Women more drawn to boards of non-profit groups?

[This letter was published in the ST Forum online version on 30 September 2014]

WHILE it is easy to infer from the drop in female board representation to 7.9 per cent last year, from 8.6 per cent in 2012, that the glass ceiling exists across all segments of society (“Women here still hit glass ceiling”; last Friday), the question of whether the same phenomenon exists in the non-profit sector led me to do some research of my own last year.

I trawled the websites of thirty-six voluntary welfare organisations and found that out of a total of 385 board positions, 121 (31 per cent) were taken up by women. Three of these organisations even had all-female boards.

It would be interesting to find out why there are more women on the boards of non-profit organisations and who these women are. It would be equally valuable to explore if there is less competition from men for such roles, and what factors make non-profit boards more welcoming to women.

Working part-time a pragmatic approach for labour crunch

[This letter was published in the ST Forum page on 1 May 2014]

ENCOURAGING older students to take on part-time jobs (“Promote culture of part-time work among students” by Mr Michael Leong; Tuesday) offers a pragmatic approach to tackling the labour crunch in the service sector. It also benefits the students.

Two of my children worked in the food and beverage industry during the school holidays and term breaks.

As a parent, I felt proud that they did not complain when faced with difficult superiors or demanding customers, but instead overcame the challenges.

They had the benefit of working with supervisors who demanded no less in service standards from part-time staff, and provided strict on-the-job training.

The discipline required for service excellence, the ability to think on their feet, the hard work and, most of all, working with others from all walks of life provided them with invaluable lessons in character and relationship development.

Many students are working part-time even when they do not need the money.

I know of some who are doing very well in their studies while holding down part-time jobs. So I agree that offering part-time employment to students is a value proposition the authorities ought to consider seriously.

Turning 50 with SG

[This letter was published in the ST Forum page on 19 April 2014]

Like many born in 1965, I grew up with Singapore and I am a product of 50 years of nation building, social and economic policies. Undeniably, my life story is intertwined with the nation’s history.

Therefore, I cannot see why the celebration of Singapore’s golden jubilee should include Jubilee Special Packages for babies born in 2015. What significance does the nation’s 50^th anniversary have on infants who are too young to understand? Will mementos like baby products that infants quickly out-grow impact the birth rate next year? Is that the purpose of the package?

I am proud to be a Singaporean whose life narrative is intertwined with the nation’s growth trajectories.  For better or for worse, those born in 1965 have borne the brunt and reaped the benefits of family, economic and social policies implemented in the last 5 decades.

As I turn 50 with Singapore, I hope the SG50 committee will include something to mark our common destiny.  Why not turn the focus on these Singaporeans who will turn 50 rather than babies born in the year 2015? Perhaps the committee could seek public feedback for ideas on how those turning 50 with the nation could commemorate their birthdays together. 

Rate Advertisements for Sexism

This letter was published in the Straits Times Forum on 3rd January 2013.

I CAUGHT the late-night screening of the movie You, Me And Dupree on free-to-air television on Christmas Day. The 109 minute-long movie aired from 12.45am to 3am and was interspersed with advertisements. 

What I did not expect was the repeated airing of a few advertisements that drew attention to the female body and offered breast enhancement, weight-loss programmes and hair-loss treatment. 

One advertisement, which focused entirely on close-up images of a model's exposed cleavage, and flaunted her presumably augmented breasts, was lewd and subliminally pornographic. 

Another showed the drastic weight loss of a young mother and her progression from being an oversize to an XS size. The message suggested that excessive weight gain as a result of childbearing is crushing to a woman's self-esteem. It did not offer any information on the health risks of obesity, or the benefits of staying healthy.

In yet another commercial, a young wife was visibly distressed when her husband told her that her crowning glory was thinning. Her crisis was not over a life-threatening illness but the fear of looking unattractive to her husband.

Sexism was the common thread in all these commercials, with in-your-face messages that a woman's self-esteem can be repaired simply with breast augmentation, weight loss and hair-loss treatment.

While it is important for every person - man or woman - to keep good health and hygiene habits, I was offended by the sexual objectification of women in these messages.

Ironically, while the movie carried a PG-13 rating, there was nothing to warn me of the sexist contents in TV commercials that could be offensive to me as a woman. For a long time, Singapore has had legislation that prohibits tobacco advertising and limits the screening of alcohol commercials.

In the wake of the recent heinous gang-rape in New Delhi and the global outcry for the protection of women against violence, maybe it is time our media and advertising regulatory bodies also look into the content, presentation and impact of print and TV advertisements to rate them for sexism, ageism and all forms of discrimination against women.

