The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) must be commended for highlighting the position of working mothers in Singapore (Make flexible work arrangements a labour right, Oct 16).

Aware called for the right to request flexible working to be entrenched as a statutory right under Singapore law.

Under English law, every employee who has worked in a firm for at least 26 weeks has the legal right to request flexible working.

The request is subject to various safeguards: It must be handled in a reasonable manner and rejections must be sufficiently shown to be based on business-related reasons.

With this, the law empowers women and protects their interests, recognises that women by their very nature are more likely to be (and want to be) the primary caregiver in their families, and creates an equal playing field in the workplace between men and women, especially when both are similarly qualified.

It is well documented that it is expensive to raise children in Singapore, and no woman should be forced to choose between her financial freedom and her ability to raise her child in the way that she deems necessary.

Yasmeen Elizabeth Abedeen Tyebally-Branagh