Singapore still far behind in true gender equality: Aware
-
May 20, 2010 - ST Forum
Singapore still far behind in true gender equality: Aware
WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with Professor Hans Rosling's view last Wednesday ('Want more babies? Fathers, please step up') that Singapore has not seen a reversal in the decline of fertility rates because Singaporean fathers are not rising to the task of child rearing, and state support for equal parenting roles is not adequate.
In our 2004 report (Beyond Babies: National Duty Or Personal Choice), we stated that there is a direct correlation between total fertility rates and gender equity.
Many people think that Singaporean women have achieved gender equality. However, compared with countries such as Australia, Sweden, Britain and the United States where the total fertility rate is now increasing, we have a long way to go.
In the last 30 years, women have entered the workplace in droves. More girls graduate from our universities than boys. However, these changes are asymmetrical. Men have not moved into the domestic sphere at the same rate.
This asymmetry makes child rearing much less attractive for women. The woman who derives satisfaction from her work will not be keen to have any, or many, children if she has to bear the bulk of the childcare burden. In the meantime, her husband does not lose sleep about balancing work and family life.
Whose problem is this and what can be done? The State, the market and the individual all play important roles in the determination of fertility decisions.
Here are some considerations:
- What is the message and effect when the State mandates four months' paid maternity leave, but not a day of paternity leave? Are we sending the message that fertility is solely a woman's responsibility?
- Adequate support structures for families and availability of flexiwork arrangements are key factors in countries which have seen positive fertility trends. In Singapore, however, part- time work amounts to a minuscule 10 per cent of employment. Why is this?
- Are family-friendly arrangements in workplaces equally available to male employees, or do employers treat a male employee's request to take time off to care for his sick child less favourably?
- How can we support more active fathering? The 'Dads for Life' national campaign is a commendable initiative of the National Family Council and a step in the right direction.
Traditional gender roles not only deprive men of the opportunity to play an active role in their children's lives but also create an unbalanced environment where women are discouraged from having more children.
Corinna Lim (Ms)
Executive Director, Aware -
This is all crap lah..... At the end of the day, it's all about the dollars and cents/sense This the authorities continue to ignore and pretend that the real issues lie somewhere else....... Many measures have been taken but none has any success whatsoever. This only goes to show that they are either incompetent and useless or barking up the wrong tree. By the birth rates not improving, the masses have spoken. but still they ignore...... OK lor, then let Singaporeans die itself out!From the way they keep courting foreigners, I doubt Singaporeans are worth anything to them these days........
-
Originally posted by Fenixx:
This is all crap lah…..
At the end of the day, it’s all about the dollars and cents/sense This the authorities continue to ignore and pretend that the real issues lie somewhere else…....
Many measures have been taken but none has any success whatsoever. This only goes to show that they are either incompetent and useless or barking up the wrong tree.
By the birth rates not improving, the masses have spoken.
but still they ignore…...
OK lor, then let Singaporeans die itself out!From the way they keep courting foreigners, I doubt Singaporeans are worth anything to them these days….....
Singapore is a strange country.
Singaporeans are 2nd class citizens in Singapore.
Gender don't count.
-
True gender equaliy ? lol? Like becoming a man ? And a man becoming a woman ?
-
okay... the old whine.. let the women also go through NS... and all that...
men and women are not equal... to attempt to smash that through would be a big mistake...
there are some things women are better at, there are some things men are better at... let's stick with that so that we can move on
-
Equality never exist in the first place.
-
Copy and pasted from my previous post.
Quoted from passage : In a letter to the Straits Times forum on Thursday, women’s rights group AWARE wrote that Singapore has not seen a reversal in the decline of fertility rates because Singaporean fathers are not rising to the task of child rearing
Classic sentence by women rights group. Dint read on the rest of the bull. What Ms lim said was right. Since gender is getting more equal, why should women be the ones going through pain of delivery a baby ? Women blame men not taking care of babies, yet they want men to work and supply them with money.
-
Originally posted by TTFU:
Copy and pasted from my previous post.
