Research

• DOT primarily serves women whose income puts them in the bottom 10th percentile of income in Singapore.
• 86% of our beneficiaries are Singapore Citizens, while the rest are migrant wives or mothers.
• 77% are racial minorities.
• The average DOT beneficiary is around 35 years old.
• Most hold at least an N Levels certificate.
• Around 50% of our beneficiaries are married, and about 10% are unwed mothers.
• 87.5% are mothers, and 68% have between 1 and 3 children.

We use our “Employ to Empower” process to set women on their journey out of abject poverty. The process starts with DOT receiving direct referrals from social workers and social service officers. Beneficiaries interested in our work then attend DOT’s Job Readiness Programs to prepare them for a stable and sustainable employment journey. At the core of this effort is DOT’s Confidence Curriculum (DCC), an 8-week travelling program that focuses on equipping the participants with essential skills, such as resume-writing, interviewing, and business-appropriate grooming, as well as guiding the participants into setting realistic goals and maintaining a positive outlook. Additional regular and ad-hoc skills-training programs further help our beneficiaries in their journey to employment. All programs offered by DOT include free childminding conducted by our volunteers, so that we can ensure that mothers can attend courses with their young children. Similarly, the Community Childminding Network, which was spearheaded by DOT in its creation, helps mothers in need of childcare by matching them with low-fee childminders so that our beneficiaries can attend programs and work.

Alongside the Job Readiness Program, DOT assigns a Befriender volunteer to each beneficiary. The Befriender, who acts as a peer-coach supports the beneficiary emotionally throughout their journey with DOT and remains in contact with them even after post-employment to ensure that the beneficiary is stable and content in their income opportunity. 

When a beneficiary is ready for employment, we match them with an income opportunity from our employer partners, based on the beneficiary’s skills, needs, and interests. On the employer front, DOT engages employers who are empathetic to barriers faced by our beneficiaries. By connecting with partners that are already determined to help women from lower-income opportunities, we aim to ensure a better fit for our beneficiaries as they enter the working world. Our Living On The Edge poverty sensitization workshop further helps our employer partners gain awareness on the struggles many of our beneficiaries face, which in turn helps them adopt more flexible, mother-friendly and inclusive working practices. 

• Almost half of our beneficiaries cite childcare issues as the primary barrier to finding employment. As the sole caregivers to children and other relatives in need of care, most women we hope to serve struggle finding childcare options outside of childcare centre operating hours (7am to 7pm). This issue becomes even more problematic for mothers who are stuck in waitlists and can’t enrol their children to any formal centres. 
• About one third of DOT beneficiaries cite being forced to take a long hiatus from work as a barrier to employment. Particularly, any hiatus taken for care of children cause mothers to be dismissed from future employment opportunities, as many hiring managers still deem unpaid female labour of care to be a simple gap in employment history.
• Around one fourth of our beneficiaries cite legal issues, mainly divorce and its consequences as their barrier to employment. Indeed, many women we serve not only face dire financial consequences when going through divorce, but also face potential homelessness as they are forced to leave their matrimonial homes

DOT aims to place women in jobs that meet their reasonable salary expectations and allow them the flexibility to attend to their caregiving responsibilities. While we offer jobs from various industries, positions in admin, F&B, hospitality, retail, childcare, eldercare, and beauty sectors are the most matched under DOT’s services. Although home-based and remote work has become more prevalent because of Covid-19, we are unable to offer a large number of such positions that would help our beneficiaries earn enough money to leave abject poverty behind.

CSS is a zero-cost model that provides fixed-shift work to mothers with family responsibilities during office hours. It allows them to access services from childcare centres and avoid late pick-up fees. 

Traditionally, in industries that rely on rotating-shift models, such as F&B and retail, workers are put on different schedules every week, sometimes every day. CSS helps mitigate mothers’ problem of having to find childcare solutions every time their shifts change. By encouraging our employer partners to give mother-friendly shifts to our beneficiaries with young children, this initiative not only helps mothers stay in stable employment, but also helps businesses reduce attrition caused by their workers’ care responsibilities.