The premise for the book is Karens personal observation of the state of gender inequality which still exists between men and women in Singapore, a country which has achieved the status of a first-world economy. Karen further explores the dire state of gender inequality in Singapore in her book. From her first job with a large electronics conglomerate, Karen witnessed the apparent inequality between men and women in the workplace. From her observation, it seems extremely difficult to break the gender impediment between men and women in the workplace and even at home. Karen notices that most female senior managers have to content with working in more auxiliary departments such as administration, accounting and human resource. As for the strategic positions in procurement, business development, sales, strategic planning and legal departments, most, if not all of these positions are likely to be helmed by male employees. Furthermore, men are expected to excel in their career, but if a woman focuses her time on building her career, her aspirations are viewed negatively by society because traditionalists still believe that women should take care of the household, whilst the men should bring home the bacon. This book, which has been simmering for the past two years, encompasses a series of interviews with strong and successful women who have been able overcome the gender barrier and achieve work-life balance. Karen hopes that Extraordinary Women Singapore will inspire men and women to work together towards achieving greater work-life balance and strive to break the invisible brick wall of gender inequality.