Ease Home To Workplace Transition

This letter was published in the Straits Times Forum on September 11, 2012. It was titled by the Forum editor.

I am a mother who had, over the last decade, taken on part-time managerial work and various pro bono corporate work while raising my three children.  

Now that they are older, I have started looking for meaningful fulltime work compatible with my interest, aptitude and experience.  

While I have found possible positions to which I could contribute productively, I am beginning to question employers’ openness to take in local, higher-value mature professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) who want to come back to work.  

Faced with employers who favour a resume of continuous employment, a woman’s decision to stay home with the children becomes an impediment for her return to work when she wants to.

Yet for every mature PME considering her return to the workforce after the children are grown, there could be a younger one thinking of taking time off to be a stay-at-home mother.  

As mothers, we want to enjoy spending time with our children as much as we do having them.  To do so, we need the recognition and support of employers for the successful transition from the workplace to home and back to the workplace.

Such validation goes a long way in helping women have more children to meet the replacement rate of a population with a growing number of unmarried adults and ageing citizens. 

Mature PMS who transit from home to the workplace form a valuable pool of human resource to complement younger mothers who now have to juggle raising a family and building their careers.

We do not need to take maternity or childcare leave as we are now free of childbearing and childcare issues to focus on rebuilding our careers which had been sacrificed for our families. 

Our successful transition will be an enormous encouragement to younger mothers.

Do Mums Stay Home To Produce Trophy Kids?

This letter was published in the LIFE section of the Straits Times on December 10, 2011. The

I am concerned about the recent news coverage o some PSLE top scorers and their stay-home mums. It is problematic to postulate that the direct outcomes of  mother who stays home to supervise her child are the awards and distinctions the child gets.

This discredits mothers whose children do not have any accolades to boast of, but who have helped their children grow up to become well-adjusted individuals. On the other hand, it justiies others who inhumanely stretch their children beyond their natural abilities.

 I left full-time work in 1997 and later gave up well-paying flexible work to keep an eye on my three daughters as they entered school. Their mental and emotional well-being was of primary importance.

I coached them to think about what they were studying and give personal meaning to what they learnt. Thought they might not have been top students, I believe this has helped them to overcome different challenges and achieve their personal best at critical junctures, from the PSLE to the GCE O-level exams.

At the end of the day, whether a mother chooses to stay home or work outside the home is not crucial. It is in a nurturing and humane home environment that a child becomes a thinking individual who is capable of contributing to society in meaningful ways.

I know of children whose full-time stay-home mothers load them with assessment books as well as tuition and enrichment classes in their quest of excellence for their younge ones.

Only time will tell if their efforts have truly been in the best interests of their children.

Meantime, the rigorous study regime that some mothers habitually put their children through each day is troubling because of the level of stress that these children experience.

Sadly, current legal protection for children under 14 years old from ill treatment under the Children and Young Persons’ Act, and psychological abuse under the Women’s Charter has not yet been extended to include such cases.

Therefore, for every well-rounded student who has benefited from the involvement of a stay-home mother, we should be mindful of many other children who live with the inhumane over-involvement of parents with no recourse for help.

Improve Tax Relief for Filial Singles

This letter was published in the Straits Times Forum on August 23, 2010. It was titled by the Forum editor.

I refer to an article (“She is ‘mother’ to her mum”) in last Tuesday's Straits Times Special Supplement titled 'Silver and Active',  which highlighted the increasing burden on baby boomers who care for their ageing parents, and the sacrifices they make. 

Research has shown that the task of caring for ageing parents fall predominantly on women, who often cut back on work hours if they are employed, forego career advancements or quit working altogether to provide the geriatric care needed.

A growing number of women who remain single by choice face the same problem highlighted in the articles. Not having a family of their own, they are not sandwiched between caring for their own children and parents at the same time, and so are less weighed down by the costs and demands of caregiving. 

Yet the financial and economic impact of their sacrifice for an act of filial devotion, whose only certainty is its indeterminate duration, is a grave issue they must grapple with once the parent passes on.

While current tax relief for supporting elderly parents are generous, such incentives are less meaningful to those who quit working fulltime or suffer drastic income cuts to work part-time so that they can attend to their parents’ needs. 

Can more be done to provide financial and economic security for these unmarried singles, particularly those above 40 years old? Many of them have chosen to stay at home and provide the longterm care needed by their parents so that they can spend their final years in the dignity of their own home.