Supporting our Women Professionals
SPEECH BY MELVIN YONG (MP FOR RADIN MAS SMC) AT THE DEBATE ON THE WHITE PAPER ON WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT ON 5 APR 2022
1. Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the recommendations made in the White Paper on Women’s Development. Many Members of the House are speaking today on this very important topic, and I will focus my speech on jobs. Specifically, the need to provide women with equal opportunities at the workplace, so that we can support their aspirations to have a fulfilling family life and a rewarding career.
Challenges faced by women at the workplace
2. Let me start by laying out the challenges faced by women at the workplace.
3. Women face headwinds at every stage of their professional careers. Early on, while studying and choosing which career path to take, some hesitate to jump into male-dominated sectors, such as those in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) industries.
4. Women also face challenges when they find out that they are expecting a child. Some tell me that they worry about being penalised in their appraisals when they go on maternity leave. Others shared with me that they had to suspend their job search because employers don’t seem to want to hire someone who will need to take months off, soon after being employed.
5. For mothers who chose to leave the corporate world temporarily to care for their children, and are looking to return to work, it can be daunting to return to a workplace that has changed significantly in the time that they were away. Many women also struggle to find opportunities to earn additional income while being a full-time homemaker or caregiver to their children and elderly parents.
6. For our young millennials, they have a vastly different outlook on what work-life harmony is, as they are more educated and have higher levels of career confidence. Many of them are rightfully ambitious and want to shine at the global stage — but do we have the right structures in place to support their aspirations?
7. To address these challenges, I will focus my suggestions on 3 areas:
a. Jobs at home;
b. Jobs closer to home; and
c. Jobs away from home.
Jobs At Home
8. First, let us provide better support to women, especially those with caregiving responsibilities, who wish to continue working from home. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that it is possible for some categories of workers to telecommute full-time. I am therefore heartened that the Government has committed to entrenching Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) as a workplace norm, and to introduce new Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs by 2024 to ensure that employers consider FWA requests fairly and properly.
9. But we can, and should, accelerate the timeline. While I understand that it takes time to engage the industry and ensure that there is consensus on the Tripartite Guidelines, we should strike when the iron is hot — in Chinese, we call this 打铁趁热 — and roll out the guidelines when many employers are still fresh from having majority of their workforce telecommuting.
10. We should also support the aspirations of enterprising women who start home-based businesses to supplement their household income while being a full-time caregiver or homemaker. During my house visits, I have met many enterprising ‘mumpreneurs’ in Radin Mas who have started their festive cookies businesses, bakers who specialise in customised cake designs, and one who even started her own trading company right from the comfort of her own living room!
11. I hope that the Government, trade associations and self-help groups can provide better support to help aspiring home-based entrepreneurs kickstart and grow their businesses. One good example of a self-help group is Project Cookoh, a community effort that helps housewives in Jalan Kukoh start their own home-based business. Project Cookoh mentors mumpreneurs, subsidises the cost of cooking classes, and provides an online platform to help the women market their products. We plan to start a similar programme in Radin Mas this year.
12. To help more aspiring mumpreneurs, I hope the Government can introduce a Home-Based Business Grant to help defray the start-up cost of equipment, and tie up with schools such as SHATEC to provide subsidised training courses for baking, cooking, and safe food preparation.
Jobs Closer to Home
13. Second, we can do more to help women find jobs that are closer to home, so that they can better balance their work and roles as a caregiver.
14. In Radin Mas, we partnered with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation to launch the Jobs Closer to Home programme in 2021, to help women with caregiving responsibilities find jobs that are within 5km of the constituency, or a few bus-stops away from home. This has been particularly helpful for single mothers, as they often hesitate to take on jobs in locations that require long travel time.
15. I hope that the Government, through the Community Development Councils and working with the NTUC, can scale the Jobs Closer to Home programme nationally, and help employers tap into a ready pool of women who wish to work for companies that are based near their homes.
Jobs Away from Home
16. Third, let us better support the aspirations of our millennial women.
17. According to a survey conducted by PWC, 71% of millennial women aspire to take on a global role. However, the Mercer’s 2020 Worldwide Survey on International Assignment Policies and Practices found that only 20% of the global expatriate workforce is made up of women. This disconnect between aspiration and reality is concerning.
18. In many companies, going on international assignments and having extensive global experience is a precondition to reach senior management levels. A persistently low participation rate of women in international assignments will ultimately affect gender equality at the leadership level.
19. Good mentorship is vital to provide women with the assurance to venture overseas for their postings. One good example can be found in the Financial Women’s Association (FWA). FWA has a deep pool of successful women in the financial industry who contribute their time by mentoring younger women in the sector. Many of FWA’s mentors have gone through overseas stints, and their mentees are able to approach them for advice on how to overcome challenges and flourish from such opportunities. I hope that with EDB’s support, more professional associations and industry partners will create such mentorship programmes to help their millennial professionals go global.
Address discrimination faced by pregnant jobseekers
20. Finally, regardless of whether they are working at home, close to home, or far away from home, we need to tackle the discrimination faced by pregnant women professionals. The Ministry of Manpower is in the process of enshrining the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices into legislation, and I hope that the Act will state unequivocally that employers cannot penalise female employees, or reject a perfectly-qualified jobseeker, simply based on pregnancy.
Conclusion
21. Mr Speaker, in conclusion, the White Paper on Women’s Development marks an important milestone in Singapore’s never-ending journey towards ensuring an equal and inclusive society. As a community, we can do more to support the aspirations of our Singaporean women to have both a fulfilling family life and a rewarding career.
22. Sir, I support the Motion.
