SINGAPORE - Women's rights and gender-equality group Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) elected a new board last Saturday (April 23), with editorial and public relations consultant and veteran journalist Ong Soh Chin elected president.
At the annual general meeting, held over Zoom for the third year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Ong ran unopposed for her first term as Aware president, taking over from Ms Margaret Thomas, who held the position from 2018 to 2022.
Incumbent treasurer Aarathi Arumugam retained her position on the board unopposed.
Meanwhile, two candidates vied for the post of assistant treasurer, while 10 candidates competed for the six board member posts.
In an e-mail interview with The Straits Times on Tuesday (April 26), Ms Ong, who has been an Aware board member since 2016, said she has always identified as a feminist and felt it was time to step up and contribute meaningfully to the cause at this stage of her life.
She added that it is an exciting time for Aware and for Singapore in general, as the country enters a new chapter in its journey to gender equality amid the Government's White Paper on Singapore Women's Development.
Noting that many of the issues covered in the White Paper and in recent government announcements - such as the impending anti-discrimination law, increased support for caregivers and single parents, and the need to respect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities - have been important planks of Aware's advocacy, Ms Ong said the group will continue to work with supporters from civil society, the private sector and the Government to further these causes.
"We will... be looking at advancing conversations and actions in the public sphere, to show that gender equality is a win-win situation for all, and not just women," added the journalist and editor with more than 30 years of experience.
Ms Ong has worked at various publications, including The Straits Times, where she covered arts, entertainment, politics and current affairs, among other things.
She has also headed the communications and editorial departments at Netflix, the Institute of Policy Studies and Shell.
Meanwhile, Ms Thomas, the outgoing president and one of the founding members of Aware, said the most significant development during her time as Aware president was the landmark speech in September 2020 by Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam when he argued the case for gender equality to be made a fundamental value in Singapore.
She added that this has been the mission of the group since its founding in 1985, "so it was very gratifying to hear a Cabinet minister finally emphatically agree with our mission".
Ms Thomas will continue to be a board member.
Aware executive director Corinna Lim, said that the board "features not just ethnic diversity, but age diversity - with members in their 20s and their 70s - and a range of professional experience, with individuals from academia, civil service, law and different corporate environments".
The other members of the board are Ms Elisa Kang, Ms Penelope Shone, Ms Teo You Yenn and Ms Zheng Huifen, who have served at least one previous term on the board, and Ms Fikri Alkhatib, Ms Kathy Park and Ms Laavanya Kathiravelu, who are newcomers.
In all, 87 Aware members attended the annual general meeting.
Aware said in its statement that further assignment of board positions for the first and second vice-presidents and secretary will take place at the new board's first meeting next month.
