8 January 2025 – Singapore has taken a significant step with the new Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL), introducing its first legislative framework to address workplace discrimination. While the WFL offers fundamental protections for many minority groups, it conspicuously and explicitly excludes sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) from its language.
“This development is disappointingly out-of-touch, as it leaves the LGBTQ+ community in Singapore empty-handed yet again.” said Pink Dot SG Spokesperson, Clement Tan. “It not only ignores the lived realities of many LGBTQ+ Singaporeans experiencing workplace discrimination, it also represents yet another instance of the community being left behind while the rest of society advances.”
Suffering in silence
Far too many LGBTQ+ workers in Singapore endure hostile work environments or fear losing their livelihoods and career opportunities. Transgender workers in particular experience some of the most severe forms of discrimination, including barriers to hiring and threats to personal safety at work.
Research shows the scale of the issue:
● A 2024 Pink Dot study revealed that nearly 7 in 10 (69%) LGBTQ+ people have encountered discrimination or harassment during hiring or in the workplace due to their SOGIE.1
● A 2022 AWARE study found that 68% of LGBTQ+ respondents reported workplace discrimination, compared to 56% of non-LGBTQ+ individuals.
● Research conducted in 2024 by NUS and others found that over half (50.85%) of LGBTQ+ participants experienced at least one form of workplace discrimination or harassment in their lifetime.
In the parliamentary debate over the legislation today, several MPs from both sides of the House including Louis Ng, He Tingru, Usha Chandradas and Jean See questioned why SOGI was excluded as protected characteristics in the WFL. Manpower Minister Tan See Leng responded that the legislation had started off with the existing characteristics because the government had “enough experience” and a “treasure trove of information” on those traits. He added that more information had to be gathered to “widen the reach” of the bill. This repeated the government’s previous claims that the WFL should address only “common and familiar forms of discrimination”.2
Ironically, what is painfully “common and familiar” for many LGBTQ+ workers is the failure of the very systems that are supposed to protect them, leading to a lack of trust and severe underreporting. Alarmingly, only about 11% of LGBTQ+ individuals report their workplace discrimination to their company or authorities. Many cited fears of retaliation or doubts that their complaints would be taken seriously. For those who did report, outcomes often reinforced their fears, with research showing most SOGI-related complaints were dismissed outright.3
By excluding SOGI from the WFL’s protections, the government not only ignores a significant portion of workplace discrimination but also perpetuates a culture of LGBTQ+ workers suffering in silence.
Sending the wrong message
During the debate, Ms Chandradas spoke of how the exclusion of SOGI protections4 could potentially signal that the government condones such discrimination and “inadvertently signal to employers that such discriminatory practices will go largely unpunished”. In his response, the Manpower Minister said the government “does not tolerate any forms of workplace discrimination, including towards LGBT individuals”.
While we are heartened by this reassurance, such blanket declarations will not provide real protections or recourse for LGBTQ+ individuals when they need it the most. Pink Dot’s Clement Tan said that living under Section 377A has shown that “unequal treatment under the law entrenches unequal treatment in society”.
“People often rely on gaps in the law to justify their prejudicial treatment towards queer individuals.” said Tan. “In the absence of explicit and specific rules — or at least guidance — against SOGI-based workplace discrimination, we could see this problem worsen over time.”
A call for true fairness
Pink Dot strongly urges the government to extend the WFL’s protections to sexual and gender minorities. Minimally, LGBTQ+ people should be explicitly included within the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) website, as Mr Ng suggested during the debate.
“We applaud the government’s efforts to ensure that all Singaporeans are treated fairly and equally in the workplace. However, the exclusion of LGBTQ+ people from the WFL is more than a missed opportunity – it is a disappointing setback.” said Tan.
“We just got rid of a discriminatory law,” added Tan, referring to the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code in 2023. “Why are we undoing progress by passing new laws that affirm discrimination as the status quo?”
Without a clear and decisive signal from the government, employers and employees will not be able to take the first, urgent steps toward eradicating work-related discrimination for all Singaporeans.
1 Study commissioned by Pink Dot and conducted in June 2024 with Milieu Insight. Over 900 Singapore citizens and residents, including both LGBTQ+ and cisgender-heterosexual individuals.
2 According to the Ministry of Manpower, the characteristics protected under the WFL account for the vast majority of workplace discrimination complaints. See https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-proposed-workplace-fairness-law-needs-to-be-all-inclusive.
3 See Wen Zhi Ng et al., “Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace: The Lived Experiences of
Singaporean LGBTQ+ Individuals,” The Courage Lab, National University of Singapore, October 2024, p
29 https://drive.google.com/file/d/16RwVRN1WtfnJIkB_-fcfjptiNFyh_boL/view?usp=drivesdk.
4 The WFL does not just omit SOGI; it explicitly excludes sexual orientation and gender identity in its
definition of “sex.”. Similarly, the non-binding Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment
Practices (TAFEP) guidelines (which continue to operate for all other forms of discrimination) make no
mention of SOGI-related discrimination, leaving LGBTQ+ employees unsure about whether they can
seek redress for their complaints.
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