SPEECH BY MINISTER ONG YE KUNG AT THE PAP WOMEN'S WING CONFERENCE

PAP Women’s Wing Chairperson Ms Sim Ann

Organising Chair Ms Jasmin Lau

Ms Grace Fu, Ms Indranee Rajah

Past Members of Parliament (MPs), Current MPs, Brothers and Sisters from the Labour Union

Comrades, friends, ladies and gentlemen

1.             I am happy to join you today at this year’s Women’s Wing Conference. Today’s theme of “Reimagining Family”. I cannot imagine a conference dominated by men which would adopt a theme like this. It would be on career, SkillsFuture, industry growth or Artificial Intelligence (AI). Only a women’s conference would think of a very important theme such as “Reimagining Family”. This is close to my heart, because a lot of my own identity is being a father and husband.

2.             But my life experience taught me that a discussion about families is also a discussion about the roles of women, who are the anchors of families. So if we want to reimagine families, we must first recognise the central role of women in families, and how in Singapore, women have made tremendous progress in one generation

Four Generations of Women: A Journey of Progress

3.             I witnessed the progress of women in my family, across four generations.

4.             My maternal grandmother used to tell me about her own mother and grandmother, who were born in China during the Qing dynasty. She told me in Teochew that “Those days were very ‘cham’, the girls had to bind their feet just because men thought this was beautiful.”

5.             My grandmother was glad that she was spared from foot binding. Although she was not educated and did not have a career, to her that alone was already progress. She lived through World War II, escaped from China to Singapore, and life was really about survival.

6.             Then came my mother, she finished high school, became a teacher and a community leader (and quite a fierce one). Together with my father, they shared the responsibilities of raising a family, though I could see she had a hard time juggling responsibilities at home – she did all the housework, cooking and cleaning and taking care of me and my brother and monitored very closely our progress in school. I could see her frustrations through my young eyes.

7.             Then I met my wife. We started off already as equals – same year, same school, same class. Years later, we each had our own careers, and our relationship was built on equality. When we had our first child, I was a hands-on father, did a lot of diaper changes and volunteered to do the night feeds with expressed breast milk.

8.             But whenever our children were in distress, they did not come to me despite all the diaper changes and night feeds. They would run to their mother. That was when I realised, I have no maternal instincts. They obviously must have not felt it from me. When the children were older, my wife said her calling in life is to be a mother. When I decided to enter politics, she also stood by me and made sacrifices of her own, not because I asked, but because she expected it of herself.

9.             My daughters are now in their twenties; I see yet another shift in their generation. I do not think they feel they must marry and they spoke to me about it, unless they meet someone who truly supports them. They are more uncompromising, and I think rightly so. For them equality is not a privilege to hope for, it is a right to expect.

10.          I witnessed first-hand the progress of women in Singapore in my own family – from survival, to opportunity, to partnership and now empowerment. It is a remarkable journey, made possible here because of the rapid development and progress of our nation under the leadership of the PAP Government. Our country’s development is synonymous with the development of women in Singapore.

11.          At the same time, progress has brought about new pressures. Women are capable of everything men can do. Yet as mothers, they experience instincts and responsibilities that I think fathers will find quite hard to fully understand.

12.          Many women today shoulder critical roles at work and at home – and the expectations are heavy. If they give their best at work, they may worry whether they are doing enough for their children. If they prioritise their family, the office will talk, and they may worry they cannot fulfil their career potential.

13.          These are dilemmas that weigh particularly heavily on women. I see it in my wife and I think I will see it in my daughters. It is an inherent difference between men and women that I do not think will go away.

14.          As the Chinese saying goes: 男女有别，贵在平等 – men and women are different, but what matters is equality. This is what we can strive for. Equality where every woman can walk her own path on her own terms, without being bound by outdated norms

15.          I have said this before, as a father, I do not have pre-conceived notions of success for my two daughters. If they decide to focus on their careers, not marry and stay single, I will be proud of them. If they decide to give up their career and be full-time mothers and take care of the household, I will also be proud of them. The important thing is that it must be their choice, and not imposed on them by norms or pressures of society.

Empowering Women Through All Seasons of Life

16.          The journey of the women in my family, reflects the journey of women in Singapore. We need to constantly reimagine the opportunities, choices and support we give to women at every stage of life. Let us examine what the PAP Government has done by taking a journey through a woman’s life.

17.          First, as young girls. Education has been the great social equaliser and central thrust of our social policies. Today, our daughters enjoy opportunities that their grandmothers could not even imagine. Technology and AI have further widened the field of opportunity.

18.          Over the decades, more young women have entered fields like Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (or STEM)–which are traditionally male-dominated. Nearly four in ten undergraduates in STEM are women, and with continued support, I am confident that even more will pursue and excel in these disciplines.

19.          Second, as young adults. This is a season of exploration, when young women begin to build their careers, form relationships, and start thinking about setting up a family.

20.          The PAP Government’s focus on inclusive economic growth maximises opportunities for all Singaporeans to pursue their aspirations and dreams. For example, along with greater participation in STEM education, the share of women in STEM occupations climbed from 28 percent to about 34 percent in the ten years from 2013 to 2023.

21.          Home ownership, one of the most consequential public policies of the PAP Government, is a major pillar in the development of families. We are shortening waiting times for flats and keeping BTO prices affordable, even in prime areas.

22.          The Prime Minister also announced a review of eligibility criteria for singles to buy HDB flats. This will be an important step forward, giving single Singaporeans, especially women, greater independence and choice.

