For the first time, Parliament debated a motion to support the aspirations of women in juggling both their career and family.

The motion was put forth by MP Tin Pei Ling on April 3 and stemmed from a position paper by the PAP Women’s Wing last year, which called for more to be done to help women succeed at work and at home.

It called on the House to affirm the familial, social and economic contributions of Singapore women and its support for them to fulfil their family and career aspirations and to be future-ready.

In all, close to 20 MPs debated the motion over two days during which various ministers announced plans on how their ministries would be helping women. Ms Tin, who has a two-year-old son and returned to work in May, said Singapore can do more to support women while emphasising that “women are not asking for special treatment or privileges.”

The MP for MacPherson was one of the five female MPs who moved the motion, in which she outlined four strategies.

Create capacity

Women are still seen as the primary caregivers in a family, be it to their children or ageing parents. To free up their commitments at home, childcare and eldercare facilities need a revamp to cater more to women’s needs. For example, they should be situated near workplaces so that women can respond quickly to emergencies. Also, such centres should adopt longer opening hours to help in cases where women have to work late.

On top of these, a network of caregivers who can help working mums fetch or take care of their children during times of need would also be useful.

Lending her support to the motion was Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio GRC) who called on employers to make provisions not just for maternity or paternity leave, but also for eldercare leave. “Providing for flexi-work or work-teams or shared work in the workplace, would help us fulfil our care-giving responsibilities. I look forward to greater support from our employers, including from the public sector in this,’’ she said.

More should also be done to train women who are returning to the workforce so that they refresh their existing skills, learn new skills and rebuild confidence.

Provide options

Flexible work arrangements should become the norm. This not only benefits mothers, but also husbands too as the younger generation desires more work-life balance.

Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) said flexible work arrangements (FWA) must be part of the work culture “otherwise, what it will only serve to do is to highlight the differences between men and women.“

Ms Tin added that employers should update their appraisal system and criteria. “Many employers still appraise employees based on face-time, regardless of the quality of work produced or positive reviews from peers and customers.”

Encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs, or womenpreneurs, helps them to be economically active but maintain better control of their time.

Remove barriers

Culturally, women are still seen as the main caregivers in a family. But with more emphasis on shared responsibilities with their husbands, women should be encouraged to re-join the workforce.

There also appears to be a glass ceiling on them moving up the corporate ladder. This mindset needs to change and more women should be given opportunities to take up leadership positions.

Be Future-Ready

Technology could help women juggle both work and family.

For example, it allows for more flexible work arrangements as work can still be completed without being in the office. And when parents are in the office, they can still “keep an eye” on their children at home using technology.

Digital competency also opens more opportunities for women in their careers, said Ms Tin.

Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio GRC) pointed out that women often have to work three shifts a day – in the day as an employee, in the evening as a mum, and a night shift where they have to help their kids with their homework and put them to bed while preparing for next day’s work. To help women returning to work transit smoothly back into the workforce, he suggested dedicating SkillsFuture programmes for such women.

Of the motion, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon said in a Facebook post on April 5: “We seek to make Singapore the best home for all, where men and women have equal opportunities to pursue their aspirations, and reach their fullest potential.”

Read the full article here.

Image credit: MP Tin Pei Ling’s Facebook