Speeches
Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the International Women’s Day Celebration Carnival on Sunday, 1 March 2009, at 10.30am at the Toa Payoh HDB Hub
Dr Amy Khor, Adviser, Women’s Integration Network Council
Chairmen and Members of the Women’s Integration Network Council and the Women’s Executive Committees
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning
It gives me great pleasure to join you here at the International Women’s Day Celebration Carnival.
Globally, women continue to make great strides in education, their professions and careers. The current and previous US Secretary of State are Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice respectively. Angela Merkel has been Chancellor of Germany since 2006. Ukraine has Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. In the corporate world, Xerox is led by Anne Mulcahy, Pepsi by Indra Nooyi, and DuPont by Ellen Kullman, to name a few. Time Magazine named Melinda Gates as one of 2005’s People of the Year.
In Singapore too, there has been an increase in the past decade of women in many occupations including administrative and managerial positions, technicians and associate professionals, clerical workers, service and sales workers. Several companies are headed by female CEOs. We now have more women than we’ve ever had in Parliament. There’s a group of young women who have been preparing since 2004 to be Singapore’s first all-woman team to scale the heights of Everest and will be embarking on their expedition in March.
The Expected Rise of Women
This trend is likely to continue to accelerate. Long gone are the days where physical force was a premium. In the modern economy and society, gender is less relevant. What counts is aptitude, ability and aspiration.
Already, female students make up slightly over half of our local university intake every year compared to 45% twenty years ago. At the polytechnic level, too, the proportion of female student intake has risen to about 48% in 2007, from just 30% twenty years ago. Female students have excelled in academic areas, equal to and in some areas surpassing their male counterparts. It would be only a matter of time before they become increasingly involved in all spheres of society and decision making. The role of women will rise in Singapore.
Investing in Women
It was a good and self-enlightened decision for Singapore to invest in her daughters. Societies progress fastest when equal opportunities are given to all groups within it. Those that hold woman back through lack of education or rights seldom flourish. Even totalitarian regimes progressed further when they educated their woman. Communist China is a classic example. From the 1920’s, the nationalists started calling for women’s rights. This was continued when the Communist Party formally took over. Many old Chinese laws and traditions that were unfair to women were stopped. By law, women have equality in education, marriage, rights, and freedom.
The Nordic countries are another good example which has invested in their women. According to a report released in Nov 2008 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) , the Nordic countries, as the most gender-equal countries in the world, have reaped both social and economic benefits. The study, which examined the gap between women and men in economic opportunities, political empowerment, educational attainment etc, noted that the Nordic countries, by providing women with access to educational, political and work opportunities, also consistently maintained privileged positions in the global competitiveness rankings.
Women’s Executive Committees
In this context, the Women Executive Committees (WEC) formed more than 40 years ago, play a significant role in fostering the growth of women’s participation and leadership in the community and society.
In tandem with progress in society, specific aims of the WEC have also evolved. In 1967, when WECs were first formed, many females were home-makers. WECs therefore provided opportunities for women in the heartlands to learn life-skills, such as sewing and cooking. Besides giving them basic employment skills, the WECs also engaged them in meaningful social activities that allowed them to form bonds outside of their families as well as increased their self-confidence.
But times and the profile of women have changed. Currently, under the charge of the Women’s Integration Network (WIN) Council, there are 104 WECs with more than 2,000 executive members and nearly 5,000 WEC Associates. Some 36% of Women Executive Members are Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians, up from 27% a decade ago.
To cater to changing needs and interests, the diverse activities and programmes organized by the WECs now range from seminars on career and financial planning, to classes on holistic spa therapy and hip hop dance. Last year alone, the WECs collectively organized nearly 7,000 programmes that attracted close to 700,000 participants. WECs have kept in pace to remain relevant for today’s women from all walks of life.
WECs are also increasingly becoming a focal point to galvanise women into action for a range of social issues which include community bonding, nurturing the young and helping the less fortunate.
One example of this is Admiral Garden WEC, who not only collaborate with schools and community organizations to raise funds for the School Pocket Money Fund, but also organize health screenings like mobile mammograms and pap smears, which they bring to the women in their constituency. They also organize talks on financial management to empower women, especially those from poorer families to better manage their households.
WIN Awards
To recognize WECs, such as Admiral Garden, who have made significant contributions to the community, the WIN Council introduced the WIN Awards last year, which honour WECs that have conducted meaningful programmes and events as well as nurtured volunteerism in the community. These awards are a big encouragement to the WECs, who have already improved on last year’s results.
I commend all WECs, whether you have won the awards or not, for the difference you have made and are making to your community. I am sure you derive much satisfaction and pride from your service.
GRACE Mentorship Programme
The WIN Council wants to do more. Today, I am happy to launch a very meaningful new initiative by the WIN Council: the GRACE (GRoom-A-Child-to Excel) Mentorship Programme.
Under this programme, Council Members and their WECs will volunteer to act as mentors to primary school girls, aged between 9 and 12 years old, from lower-income families. The mentors will guide young girls with the aim of nurturing their talents and potential, as well as increasing their self-esteem and resilience. They will collaborate with volunteer welfare organisations and grassroots organisations within their constituencies to provide academic help and enrichment programmes. In addition, financial assistance of up to $500 per year per child may be given in the form of school pocket money or vouchers for those in need.
The WIN Council hopes that through this program, these girls will be exposed to good role models of successful women, who will help provide the right values and life skills to become confident, self-reliant and resilient citizens.
To kickstart this programme, 20 primary school girls will be mentored by 52 WIN Council and WEC members from 17 constituencies. When this program is in full swing, all 104 WECs will mentor at least one child. I want to commend the WIN Council and WECs for this excellent initiative to support lower income families. I urge the community to give its wholehearted support.
Dual Membership Scheme
The WIN Council has also extended its reach to more women. It has implemented a Dual Membership Scheme, where women members of the Resident Committees and Youth Executive Committee are automatically appointed as WEC Associates. This allows the WEC to facilitate collaborations as well as to identify and nurture new leaders.
Since the scheme was implemented in April last year, the WECs have formed 67 interest groups with about 7,200 grassroots members, with over 100 joining as Executive Members or Associates.
Website
Today also marks the official launch of the WIN Council’s website to better engage the public. The website partners with popular magazines such as Today’s Parents, Motherhood and Healthy Times, to post a wide selection of online lifestyle content ranging from women s health and parenting to travel and beauty tips. The new website also has many interactive features which encourage participation and sharing of information through discussion topics and online interest groups.
Conclusion
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the WIN Council and WECs for their effort over the years in engaging women from all walks of life in their activities, providing opportunities for networking and forging close friendships. Many of you have demonstrated great passion in your service to the community, some while juggling the demands of career and family. In doing so, you provide the much needed social glue to bond families and communities together. From your examples, I hope more women will be inspired to join the WECs and be empowered to make a difference in the lives of others.
I wish you all an enjoyable day at the Carnival.