Singapore – “Concrete proposals” will be developed on issues concerning women and be presented in a White Paper early next year, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon on Saturday (Sept 18).
Mr Lee, who was speaking at the closing session of the Conversations on Singapore Women’s Development, said his mother felt strongly about the unequal treatment of women.
Although there has been tremendous progress since pre-independence days, he added that expectations of men and women remain unequal.
Mr Lee cited the “only political speech” made by his mother, Kwa Geok Choo, which touched on raising the status of women and protecting their personal property.
“Women and their families must be protected against unscrupulous husbands who treat their wives as chattels…,” Mr Lee quoted.
“Without her, I would be a different man, with a different life,” Mr Lee remembered his father, former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, saying.
In his speech, Mr Lee noted three “priority areas” frequently highlighted among the conversations: workplace opportunities, caregiver support and protection for women.
Mr Lee said that women should have “real choices between work and family commitments” as their home responsibilities often spill over to their career progression opportunities.
Some women need more flexibility at work, or are forced to find “workarounds” to fulfil their familial responsibilities, said Mr Lee.
“Unfortunately, this can feed perceptions that women are less committed to their careers,” he said, adding that the situation was “unjust” because Singapore women are “equally capable” as the men.
He noted that the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices being formalised into law would help level the playing field for female workers.
Other solutions include improving childcare arrangements or employers offering mothers more flexible work schedules.
On caregiver support, Mr Lee announced that more financial assistance should help caregivers who have extra responsibilities.
He noted that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is looking into enhancing the Home Caregiving Grant scheme to offer more assistance to targeted groups.
“Caregivers have to make many significant sacrifices. Their career progression is affected. Caregiving expenses can be substantial. The caregiver finds it harder to build up her own retirement savings,” said Mr Lee.
He said that MOH is also planning to expand the options for respite care to offer support for caregivers that experience burnout due to lack of personal time.
Lastly, Mr Lee said that recommendations would be made to improve support and protection for victims of violence and raise awareness of early warning signs.
“Another threat to the safety of this generation of girls and women comes from online. With social media, females young and old are exposed and vulnerable to harassment, bullying, or unwelcome attention,” said Mr Lee.
“Many victims suffer psychological distress, or worse, are driven to self-harm. We must ensure that our online space remains safe, especially for girls and women.”
“The most fundamental solution to the problem of violence against women is to inculcate the right values so that men and women respect each other’s boundaries and know that it is wrong and forbidden to take advantage of women, mistreat them or worse, attack them physically or sexually,” said Mr Lee.
As he closed his speech, Mr Lee recognised the importance of celebrating women’s central role in society.
He announced a garden dedicated to women would be created at Dhoby Ghaut Green.
The engagement series was launched on Sept 20, 2020, to review gender inequality issues in Singapore.
It was organised by various parties such as the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO), NTUC Women and Family Unit and People’s Association Women Integration Network Council.
Over 5,700 participants joined the series consisting of 160 conversations.
Findings and feedback will be presented in a White Paper in early 2022./TISG
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