Women taking career ‘detours’ as a norm will be one indicator of work group’s success: Indranee

SINGAPORE - Normalising career “detours” to care for children, along with a shift in workplace culture to better align work with family life, are among the goals of a new work group set up to support Singaporeans’ marriage and parenthood aspirations.

Speaking to the media on April 29, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said one indicator of success would be reducing the “maternity penalty” faced by women, and for workplaces to fully support those who choose to step away from their careers temporarily to raise children.

Such detours should not be seen as career setbacks, she said, with women feeling assured they have not let themselves or their employers down.

To do this, employers will need to actively support their return to work, including helping them catch up on developments such as new technologies and workplace tools that may have emerged during their time away.

Ms Indranee was giving an update on the new Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup she chairs, after Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) fell to a historic low of 0.87 in 2025.

Other members include office holders like the Ministry of Health’s Rahayu Mahzam, the Ministry of Manpower’s Dinesh Vasu Dash and the Ministry of Education’s Jasmin Lau.

The work group, which was announced during the Budget debate in February, will release a full report in early 2027.

Housing, caregiving and pre-school education are three areas where earlier changes could be made, said Ms Indranee, adding that the work group will map out a broad, long-term strategy as part of the marriage and parenthood reset.

About half of the issues can be addressed through policy, she said in an interview at The Treasury building.

“But given that this has to do with mindsets, relationships, attitudes and, in some cases, emotions, I think we also need whole of society,” she said.

Beyond individual career paths, she said a broader shift is needed in how work is structured.

One measure of success would be a workplace culture that better aligns work and family life.

“When you talk to employers and employees, it’s almost as though if I have family time, somehow work has to be sacrificed. Or if I’m doing work, family has to be sacrificed. That shouldn’t be the case,” she said.

Ms Indranee noted that the implementation of flexible work arrangements is “patchy”, with some companies doing it well while others feel unable to adopt it, and employees feeling like such requests will be frowned upon.

Companies need to work out how they can reach targets and goals while not overworking employees, she said. Simple indicators of this include whether employees can leave work before dark, have dinner with their families, keep weekends largely free from work, and take holidays without receiving e-mails and messages, she added.

“If it is constantly impossible for you to achieve your KPIs (key performance indicators) and still get home to have dinner, then something is wrong,” said Ms Indranee.

Companies also need better and more progressive human resources teams and work design, she said, noting that current work norms were shaped in earlier decades.

With online tools and artificial intelligence enabling greater flexibility, companies should rethink how work is organised to better support employees’ family lives, she added.

Ms Indranee said another key measure of the group’s success is for those who are undecided about having children to find the decision a bit easier after looking at the experiences of friends and others around them.

This means shifting perceptions away from the competition, stress and “horror stories” often associated with raising children, and towards a sense of the joy in building a family.

“I’m asking and calling on all Singaporeans and organisations to work with us on this so that we can change the trajectory of our TFR,” she said.

Ms Nazura Huda, 30, and her husband have contemplated having children since tying the knot in 2021. Both grew up in big families, and often take their cousins’ children out on weekends. But making the commitment to have their own child is not as easy, Ms Nazura said.

“For the older generations of women in my family, it is uncommon to go to university or chase a career. Since things are different for me, I feel like I have to make the most of my prime years and hustle now,” said the marketing executive.

She is doubtful that employers will be supportive of career detours for women to raise children.

“What’s in it for these companies? And even if they do let me come back after two to three years, I still would have lost out on some things, like maybe a few promotions, a more impressive portfolio of campaigns, or a bigger network built over the years,” she said.

But at the same time, building a family would still fill an emotional gap that she and her husband currently feel, she said, adding that she looks forward to seeing the work group’s recommendations.