Better support for women in workplace and at home

There will be stronger support for flexible work arrangements, more help for caregivers and swifter intervention in cases of violence, as part of a 10-year road map to achieve greater equality between men and women in Singapore.

In a symbolic move, more women will also be allowed to freeze their eggs.

The long-anticipated White Paper on Singapore Women's Development, submitted to Parliament yesterday, comes after more than a year of discussions aimed at ensuring a fair and inclusive society.

It describes the barriers and challenges that hold women back, from glass ceilings at work to caregiving responsibilities at home to violence and harm online, and promises a whole-of-government effort to address them.

Speaking to reporters this month, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said the paper raises awareness that women still need support. "It is very much up to each one of us in our respective roles to try to give the women in our lives the support that they need in order to fulfil their aspirations."

While changes to policy and law over the years have removed some barriers to women's development, mindsets need to shift further, said the White Paper.

A case in point is the action plan on elective egg freezing, which "society previously was not so keen to address", Mrs Teo noted.

Most people have come to understand the motivations of women who want to freeze their eggs, after earlier worrying that it may send the wrong signal about marriage and parenthood, she said.

From next year, all women aged between 21 and 35 will be allowed to freeze their eggs. Currently, only women with medical issues that affect their fertility are allowed to do so. However, only legally married couples can use their frozen eggs to try for a baby through in-vitro fertilisation.

The 115-page White Paper sets out five areas of focus: equal opportunities in the workplace; recognition and support for caregivers; protection against violence and harm; other support measures for women, including single mothers and divorcees; and mindset shifts.

These were distilled from a year-long series of conversations to canvass views. Under these focus areas are 25 action plans.

There will be new anti-workplace discrimination laws to weed out a minority of errant employers with unfair practices. The laws will safeguard the confidentiality of women who come forward and protect them from retaliation.

With the Covid-19 pandemic showing flexible work arrangements can work, a new set of tripartite guidelines will be introduced by 2024 to set out best practices so as to entrench such arrangements.

Meanwhile, women are four times as likely as men to take on caregiving duties, and there will be more support for caregivers in the form of higher grants.

To address the issue of harassment against women, a safe sport code will be introduced to define misconduct in the sporting arena so that athletes can take a stand against bad behaviour.

A midpoint review of these measures is planned in 2027.

The White Paper said women here have made remarkable progress, but entrenched stereotypes remain, such as the notion that women are the primary caregivers and men are the main breadwinners. Such thinking needs to change, said the White Paper.

It suggests that education is the way to achieve this, including through modules on respect and appropriate behaviour for students in institutes of higher learning.

In all this, men have a role to play, said the White Paper. In the 160 conversations held, involving nearly 6,000 Singaporeans, one-fifth of participants were men.

"Singapore can achieve much more with men and women standing as equal partners and contributors to society," the paper added.

Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli said Singapore's vision of a fairer and more inclusive society cannot be achieved just by legislation and policies. "Everyone should play our part, including us men," he said.

Meanwhile, President Halimah Yacob cheered the action plans on caregiving and flexible work arrangements. "Women must feel that their success in the workplace is because of - not despite - the norms and institutions in our society," she said on Facebook.