Good Evening!
Today marks the day we commemorate women’s struggle for equal rights. Let me re-capitulate the origins of the International Women’s Day. About 150 years ago, on this very day in 1857, a group of female garment and textile workers in New York City staged a protest against inhumane working conditions, 12-hour workdays and low wages. However, they were attacked and dispersed by the police.
Some 50 years later, another march occurred again on March 8. This time, thousands of women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay, voting rights and an end to child labour. Thereafter, women in Europe started celebrating Women’s Day on the last Sunday of February until the UN designated March 8 as International Women’s Day.
The significance of this account is that it is about ordinary women with extraordinary courage and convictions who made a difference to the lives of both men and women today.
Milestones for the Singaporean Women
Turning to Singapore, let’s look at the story of the Singaporean women. Much have taken place in the last 40 years for the betterment of the conditions of women. Most important of which is the instituting of the Women’s Charter.
The Women’s Charter came about as a result of women organising under a common issue - the fight against polygamy. This paved the way to the passing of the Woman’s Charter in 1962. The Charter outlawed polygamy, gave women the rights to ownership of property, equal rights to divorce and the right to act in their own legal capacity. Over the years, several amendments had been made. In 1980, women were allowed a share of matrimonial property whether or not she contributed in cash to the acquisition of that property. In 1997, a further amendment gave women protection against family violence.
The Progress of Women in Singapore
Besides instituting a legal framework to enhance women’s rights, education also played an integral role in the progress of women in Singapore. The Government provides universal education, regardless of gender, so that Singaporean women can become economically independent and have better livelihoods.
Not only has education helped women gain greater economic security, it has also allowed women to enjoy more choices and achieve greater self-fulfillment. So much so that Senior Minister at one stage wondered if we should have slowed down our liberalisation with respect to education of our women ! But, if we had slowed down, we could have paid the costs of a slower growth as women now accounted for about half our workforce.
A quick look at other statistics on the progress made by Singapore women. Some 20 years ago, in 1980, females had less than 4 years of schooling, on average. Now, females had 8 years of schooling. 10 years ago, 13% of female residents achieved upper secondary qualification and above. Now, this figure is 30%. In 1990, 4% of female residents made it past university. Now, it is 10%. These figures reflect the lack of opportunities in the past. For the young, females match the males stride for stride in education.
With more women having better qualifications, more are now occupying senior positions in corporate life. The proportion of women within the female resident workforce in managerial, professional and technical jobs has nearly doubled over the last 10 years, from 24% in 1990, to 42% in 2000. As their educational levels rise, we will see more and more women in top positions.
Challenges Faced by Singaporean Women: Dual Roles
Women have traditionally been associated with the role of care-giving. Women, whether married or single, are perceived to be more adept at household management and hence become the primary care-givers for children, the aged or disabled in the family.
In the past, women could be committed single-mindedly to the role of full-time homemakers. In the New Economy, however, many women pursue an active economic livelihood.
This puts additional stresses on them as many juggle work and family. Family support is important. This requires an evolution in the social perception of gender roles. Indeed, I am aware of many men who have taken on a bigger role in family care-giving.
At the same time, I would like to see society and employers helping this transition into the New Economy. The government has provided a healthy social infrastructure of childcare centres, nursing homes as well as day-care centres for the aged and disabled. Further aid is given in the form of a monthly government grant at approved childcare centres for working women who had to place their children with childcare centres.
As an employer, the Civil Service had also taken the lead in introducing family-friendly work practices, eg paternity leave and part-time employment schemes. These measures give additional support to the family. It also positions the employer to better attract and retain the working mother.
I would like to encourage more employers to consider the way work is currently organised and review the possibility of making them more family-friendly. Part-time work, telecommuting, etc could be explored to enhance family-friendliness while not compromising on productivity and output. This will provide the necessary support to female employees while helping the companies attract and retain valuable human resources.
For women who are expected to juggle multiple roles, they need to recognise the psychological and practical dilemmas that they constantly face. They need to realise that their roles in society could be very different from those of the women of the previous generation. They need to be able to communicate the support that they need in order to avoid “burning out”. It would be lose-lose for all if the superwoman at home and at work suffer in silence and fizzle out.
Looking Ahead
The Eastern philosophies of ‘balance’ is an important one. At the individual level, all of us, men and women, need to strike a balance in our lives. At a higher level, an organisation needs to strike a ‘balance’ too, in terms of representation of male and female perspectives.
That was why the Government actively recruited female MPs in the last election to have a more representative female voice in national policy-making. With rising educational qualifications, I am confident more women would play a bigger role in corporate decision–making. When this happens, corporate cultures would be shaped in more fundamental ways.
New visions, policies and ways of life will emerge, enabling both women and men to develop their full potential and live richer lives !
Have an enjoyable evening !
