Having studied in an all-girls' school for the past 10 years, and growing up with my mother and most of my female relatives in the workforce, I could never really identify with all that I had read about gender issues and women being the weaker sex. It was only recently, after having started attending a co-ed school, that the issue of gender struck close to home. In many respects, school has been a microcosm of what we see in society, and the issue of gender is no exception. Just last week, the junior college I am attending held the students' council elections. The results may not have been as disturbing as what we have seen in our Cabinet, but were still cause for concern: three out of five of the elected candidates were males.

As much as there has been an improvement in the gender divide in today's society as men and women move towards equal social standing, the reality of females not being on par with males remains, and it appears that this can already be seen among youths. I agree that we should not put a woman at the top of the political ladder just because she is female - it will take even more time before Singapore comes close to having greater representation of females in the Cabinet, let alone having our own Hillary Clinton. Appointing a female minister for the sake of having a woman in the Cabinet would be an insult to the female gender.

While some have, in their blogs and online discussions, attributed the lack of female political leaders to females being the weaker sex, or the Government's inability to attract females, I beg to differ. In my opinion, the issue is no longer whether or not females are up to the job - many of Singapore's promising female leaders have proven themselves to be capable of what their male counterparts do. It is about whether they step forward to take the lead, and show their leadership capabilities and potential. It is now up to the women to let their voices be heard.

Rhea Tan Yan Ying (Miss)