workshop: Sexual Assault First Responder Training

“Are you sure that happened? Why didn’t you fight back? You should have known better.”

One experience of sexual assault is one experience too many. We may not always know the right words to say, but we can all agree that sexual assault should never happen to anyone. One way to show zero tolerance for sexual assault is through our own words and actions.

It is not always easy for survivors to tell someone about what happened. In fact, for some survivors, it can be especially daunting. First response that is sensitive to the survivor’s needs and choices is necessary in preventing re-victimisation.

SACC’s First Responder Training helps familiarise participants with trauma reactions and symptoms to better contribute to a survivor’s well-being. In this workshop, SACC will share more on the following:

1. Definition of sexual assault and harassment
2. Recognising Singapore’s legal framework
3. Understanding consent
4. Understanding the impact of sexual assault and trauma on survivors
5. Role of a first responder
6. Providing support to survivors of sexual assault
7. Resources available for help
8. Key skills such as ensuring safety, active listening and empathy

As part of our Aim for Zero campaign, SACC is offering this workshop at a highly discounted price. Details are as follows:

When: 28 August 2019, 3.00pm – 7.30pm [4.5 hours]
Where: 5 Dover Crescent #01-22 S(130005)
For whom: Parents, educators, all NGO/VWO staff and volunteers, social sector professionals or students above 16 years old studying a relevant discipline (e.g. psychology, counselling, social work etc.)
Cost: $10 (Light refreshments will be provided)

Slots for this workshop are limited to 60 sign-ups only. Persons of all genders and nationalities are more than welcome to attend. Walk-ins are welcome!

We strongly request that all participants commit to the full duration of the 4.5-hour workshop to ensure that everyone will get the opportunity to engage in interactive discussions and learn useful skills.

Note: For participants who are unable to pay the sign-up fee, please contact Yan Bing at saccintern@aware.org.sg to request a waiver. Please note that all proceeds go towards SACC and that the fee is non-refundable.

Register here!