SINGAPORE – More Singaporeans need to step forward to ease the burden on caregivers, who are often women, Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo said on Saturday.
Speaking at the People’s Action Party (PAP) annual Women’s Wing conference, Mrs. Teo and Nee Soon GRC MP Carrie Tan called for support for 23 organizations that help caregivers.
Some of these groups have struggled to recruit and retain enough dedicated volunteers after some dropped out during the Covid-19 pandemic, they said.
“On average, these groups have less than half of the volunteers they need each month. Chair of Home Affairs and the Women’s Wing.
The stereotype of women as primary caregivers is currently fading in Singapore, but more can be done to continue this trend, Teo told the media.
Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, who also spoke at the conference, said that while Singapore has made progress in developing women, gender stereotypes remain a major challenge, and a persistent and insidious gender gap still exists. said.
Wong points out that differences between men and women are deeply rooted in human nature and physiology, and these differences give rise to unhelpful stereotypes and labels, especially when reinforced by cultural and popular media. I said there is something.
For example, women are seen as too cautious to take risks and less aggressive to be effective leaders. Such stereotypes can entrench certain ideas about women and how they are judged, he added, Wong.
These stereotypes become self-fulfilling prophecies that prevent and discourage women from hearing their voices and making the career choices that are given to them.
He added that even if women think they are better at raising children than men, it doesn’t help if men use this as a reason to leave the care of children and families to women while women focus on their own careers.
“The role of caregiving should not be the domain of women only. Men can and should play our part,” Wong said. I have to,” he said.
Wong emphasizes the role of social media in “turbocharging” these gender stereotypes, and these ideas can be swayed by more extreme sexist attitudes, hate speech, bullying, harassment and even sexual abuse. He pointed out that it is often a precursor to abuse and violence.
As such, Singapore must continue to step up its efforts to tackle this issue, including teaching students to not be stereotyped. Protect women, especially from online violence and harm, and from discrimination in the workplace. And improve the broader infrastructure and ecosystem for childcare, infant care, and elderly care.
