13 Jun 2017
Mr Chair,
Women in Singapore make significant contributions to our economy and our society.
Our full-time employment rate for women aged 25-64 has increased from about 63% ten years ago to 72% last year.
But women also generally assume a disproportionately large part of caregiving responsibilities.
Singapore was ranked 11th in the latest Gender Inequality Index of the 2016 UN Human Development Report.
But we want to do more to support and care for the well-being of our women.
A study conducted by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) in March this year showed that Singaporean women usually put family before themselves.
Those who were surveyed said that they had no time to exercise, because they felt guilty for leaving child-rearing duties to another family member while they take time to exercise.
The survey also showed that most women had a reactive attitude towards health – responding only when their health is deteriorating, or during important life stages such as family planning.
We have therefore implemented policies and programmes in the past few years to enhance their health and well-being.
Our Health Promotion Board extended funds under the Workplace Health Promotion Grant to make health initiatives like cancer screening more accessible and affordable for women workers.
We are expanding our respite services so that caregivers can rest and recharge, and working caregivers can travel for overseas trips
We are on track to increase our home care capacity to 10,000 home care and 6,200 day care places by 2020 (from 7500 home care and 4000 day care places today respectively).
We provide subsidies of up to $200 per annum from the Caregivers’ Training Grant (CTG) for caregivers to attend training courses to improve caregiving or self-care skills.
We also encourage employers to provide flexible work arrangements to allow employees to better manage work demands with family and caregiving needs.
Mr Chair,
In April this year, a motion on the Aspirations of Singapore Women was tabled in our Parliament to debate how best to support Singapore women in their journey to fulfil their family and career aspirations.
Our view is that when women succeed and their well-being cared for, families, communities and our society flourish too.