Quoted from passage : In a letter to the Straits Times forum on Thursday, women’s rights group AWARE wrote that Singapore has not seen a reversal in the decline of fertility rates because Singaporean fathers are not rising to the task of child rearing
Classic sentence by women rights group. Dint read on the rest of the bull. What Ms lim said was right. Since gender is getting more equal, why should women be the ones going through pain of delivery a baby ? Women blame men not taking care of babies, yet they want men to work and supply them with money.
Women blame men not taking care of babies, yet they want men to work and supply them with money.
So the bottomline is about money...
not so much about equality.
-
Originally posted by TTFU:
Copy and pasted from my previous post.
Quoted from passage : In a letter to the Straits Times forum on Thursday, women’s rights group AWARE wrote that Singapore has not seen a reversal in the decline of fertility rates because Singaporean fathers are not rising to the task of child rearing
Classic sentence by women rights group. Dint read on the rest of the bull. What Ms lim said was right. Since gender is getting more equal, why should women be the ones going through pain of delivery a baby ? Women blame men not taking care of babies, yet they want men to work and supply them with money.
You're right.
Why should women be the ones going through the pain of delivery?
Get the bloody men to do it!
Hopefully in future, scientists will discover a way to impragnate men and then men can do the breast feeding, child delivery and housework while the women go out and work, flirt with toy boys and socialise until the wee hours of the morning.
Will this scenario be preferable?
-
Main reason is still money, if men can give birth have babies, Aware for men will be set up haha
-
Originally posted by Clivebenss:
Women blame men not taking care of babies, yet they want men to work and supply them with money.
So the bottomline is about money...
not so much about equality.
And NO
There will never be true gender equality because their are too many differences between men and women. Unless men become women and vice versa, we can never have true gender equality.
-
Originally posted by littlemissbonkers:
And NO
There will never be true gender equality because their are too many differences between men and women. Unless men become women and vice versa, we can never have true gender equality.
hemaphrodites?
-
Originally posted by Clivebenss:
hemaphrodites?
They are probably our only hope
-
evolution...
-
Such topic has no end no conclusion. Debating can go on eternally.
-
Accepting your roles lah men and women. Everything also want compare and complain
-
AWARE responds: ‘Not blaming men for low fertility rates’
By Yahoo! Southeast Asia Editors – May 21st, 2010Guest Post
By Corinna Lim, Executive Director, AWAREIt is great that our letter to the ST Forum (ST, 20 May 2010) (“ST Letter”) has generated so much discussion on this site.
First, I must clarify that AWARE is not anti-men or blaming the issue of low fertility rates on men.
What we said in the ST Letter (which from the comments on this site, many people did not read) is that Singapore could do better in the area of gender equality at home compared to other developed countries like US and Sweden, and that there is a correlation between fertility rates and gender equality as shown in the fertility trends of these countries.
Very importantly, we do not think that the lack of gender equality is the fault of men alone – “the State, the market and the individual all play important roles in the determination of fertility decisions”. I think the AWARE name makes guys BEWARE and they automatically read our letters in a certain way.
In the ST Letter, we pointed out certain practices and policies that discourage gender equality at home, such as the lack of mandatory paternity leave and employer’s attitudes to fathers taking time off.
In relation to fertility, we do not think that gender equality is the only factor causing low fertility. We think it plays a significant part and that it is something that is worth focusing on as it is less obvious and has been shown to work in Sweden and other countries.
The main factors discouraging childbearing in Singapore are well known. As has been pointed out by many readers, these include the high cost of living, our incredibly long work hours, the lack of support by companies for work life balance, lack of options for women to go back to work after taking time off and lack of child care facilities.
Some things we can change, some we can’t.
Do we ever see Singapore becoming less expensive and less pressuring? No. So this is not something that we can change and, in my view, no point talking about this.
But can we try to encourage and incentivize fathers to play a bigger role at home (why should mums have all the fun of bringing up children?)? Can companies be more supportive of their employees’ family life and offer work-life harmony, part time work, and back to work schemes? These seem well within reach. So, let’s try to do something about things that can be improved. And let’s keep the dialogue open.
I am glad to have the chance to discuss this issue more fully and look forward to receiving more feedback.
-
Do we ever see Singapore becoming less expensive and less pressuring? No. So this is not something that we can change and, in my view, no point talking about this.
haha. stop blaming.