Supporting women to be the trailblazers of tomorrow

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Thank you for inviting me to speak.

2. Today, I would like to focus on demography and the role of women in the economy and the family, more specifically, the changing role of women in the economy and the family.

Shifting demographics

3. Across Asia, demographic shifts and rising levels of education for women have had a large and direct impact on the economy. I would like to share two pivotal demographic shifts in Asia, and Singapore.

4. First, there has been a rapid increase in female migrant workers and labour participation in Asia. According to figures from the ASEAN Secretariat, nearly half of 6.9 million intra-ASEAN migrant workers are women. Their contribution cannot be underestimated. In the sector of domestic help alone, women have increased the domestic wages in ASEAN countries by an average of 14%.

5. As Singapore commemorates our Bicentennial this year, it is also a timely opportunity to remember how female migrant workers had contributed to our development. In the early-1900s, the colonial administration placed restrictions on the number of male migrant workers to improve the gender ratio in Singapore, which was sharply skewed in favour of men. This attracted a group of highly enterprising and hardy women from China’s Canton Sanshui region, in search of a better life for their families. They broke into an industry which was all male up till then and dotted the construction sites with the bright red headdress (and some blue) that they donned. They were known as the “Samsui” women. Their toil included many of the buildings, including our public housing flats, that we still see lining our city’s landscape. Significantly, these iron ladies showed that female labour participation was no less valuable than male labour, and paved the way for subsequent female workforce participation in other sectors.

6. Second, there has been an increase in women’s entry into more highly skilled, higher-paid professional and managerial occupations. It’s not just from a labour sector, even at the managerial, highly paid, professional level – women are making inroads. In a 2014 study of urban areas in China, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore, 43% of women surveyed by the Economist were in managerial, executive or professional services jobs. In Singapore, female membership on corporate boards for the top 100 primary-listed companies on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has also doubled in the past four years.¹  In some occupations such as accountants, securities and finance brokers, women earn higher median incomes than men in Singapore.²

Rising education levels

7. Much of these positive developments can be attributed to rising levels of education for women in Southeast Asia. Based on the Global Gender Gap Report 2017, several Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have achieved extremely high scores on gender parity in education. Philippines was even scored as achieving total gender parity in educational attainment. Studies have also shown increasing education levels can change the nature of employment undertaken by women – having a college education increases the probability of women obtaining full-time employment by 25.6%.

8. In Singapore, again going back to 200 years ago, education has always been a very important focus for women or mothers. We have female trailblazers who took courageous steps to break out of societal structures and to lay the foundations for gender parity in education. Singapore’s oldest school for girls, St Margaret’s School, was established in 1842 by a female missionary, at a time when the education of women was considered unimportant³. We have really come a long way. In 2015, more full-time female university students were enrolled than males.⁴

Impact on economy

9. These demographic shifts can catalyse a virtuous cycle that will benefit the economy. The Asian Development Bank estimated that Asia’s economy could see a 30% growth in income per capita in just one generation, if female workforce participation increased by just 10%. Another study by the McKinsey Global Institute, estimated that Singapore’s GDP could expand by an additional USD 20 billion by 2025 as more women join our workforce.

10. This is not surprising – as median wages and purchasing power of women continue to rise annually, women are beginning to drive whole sectors of economy. In business, we are increasingly important as a consumer segment and we are having our voices heard at all segments of society.

Supporting women in Singapore

11. In Singapore, we will continue to support our working women in three broad ways. First, we will keep expanding the choices and opportunities for our women, so we don’t have to choose between work and life aspirations. And increasingly, men too, have come back to tell us that they want to have the opportunity to participate in the growing-up years of their children, and they want to have that work-life balance. Just this year, our Government increased the Work-Life Grant budget to $100 million to further develop a workplace supportive of flexible work arrangements.

12. Second, to further ensure inclusivity and diversity at all levels, the Government also expanded the scope of the Council for Board Diversity in January this year, from just increasing representation of women on the boards of listed companies, to increasing representation on boards of organisations in both the people and public sectors.

13. Third, we strongly encourage community efforts that empower women. We support the aims of groups such as BoardAgender, to raise awareness of the economic benefits of inclusive and gender-balanced businesses. We all deserve to be recognized as talent, and equal to our male counterparts.

Southeast Asia's evolving landscape

14. Let me move onto another demographic trend, which sometimes people don’t associate with Asia. In the years ahead, Asia will age significantly. Ageing is not just limited to Asia; I read recently that the fertility rate in the US has actually gone down to one of the lowest levels since the 60s. The demographic trend that we’re seeing – ageing, longer life expectancy, smaller birth cohorts – that will result in a higher proportion of the elderly in the population, which is going to be prevalent in many parts of the world.

15. An ageing population has many implications on our societies. Let me highlight two issues. First, there will be a greater demand for elderly care and related social services – healthcare, nursing homes, homecare for elderly – these are all top-of-the-line issues that we are seized with. As it stands, social norms expect women to take on a greater share of caregiving responsibilities. This leads to pressure on women to leave the workforce earlier. For instance, in a 2016 study in Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, 42% of respondents said they were responsible for giving care to older persons. Second, at the same time, women will comprise the majority of the ageing population, having longer life expectancies. As we are living longer, we will make up over 50% of the ageing population and there are implications to that. If you’re an entrepreneur, there’s a business opportunity for senior or elderly women.  If these women do not get adequately compensated for their care-giving duties, retirement financial adequacy will be a challenge – not just for the individual, but for the society as a whole. Should too many women leave the workforce earlier, this could have a negative impact on economic growth. We need to work hard from now to address these challenges.

16. Fortunately, as women are better educated and with many more women making a mark in the world of business and government, we will find solutions amongst women, for women. In this light, efforts from the private sector, like Dell’s annual summits for women, are critical in sustaining female empowerment. I’d also like to congratulate DWEN for imparting skills and experience to younger women. I think it’s about time that women are encouraged to have the confidence to step out, to take up positions when they are offered to them. Better still, to ask for positions.. We’ve heard too often that women have to be 120% ready before they say yes to a position. I’m so glad to see so many of you here are taking a step to give our younger women the encouragement they deserve.

17. So going back to the two historical cases that I mentioned (of the Samsui women and also of the women who started schools for women). Why do I go back to history? It’s really to cast ourselves from the lessons learnt from history, and to acknowledge that women have the ability to break out of the shackles of society. That women have the determination and the strength when needed, to find new solutions. And we need women around the table to equally cast their eyes on the present, and the future and ask ourselves – what we can we do to leave behind a great legacy for ourselves, to create a better place for ourselves, our daughters and our granddaughters. So that we will be trailblazers of tomorrow.

18. Congratulations on the meeting, and I wish you a meaningful and enjoyable Summit ahead. Thank you.

¹ Source: Council for Board Diversity report, 2019.
² Ibid.
³ St Margaret’s School was founded by Ms Maria Dyer.
⁴ Source: MSF. In 2015, the intake of full-time university students was 50% females compared to 49.3% males.