Guest Post
By Corinna Lim, Executive Director, AWARE
It 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.
