In Parliament: He Ting Ru points out MTF co-chairs are all men, even though COVID affected women ‘disproportionately more’

A significant portion of the session in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 5) was devoted to the debate on the White Paper on Women’s Development, which was first presented to Parliament on Mar 28.

And while Workers’ Party MP He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) said that WP supports the spirit of the motion on the paper and its “overarching goal to achieve a fairer, more inclusive society,” she expressed that there had been too little time between its presentation and the debate.

Ms He said that “improvements can be made,” and that Singapore, as a society, “can do better.”

She also mentioned in her speech that a resident had pointed out to her that the Multi-Ministerial Task Force assigned to tackle Covid is composed of all males at the highest level—being co-chaired by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, and Trade and Industry Minister Gan King Yong.

Ms He added that this “surely causes some dissonance, given that the paper itself acknowledges that women are more disproportionately affected by the pandemic.” 

“When it comes to representation at the top, having more women in decision-making leadership roles has many benefits, and gives young women role models to look up to,” the MP said, adding, “While it is undoubtedly true that we cannot make progress without allies, I hope we do better in giving women a public leadership voice when we build back better coming out of Covid’s long, long shadow.”

She raised such issues as the gender wage gap, as well as the issue of “pink tax,” wherein products and services for women are found to be more expensive than men’s products and services in many parts of the world. This includes Singapore, based on a Sunday Times recent study.

Ms He also mentioned the heavier load many women bear, as they are expected to do mental and emotional labour at home in addition to their other duties.

The Sengkang MP also said, “Since we are discussing mindset shifts today, perhaps it is also time to do away with such gender terms as ‘girl boss’ and ‘momtrepreneurs’ which to me seems to suggest there is something out of the ordinary with women, or mothers, taking a lead in business.” /TISG

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