Singapore's Halimah, other Asian women leaders stress gender equality at SCMP conference
Countries around the world have a duty to prioritise gender equality among their policy mandates and overcome slow progress on the issue through greater "political will", Singapore President Halimah Yacob told a South China Morning Post-sponsored conference marking International Women's Day.
In underlining the urgency of the matter, Halimah said that women had become even more vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic because many work in hard-hit services sectors and struggle to take care of their children's educational needs while schools and day care centres are closed.
The virtual "Women of Our Time" conference on Monday and Tuesday heard first-hand insights from more than 30 women leaders from the worlds of diplomacy, business and civil society on how to achieve greater diversity and inclusiveness.
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Halimah, Singapore's first woman president, said there was a pressing need to change mindsets about gender stereotypes and traditional gender roles in society, judging from the feedback the Singapore government had received while developing a white paper on the issue.
Such a change "is probably the most difficult to [achieve], as you cannot legislate [it] but need to continuously educate and engage to encourage more positive social norms and behaviours," Halimah said during the conference's keynote speech.
She said Singapore was attempting to effect change on the matter in part through declaring 2021 the "Year of Celebrating Singapore Women" and saluting the "milestones" in women's issues that have been seen in the city state.
She added: "We will also celebrate men who helped to debunk stereotypes, change mindsets and play an active role in supporting and uplifting women."
Yum China CEO Joey Wat said her company was working to remove biases in the workplace. Photo: sina.com alt=Yum China CEO Joey Wat said her company was working to remove biases in the workplace. Photo: sina.com
Also speaking at the conference was the former foreign secretary of the Philippines, Delia Domingo Albert, who was the first woman career diplomat in Asia to hold such a position.
The 78-year-old recalled that it had taken her 20 years of working in the diplomatic service before she was appointed as an ambassador and 30 years of governmental service before she finally became foreign minister in 2003. She also noted that the Philippines has had 90 women ambassadors since welcoming its first in 1958.
"I realised that it is necessary to give an enabling environment ... for women to advance to the top of their chosen career in the foreign service," she said while advocating for a greater educational drive among the public to achieve long-term gender equality for women professionals.
She urged the introduction of new laws to achieve a gender-balanced society, saying such a tack would "not only underscore the state's recognition of the role of women as well as being equal partners of men, but also set in place the mechanisms to support women's participation in the workplace."
Joey Wat, chief executive officer of Yum China, one of that country's largest restaurant groups, said at the conference that one of her company's goals was to remove biases in the workplace, for example by not allowing any job candidates to be asked how they balance their family and work lives, since men are rarely asked the same question.
"If you don't expect a man to balance, why do you expect a woman to balance?", she commented, saying the question was usually asked "because you expect women to do well in both work and family".
But, she said, "The question itself shows a bias".
Emily Lam-Ho, an entrepreneur and a council member on the Women's Commission in Hong Kong, as well as being a mother of two young children, said it was important to "normalise working mothers and equal partnerships" in the family.
"I think it is important to stop praising men for simple tasks that are expected of them, for example if men change diapers at home," she said. "Women empowerment does not mean I have to be stronger than the men. We are equal counterparts."
Emily Lam-Ho of the Hong Kong Women's Commission stressed the importance of normalising working mothers. Photo: @emilylam.ho alt=Emily Lam-Ho of the Hong Kong Women's Commission stressed the importance of normalising working mothers. Photo: @emilylam.ho
She also stressed the importance of Hong Kong women "staying connected" in spite of social distancing regulations, especially since the city has an increase in domestic violence cases and unemployment during the pandemic.
"From our survey this year, a lot of women actually have mental stress," Lam said.
"Good or bad, we need an outlet - sometimes we talk to friends, sometimes we share with our significant other," she said. "Even [if] we feel alone because of social distancing, we still want to reach out."
Tan Hooi Ling, co-founder of Singapore-based ride-sharing company Grab, shared Lam's sentiments.
"It's OK to be not OK," she said. "We are human, we are meant to be social. I am a huge introvert but ... I know that I need my social connections."
"Don't let labels and stereotypes define you," she added. "Be open to opportunities, and if life goes this way or that way it's perfectly fine.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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