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It is not too unusual to see a man in Singapore dating or marrying a woman who earns more than he does. There is also an increasing number of men who work from home and take care of the children while their wives hold higher-paying, full-time jobs outside the home.
To many, these are signs of the changes that have come to this affluent state in the past two decades. Indeed, Singaporean women have come a long way since the 180s. They have made great strides in professions that have traditionally been dominated by men, ranging from business to information technology, entrepreneurship, life sciences, and the media. Changes have also been made to eliminate forms of gender discrimination that existed in Singapore. These include laws against family violence and the commitment by the government to an international declaration of equality when it signed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 15.
However there are still a number of laws and policies that explicitly differentiate between men and women. The Singapore Constitution declares in Article 1 that "…shall be no discrimination against citizens of Singapore on the grounds of religion, race, descent or place of birth…" It is silent on the area of gender discrimination. This article breaches the social contract that was made more than 40 years ago when the People's Action Party (PAP) promised voters that "all people will have equal rights and opportunities, irrespective of sex, race and religion." The absence of clear and specific protection against gender-based discrimination has opened the way for the enactment of gender-discrimination policies. Some discriminatory policies that remain standing include the birthright of children born outside of Singapore to Singaporean mothers and foreign fathers, medical benefits for women in the civil service and the maintenance order in the Women's Charter, amongst many others.
For the purpose of this essay, I will focus on the medical benefits policy in the civil service. Help with essay on A Critique of an Existing Public Policy
According to this particular human resource policy, dependants of male civil servants can claim up to 60 per cent of their medical costs, but dependants of female civil servants cannot. Provisions are made for divorced or widowed women, and those whose husbands are seriously ill. Many of the companies that keep to a similar policy take their lead from the civil service.
This is clearly discrimination against Singapore women who have since increased their sphere of influence in society, at home, in the workplace and in politics. 4 percent of the workforce and nearly 60 percent of the senior officers in Singapore's civil service comprise of women. By implementing such a policy, it contravenes section 46 of the Women's Charter, which states that a husband and wife have equal rights and duties to the family, and discriminates against more than half the civil service.
The government's rationale for the policy has been inconsistent. In 186, then Finance Minister Richard Hu maintained that it was too costly to extend the medical benefits to the families of women employees, and was not keeping in line with the government's attempt to cut back spending during the recession. The nation accepted the argument and waited patiently. However, in
1 when the economy was strong, Finance Minister Richard Hu switched the rationale and argued that the policy preserves the social structure by supporting the principle of husband-as-head-of-household. He commented, "It is the husband's responsibility to look after the family's needs, including their medical needs. This is how our society is structured. It would be unwise to tamper with this structure. " Then in 00, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong maintained the same rationale, "Because this is an Asian society, and in an Asian society the husband is responsible for taking care of the family, including the medical expense. Our medical benefits schemes should reflect this and should not undermine the rationale for holding the husband responsible…the government's view is that on a matter as basic as the family structure, we should follow, rather than lead social changes."
The government has been pressured with criticisms and repeated calls from Members of Parliament, advocacy groups such as the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) and the public. However, the government refuses to lift the policy. If the mindset of males as head-of-household remains in the withholding of dependant's medical benefits from female civil servants, amongst other discriminatory policies, then meritocracy has not been implemented perfectly in Singapore.
In the Remaking Singapore effort in January 001, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew acknowledged the rejection of the Confucian notion of a patriarchal society, of male over female. In the budget debate 00, Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) led the charge in calling for female Civil servants' dependants to be allowed to enjoy medical benefits. The Remaking Singapore Committee 00 is again, pressing for these changes. The issue has been brought up time and again in parliamentary debates, but the women of Singapore are still waiting for decisive actions to be made.
True equality between women and men is critical for Singapore's continued progress. Singapore has only one resource- people. To maximize the potential of every citizen, irrespective of gender, every form of discriminatory policies and perception must be eliminated.
Women head some 160,000, or 17%, of the approximately 1 million households in Singapore. In other words, 1 in 6 households has a woman as its head and breadwinner. With the current recession and unemployment rate, many of the men who are supposed to head and provide for their households are unable to do so. The family thus depends on the wife or mother who, if she is a civil servant, cannot claim medical benefits for her family.
The perception of a women's primary role in the domestic domain as a dependant of her spouse has to be eliminated as well. To continue to see the wife and mother as a dependant of her spouse only reinforces a sexual stereotype and undermines the principle of shared responsibilities that the government, through the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, is attempting to promote. With women increasingly playing an important and critical role in supplying the family's income, medical benefits for her family should be allowed.
Helping civil servants feel fulfilled and happy in their careers, and ensuring that they lead balanced and healthy lives are key priorities of the civil service. Staff well-being is one of the Public Service for the 1st Century movement, hence explaining the medical benefits and other benefits that civil servants are entitled to. Yet, by withdrawing these medical benefits from female civil servants, isn't the public service is going against its own priorities that it has declared? This will cause women to reconsider before undertaking a job in the civil service in future.
Medical benefits for the family is an integral part of the terms and conditions of employment. A difference in provision based solely on gender is clearly discriminatory and imposes outmoded gender roles on fathers and mothers.
Unequal medical benefits for civil servants have also led to the perception that women are contributing less in the public sector. This again undermines the idea of meritocracy, that each citizen will advance in society based on his or her merit and not gender, race or religion. The continued perception of women as the weaker sex cannot and should not continue if the government wants to maximize every single citizen's potential.
It is true that the government will have to foot the bill should medical benefits be extended to all female civil servants. A higher GST may be required, or income tax may have to be raised. But offering only one gender the benefits of working in the civil service and withholding it from the other gender is not the solution. The rationale for doing so only portrays a government with a fixed mindset on social structure in Singapore.
The nation cheered when the quota on women medical students were lifted. There is a clear and urgent need for more positive action. The Remaking Singapore Committee is a positive agent for change, but whether these issues will be considered by the government will depend on the mindset of the government. Gender biased policies and practices no longer reflect the values of people who have left old gender stereotypes behind. Circumstances have changed in fast evolving Singapore, and its people have moved with the times. The policies have not. It is important that each individual is valued for the contributions he or she makes, and that we do not create under-classes within under-classes.
In conclusion, in the effort to remake Singapore and for the nation to progress, lingering obstacles that women face must be eliminated and true gender equality in all aspects of Singapore's life must be brought about. The law must provide clear and specific protection under gender-based discrimination so that discriminatory policies cannot be made in future. Only then can all the women in Singapore declare themselves as full and equal citizens of a meritocratic and democratic nation.
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