Singapore forges own path to women’s development, says PAP Women’s Wing chair Sim Ann

SINGAPORE – Singapore approaches women’s development through “quiet advocacy”, with policies that resonate with both men and women, said Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann on March 5.

This is unlike “textbook feminism”, which is more adversarial and creates divisions between the sexes, she said.

Added Ms Sim, who chairs the People’s Action Party’s Women’s Wing: “We go for buy-in, not run-ins.”

This approach is more appropriate for the local context, where women do not wake up daily to contemplate the “one thing I must do today to dismantle the patriarchy”, she said.

She was speaking in an interview with the media ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.

Ms Sim said many of Singapore’s policies have had a positive impact on women’s well-being, even if they are not specifically designed as feminist policies.

These include policies in areas such as safety and security, education, employment and housing, she added. For instance, with safe streets, women can go out unaccompanied, and by allowing eligible young couples to apply for Housing Board flats, women learn to run their own households from a young age, she said.

She cited the United Nations Gender Inequality Index, published in March 2024, which ranked Singapore eighth globally out of 166 countries, and first in the Asia-Pacific, for having a low level of gender inequality.

“And I think if we were to look at the progress of women, whether it is in terms of our achievements in education, our participation in the workplace and in employment, and in terms of leadership, the progress indicators have been phenomenal,” she said.

In a similar vein, Singapore approaches the issue of women in political leadership through persuasion and encouragement, instead of hard targets and quotas, she said.

Citing the increase in female representation in Parliament – women now make up 29 per cent of elected MPs, compared with 5 per cent in the 1989 to 1991 term of Parliament – Ms Sim said this was done without setting quotas.

“I’m very proud of the fact that we have arrived at this level of women’s political representation without quotas, and I hope this continues,” she said.

She added that she believes any woman MP, whether from the PAP or other parties, would not see quotas as necessary or desirable.

“I don’t think we want to have a situation where people question whether or not a woman is there because of merit or because of the quota,” she said.

At the PAP Women’s Wing conference in August 2024, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had said

he hoped to field more women candidates in this year’s general election.

Asked if there is an ideal number of women MPs, Ms Sim said she does not think there is a “magic number”.

But she added that she is “very optimistic” that more women will be fielded in elections and voted into Parliament.

As a political office-holder and an MP, Ms Sim said she feels a sense of responsibility to allay the concerns of other women who may be interested in joining politics. 

This is because “it is still not yet second nature for people to immediately think of a woman MP when they think of an MP”, she said.

She acknowledged that it is not easy to get women into leadership roles, whether in politics, business or the non-governmental sectors, noting that “people’s mental model for leadership... still tends more towards male rather than female”.

Even then, there have been more women office-holders and women ministers over the years, Ms Sim noted, adding: “I do believe that this long-term trend will continue.

“But what’s important is that, at every step of the way, people feel that a woman is in a particular position because she is able to do the work, rather than, oh, because she’s a woman, that’s why she has the job. That, I think, would be detrimental to the interests of women.” 

On whether women ministers can take on key portfolios like finance and defence, Ms Sim said she believes that over time, women will perform a broader range of roles, not just in politics, but also in the workplace.

However, she said it will take time for societal attitudes to change, and added that women leaders will need to persevere to pave the way for others.

To this end, women in leadership will be among the areas that the PAP Women’s Wing will focus its advocacy on this year, she said.

It will also focus on the earlier stages of dating, marriage and parenthood. 

“A lot of focus has been placed on the needs of couples getting married, as well as the needs of couples who are embarking on parenthood. But based on our soundings, we also think it’s necessary to look further upstream and look at, for instance, more opportunities for young men and women to meet one another,” Ms Sim said.

The Women’s Wing has conducted surveys and focus groups with men and women, and will publish its research at the end of the month, she added.

Besides advocacy, the Women’s Wing has also been working with PAP branches to address Singaporeans’ day-to-day concerns, whether it is in helping vulnerable families or reducing food waste, said Ms Sim.

There are now Women’s Wing activists in all 93 of the PAP branches.

“I see (the Women’s Wing) playing a very important and very interesting role within the PAP,” said Ms Sim.

By helping to plan community activities, welcome newcomers and interact with constituents, women activists can get people into the frame of mind to be more receptive to the party’s messages, she added.

“To win hearts and minds, people need to be ready to listen. And I do think that women... tend to have very good instincts for this,” she said.

That is why Ms Sim has encouraged all the Women’s Wing chairs in each branch to organise meaningful activities for residents to “keep the engagement engine warm”.

“I’d like to see every Women’s Wing branch help their branch chair, whether that branch chair is a man or a woman, to win hearts and minds on the ground,” she said.