Article Integration: Singapore to embark on a review of women’s issues in move towards greater gender equality, leading to White Paper next year

SINGAPORE: Achieving gender equality requires a “deep mindset change” as well as changes to Singapore's cultural value system, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Sunday (Sep 20). 

“Every boy and girl must grow up imbibing the value of gender equality. They need to be taught from a very early age that boys and girls are to be treated equally and, very importantly, with respect,” he said. 

To that end, from next month a series of engagements between the public and private sectors, as well as non-governmental organisations, will be held with the aim of identifying and tackling issues concerning women in Singapore. 

These will culminate in a White Paper to be issued by the Government in the first half of next year, which will consolidate feedback and recommendations during the sessions, to be called “Conversations on Women Development”. 

The initiative will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Social and Family Development, and supported by the Home Affairs as well as the Culture, Community and Youth ministries.

Leading the engagements would be groups such as the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations, the National Trades Union Congress Women Committee, the People’s Association Women Integration Network and others, said Mr Shanmugam. 

A “More Philosophical” Approach

Mr Shanmugam announced the initiative at the first such engagement on Sunday (Sep 20), a virtual dialogue session involving more than 100 participants from youth and women organisations. 

He noted that there had been much progress regarding the position of women in Singapore society over the years, noting women had become better represented in politics as well as in senior management positions in the private sector.

“Equality must not just be formal, but substantive - and take into account the unique challenges (and) needs that women face, and the specific effects that policies have on them, to truly level the playing field,” he said. 

Mr Shanmugam quoted the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsbur, whom he described as a “true titan in the fight for women’s rights”, saying: “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exceptions.”

Mr Shanmugam pointed to the spate of voyeurism cases in universities here that made the headlines in recent years, as well as the specific case of National University of Singapore dentistry student Yin Zi Qin, who in July was given community-based sentences - which would allow him to have no criminal record upon completion - after being found guilty of choking his ex-girlfriend. 

The review will look at what more can be done to achieve greater gender equality, as well as the place of women in the home, as well as in schools and workplaces, and in the community. 

In the home, the review will look at what can be done to protect women from family violence and intimate partner violence, as well as recognising the integral roles played by women at home as wives, mothers, caregivers and homemakers.

Meanwhile in schools and workplaces, the review will seek to promote equality of opportunities for women, as well as what can be done to protect them from sexual harassment, assault and workplace discrimination.

The review will also look to push back against gender stereotyping in the broader community. 

Whole of Society Effort
The perpetuation of traditional gender roles has been exacerbated by COVID-19, which has seen women gravitate towards home caregiver roles even as they have to multitask by balancing it with their work, said Ms Low. 

Ms Sun said it is important that men are part of the conversation about what happens at home, and how they can contribute to a better caregiving load at home, noting this leads to a better relationship between husbands and wives. 

Ms Rahayu meanwhile noted that during discussions on Sunday, participants said that flexible work arrangements may not be available to blue-collar workers. 

Ms Sun also pointed to the increase in reports of family violence during the “circuit breaker” period, which she said was concerning both to the authorities and larger society. 

Ms Sun, who co-chairs the Taskforce on Family Violence formed earlier this year, noted the taskforce would present its findings in early 2021 and this would hopefully provide points of action that Singapore would address collectively as a society. 

“Because I believe that as a society, we see family violence not as a domestic matter but as a matter that we collectively have to prevent and to penalise, if necessary, so that women, victims, and other victims of family violence will be able to live happily, meaningfully and be protected, knowing that their safety is guaranteed,” she said. 

Author description and links such as is executive editor at CNA Digital News where she oversees the Commentary section and hosts the Heart of the Matter podcast.

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