23.          Third, as women raising families. The Government has taken major steps to develop the infant care, pre-school and day care sectors, to support families with their childcare responsibilities. This has enabled both parents to work.

24.          Over the years, we have also enhanced childcare leave and parental leave. These policies impose a significant cost on employers, who have nevertheless leaned forward to support such pro-family policies.

25.          Parents today face new challenges, especially the influence of smart devices and new technologies like Artificial Intelligence. The impact of technology on the way our children accumulate skills and knowledge, build character, develop cognitive and executive functions and achieve mental wellness, is profound. Parents will need new skills and greater support to bring up their children well. This is an area where Government policies will continue to evolve. There is a lot more that we can do on the ground. The different Ministries, MDDI, MCCY, MOH, MOE and MSF working together, activating our constituencies and volunteers, working together to help families better shoulder their responsibilities. This is something we can do and very worth doing. We have recently launched Grow Well SG, and we will work towards upgrading this programme further.

26.          Finally, women as seniors. The Government has invested heavily in population health and preventive care, through national programmes such as Healthier SG and Age Well SG. In both programmes, women are much faster and much more enthusiastic in taking them up. Today, in Healthier SG alone, 54 percent of enrolments are women, compared to 46 percent for men.  

27.          For Age Well SG, in our Active Ageing Centres, most of the participants are women. Aunties will come out very enthusiastically to participate; uncles will stay at home. Some aunties told me, “when we were young, we stayed at home and the men went out. When we are older, we go out and the men stay at home”. We have to organise events specifically to entice uncles to participate.

28.          We have now further elevated our ambition, to transform existing HDB housing estates with more seniors into Age Well Neighbourhoods, where they can live in their own homes, maintain their social circles, and have suitable healthcare support close by.

Evolving Mindsets, Strengthening Policies

29.          Looking ahead, we will continue to evolve our policies to support women through every stage of their lives. But policies alone are not enough. What is the most important way to evolve?  I think this is what Chairperson Sim Ann has said, it involves our mindset.  

30.          For families with children, we will continue to encourage men to be equal partners at home. We have policies like parental leave but they will help only if fathers actively take them up.

31.          There is a saying that behind every successful married man there is a supportive wife. I think if our mindsets change, that saying ought to evolve. If societal norms have evolved, we should say that behind every successful married person is a healthy and equal partnership between spouses.

32.          Employers play a key role in enabling women to reach their full potential in life. In the workplace, the pressures on women are less of workload but more of boundaries. As American journalist Amy Westervelt said: “We expect women to work like they don’t have children, and raise children as if they don’t work.”

33.          Societies can respond in different ways. One way is to put in legislation and have rules that divide work and personal life clearly in law. They confer the right to disconnect from the Internet and email after certain hours, and institute various forms of leave to support families. But the problem with this approach is that it frames work and family as being in conflict, locked in a perpetual tug of war.

34.          The alternative is to accept that the boundaries are blurred, while helping employees – men and women alike – manage them such that work, family and life can co-exist in harmony. This requires social support and employers’ HR practices that enable a sustainable rhythm between discharging work and family responsibilities, as well as rest.

35.          While there are more constraints with shift-based sectors like services, healthcare and security, the majority of our workforce are now involved in office work. I do not think that post-COVID-19, employers have found the most optimal practice on work arrangements. Some employees see remote work as a right, while many employers – especially in the technology and banking sectors – are calling employees back to the office.

36.          I think the best way forward probably lies in combining both approaches, with new legislation on workplace practices, greater flexibility from employers and mutual understanding between employers and employees. Above all, men and women must both be seen – and see themselves – as equally responsible for family life.

37.          Organisations need face-to-face time to build a positive work culture and cohesion. At the same time, they can embrace flexible arrangements, such as staggered hours or time-off to care for children and elderly parents. Employers, especially male managers, set the tone. When they lead by example and take family time seriously, the culture shifts

Walking the Journey with Women

38.          The Singapore story is often told as a remarkable tale about the progress of a nation. But it is also a story of women’s progress. The two narratives are closely intertwined.

39.          As we transformed from third world to first within a generation, opportunities opened up for women. And it is because of the contributions of this half of our population, Singapore is where it is today.

40.          This is a story that is still unfolding. The protagonists – the heroine and the hero, still have a lot to do. It is not just a story about growing the economy, forging societal cohesiveness or strengthening our defences, but also about building families, bringing up children well, and redefining what it means to be a woman in each generation. With every step forward, women are more educated, financially independent, and want to achieve their aspirations.

41.          So when it comes to the issue of falling Total Fertility Rate, we need to see it in this evolving historical context. It reflects profound personal choices made by families across generations. I think no amount of baby bonuses can reverse this trend.

42.          But with stronger national support such as infant care and
pre-school, shifting social norms with more men shouldering family responsibilities, and more forward-looking workplace practices, we can create a supportive environment. One where more women and families feel that parenting is an opportunity to fulfil an aspiration in life, as opposed to a trade-off against one’s career or personal goals.

43.          With that, there will be stronger sense of equal opportunity. Equal opportunity is not about sameness. It is about fairness. Fairness in recognising that men and women bring different talents, strengths, perspectives and experiences, at work and at home, and these differences are respected, valued and synergised.

44.          It is imperative for every society to ensure that women can flourish through every season in life. This is not a journey women should walk alone. The PAP Government has been a faithful companion on this journey with all Singaporeans, especially women, and we must continue to commit to do so.

45.             I wish you a fruitful discussion. Thank you.