By: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Ag Minister For Community Development, Youth And Sports & Senior MOS For Trade & Industry
5 March 2005, 2.00 pm at Hotel Intercontinental
Mdm Halimah Yacob, Assistant Secretary-General, NTUC
Ms Diana Chia, Chairperson of NTUC Women's Committee
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Chairman, SNCF
Mr Zulkifli Mohammed, Chief Executive, SNCF
Ms Goh Ming Huay, Chairperson of SNCF Women's Programme Committee
Distinguished guests,
The last time I spoke at a seminar on women's issues, many years ago, I got into big trouble. I therefore address you with great trepidation.
Many people do not realize just how feminist the PAP is. In Singapore, we have always had universal suffrage. Women and men received the right to vote at the same time. The Women's Charter was one of the earliest legislative changes the PAP pushed through. If you stop to think about it, enforcing monogamy and protecting the rights of women in marriage was extremely enlightened social policy four decades ago. The PAP also provided equal access to education to both women and men. If we had been bound by so called traditional values and practices, the PAP would never have achieved all this.
Last year, we finally completed this process of legislative evolution when we made constitutional amendments to equalize the rights of citizenship by descent for children of both female and male Singaporeans, equalized medical benefits for civil servants and abolished the quota on female medical students.
I realize that equality in the eyes of the law does not automatically translate to equality on the ground. Should we go further, and try to accelerate the process with some forms of affirmative action? Let me state explicitly that I am opposed to affirmative action.
Every woman MP and office holder has been selected because she is an asset to the party and the government. Each of them wins votes for the party, and contributes a unique perspective to policy formulation. They are here because they are really needed, not because of a quota. This gives them strength, real political power, and not just the form.
Similarly in the workplace. Every woman has won her job and promotion on her own merit.
The only ''inequality'' in employment law is the right to maternity leave. I believe we will maintain this ''inequality'' so long as babies grow in the wombs of women, and breast milk is superior to formula milk.
Which brings me to my next point. Men and women are different. We must not lose sight of this in our pursuit of equality. We can argue about the relative contributions of nature vs nurture in causing this difference. Nevertheless, it is a fact.
A lot of our current social angst is because we are a society in transition. In two generations, we transformed our laws, our schools and our workplaces. But have we transformed our homes, our family lives? Our basic instincts, our cultural expectations and the social changes we have witnessed are not synchronized. Consequently, men and women often have difficulty relating to one another.
The low marriage and fertility rates are merely a symptom of this underlying problem of transition. I believe most of us would like to get married and have more children. However, the tough balance between work and family is a heavy burden on every mother I know.
Consequently, they need all the support they can get. I do not believe in giving prescriptions. Each family will need to work out its own division of labour at home, in which all members are comfortable with. In other words, I believe in giving women the power to choose.
We must respect every woman's choice towards career and self-fulfillment - be it to stay at home, go out to work, start a company, or engage in politics, sports, the arts or whichever field she wishes to carve her niche in. Today's seminar is one such platform to celebrate this power - the power for women to choose and embark on their own individual paths and optimise the diversity offered by choice.
At a practical level, my ministry and other agencies will continue to provide a range of services such as child care centres, family service centres and student care centres to support families. MCYS' Work-Life Unit also promotes personal work-life effectiveness programmes to facilitate informed personal work-life decisions and help achieve effective balance between the demands of work, personal and family life.
Power to Contribute
We must also encourage women to look beyond their individual careers and homes to play an active part in contributing to the community. As you will find role models in business, sports and the arts, there are also inspirational stories in the social sector. We should applaud these individuals for going beyond themselves to contribute to a larger cause.
After the tsunami hit Asia, Ms Devagi Sanmugam, a well-known chef, flew to India to do what she does best - cook - and give food rations to victims. It also warms our hearts when we hear stories like that of local potter Pearl Yang, who banded with volunteers to help tsunami-hit communities like Sri Lanka get back on their feet through the production and sale of bracelets. Calling themselves Microseed, theirs is an interesting initiative based on the microcredit concept to empower needy communities as social microentrepreneurs. In helping with the prototype design, Pearl Yang, like Devagi, has shown us that it doesn't take much to make a difference in another person's life.
The power to contribute should extend beyond crises or times of disaster. ChaCha Cottage - initiated last October by social entrepreneur Angella Cheng employs needy women to make handmade candles and soaps. I was particularly glad that ChaCha Cottage had responded to the plight of sole bread winner, Madam Julia Matrawi, whose husband is injured and out of work for more than four years. Of their five children, one teenage son is hearing-impaired and the youngest daughter suffers from an eating disorder, osteoporosis and arthritis. ChaCha Cottage offered Mdm Julia a job making candles from home and this now helps supplement the family's income.
The stories I have shared today are but the icing on the cake. Each of you would probably know plenty more of such shining examples of excellence who are an inspiration to us all - men and women alike.
In conclusion, women have come a long way. The journey is not over yet, and society is still evolving. In the meantime, we must give women the power to choose the path that gives them the most fulfillment, and the power to contribute to society. Life will be so much better for all of us because of women. I wish you all the very best.
Thank you.
MCYS SPEECH NO: 12/2005
DATE OF ISSUE: 05/03/2005