Straits Times
3rd October 2007
Young women earn just 2% less than men do
Women here have made big strides in gender equality, says Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
By Radha Basu
Community Correspondent
radhab@sph.com.sg
WOMEN in their 20s now earn 98 per cent of what their male counterparts do.
More women graduate from university, compared to men here, and women now own or co-own 87 per cent of Housing Board flats.
Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon revealed these figures yesterday to illustrate how women in Singapore have made big strides in gender equality.
She was responding to a United Nations view that Singapore should define gender discrimination in its Constitution and review laws that could be seen as discriminatory to women.
At a meeting in New York earlier this year, a UN committee discussed the extent to which countries have met their obligations under an international treaty called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – better known as “Cedaw” in short.
Mrs Yu-Foo presented Singapore’s report at the meeting as the Republic had acceded to the treaty in October 1995.
The UN committee applauded several moves by Singapore to end gender inequality, including its decision to confer citizenship to children born overseas to Singaporean women. Previously, only children born overseas to Singaporean men could gain citizenship.
But, it also expressed “deep concern” that Singapore still maintains “reservations” to – meaning it refuses to fully accept – certain articles of the Cedaw treaty that call for removing all discriminatory laws and customs, including those related to marriage.
Specifically, a bone of contention is Singapore’s allowing Muslims to defer to Syariah law, which the UN committee deems discriminatory towards women.
Mrs Yu-Foo said Singapore could not withdraw these reservations, as it had to “respect the rights of its indigenous people” – namely the Malays – “to practise their personal and religious laws”.
However, she did say Syariah laws are not “cast in stone”, and whether or not these laws should be updated is up to the MalayMuslim community to decide.
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) spokesman Nazirudin Mohd Nasir was also present at yesterday’s press conference. He said the Muslim community here regularly studies how other countries interpret and apply Muslim laws to check if updates are necessary here.
Mrs Yu-Foo said yesterday that rather than put in place hard-toenforce laws, Singapore is keen to make sure its women are treated fairly by giving them good opportunities on the ground.
Key among her current priorities is to ensure that more older women re-enter the workforce. Only 43 per cent of women aged 55 to 59 are employed.
Also, she wants to encourage more employers to adopt “flexible” work initiatives to attract and retain those who want to balance career and family demands.
The Cedaw committee’s recommendations will be duly studied, said Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports deputy secretary Chew Hock Yong, who also chairs an inter-ministerial body on Cedaw here.
“We take the committee’s comments seriously,” he said. “We need to look at each comment and ask ourselves – how can we do better?”
Singapore is due to give its next report to the UN Cedaw committee in November next year.
3rd October 2007
Young women earn just 2% less than men do
Women here have made big strides in gender equality, says Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
By Radha Basu
Community Correspondent
radhab@sph.com.sg
WOMEN in their 20s now earn 98 per cent of what their male counterparts do.
More women graduate from university, compared to men here, and women now own or co-own 87 per cent of Housing Board flats.
Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon revealed these figures yesterday to illustrate how women in Singapore have made big strides in gender equality.
She was responding to a United Nations view that Singapore should define gender discrimination in its Constitution and review laws that could be seen as discriminatory to women.
At a meeting in New York earlier this year, a UN committee discussed the extent to which countries have met their obligations under an international treaty called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – better known as “Cedaw” in short.
Mrs Yu-Foo presented Singapore’s report at the meeting as the Republic had acceded to the treaty in October 1995.
The UN committee applauded several moves by Singapore to end gender inequality, including its decision to confer citizenship to children born overseas to Singaporean women. Previously, only children born overseas to Singaporean men could gain citizenship.
But, it also expressed “deep concern” that Singapore still maintains “reservations” to – meaning it refuses to fully accept – certain articles of the Cedaw treaty that call for removing all discriminatory laws and customs, including those related to marriage.
Specifically, a bone of contention is Singapore’s allowing Muslims to defer to Syariah law, which the UN committee deems discriminatory towards women.
Mrs Yu-Foo said Singapore could not withdraw these reservations, as it had to “respect the rights of its indigenous people” – namely the Malays – “to practise their personal and religious laws”.
However, she did say Syariah laws are not “cast in stone”, and whether or not these laws should be updated is up to the MalayMuslim community to decide.
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) spokesman Nazirudin Mohd Nasir was also present at yesterday’s press conference. He said the Muslim community here regularly studies how other countries interpret and apply Muslim laws to check if updates are necessary here.
Mrs Yu-Foo said yesterday that rather than put in place hard-toenforce laws, Singapore is keen to make sure its women are treated fairly by giving them good opportunities on the ground.
Key among her current priorities is to ensure that more older women re-enter the workforce. Only 43 per cent of women aged 55 to 59 are employed.
Also, she wants to encourage more employers to adopt “flexible” work initiatives to attract and retain those who want to balance career and family demands.
The Cedaw committee’s recommendations will be duly studied, said Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports deputy secretary Chew Hock Yong, who also chairs an inter-ministerial body on Cedaw here.
“We take the committee’s comments seriously,” he said. “We need to look at each comment and ask ourselves – how can we do better?”
Singapore is due to give its next report to the UN Cedaw committee in November next year.
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