Family & gender — Topics

8 May 2023

Progress of Initiatives to Improve Female Labour Force Participation Rate

The Ministry of Manpower reported that the female labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 64 increased from 74.8% in 2018 to 78.6% in 2021, which is higher than in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Key initiatives to improve female participation include promoting flexible work arrangements, with 91% of employers offering at least one formal FWA in 2021, up from 53% in 2018, and plans to introduce Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs by 2024 to make requesting flexible arrangements a workplace norm.
Support for women returning to work includes programmes by Workforce Singapore and NTUC’s e2i, which placed over 83,000 women jobseekers in the last three years, and the launch of the herCareer initiative in June 2022 to assist women re-entering the workforce.
Measures to support caregivers include doubling preschool capacity since 2012 to over 200,000 places, enhanced preschool subsidies, additional tax relief for working mothers, and expanded caregiving options for those caring for elderly family members.
The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness will strengthen protections against discrimination based on sex, require employers to implement grievance handling processes, and legislate protections against retaliation for reporting workplace discrimination and harassment.

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8 May 2023

Inclusion in Prenatal Classes of Lessons on Use of Infant Car Seats

Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked if restructured hospitals can include lessons on infant car seat use and importance in prenatal classes, or explain why not.
Ong Ye Kung responded that the variety of car seats makes practical instruction in prenatal classes challenging, and not all parents attend such classes.
Resources on infant car seat safety and guidelines are available on HealthHub and hospital websites to reach a wider audience.
Parents are reminded about infant car seat importance during pre-delivery preparations and encouraged to bring one for discharge.

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8 May 2023

Days of Childcare Leave to be Granted

Christopher de Souza proposed that childcare leave be granted in proportion to the number of children, with additional days for parents of three or more.
The Prime Minister's office highlighted recent enhancements to parental leave, including doubling paternity leave and unpaid infant care leave to support bonding and caregiving.
Any further enhancements must balance parental needs with employer manpower constraints, emphasizing the importance of family-friendly work environments beyond legislated leave.
Tripartite initiatives promote flexible work arrangements and unpaid leave for caregiving, with new guidelines to require fair consideration of employee requests.
The government will continue collaborating with partners to support working parents through sustainable workplace practices.

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8 May 2023

Family Justice Reform Bill

The Family Justice Reform Bill introduces a new Maintenance Enforcement Process (MEP) with Maintenance Enforcement Officers (MEOs) to streamline enforcement of maintenance orders, including Syariah Court orders, by gathering evidence and facilitating conciliation, reducing the need for multiple court hearings and legal costs.
The Bill enhances court powers to promote therapeutic justice, such as allowing judges to restrict unnecessary applications, limit cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses, and interview children, while ensuring financial assistance and support services are available for parties facing genuine difficulties.
The reforms aim to reduce acrimony in family proceedings, improve sustainable outcomes for maintenance payments, and provide better support for families post-divorce, with ongoing efforts to integrate social services and address housing and financial needs.

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8 May 2023

Family Justice Reform Bill

The Bill introduces a new Maintenance Enforcement Process (MEP) with Maintenance Enforcement Officers to investigate financial circumstances, facilitate conciliation, and provide targeted support, aiming to reduce repeat applications and improve outcomes for vulnerable parties.
It enhances the judge-led approach in Family Justice Courts, allowing judges to make substantive orders on their own motion, restrict cross-examination to protect vulnerable witnesses, and consider children's wishes directly through judicial interviews.
The reforms simplify court terminology and procedures to reduce acrimony and costs, and include miscellaneous amendments to strengthen therapeutic justice elements, such as empowering courts to order financial counselling and manage unnecessary applications.

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8 May 2023

Families that have Benefited from Home Ownership Plus Education Scheme

As of 31 December 2022, around 3,400 families have benefited from the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme, which includes incentives for training, employment, housing, utilities, education, and family support.
The Minister confirmed that some beneficiaries have exited the scheme midway, indicating that participation is not always continuous for all families.
The exchange focused on clarifying the scope and outcomes of the HOPE scheme, with follow-up questions from the MP to better understand its implementation and participant experience.

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21 Apr 2023

Proposal for Married First-timer Home Ownership Measure to be Rolled Out Earlier

Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked whether new measures for married first-timer home ownership could start earlier, from the May 2023 BTO application.
Desmond Lee stated that the enhanced support measures were announced for the August 2023 BTO exercise to allow time for public understanding and system implementation.
The measures target eligible first-timer families with young children and married couples under 40.

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20 Apr 2023

Family Justice Reform Bill

The bill proposes amendments to the Family Justice Act 2014, Guardianship of Infants Act 1934, and Women's Charter 1961 to modernize and streamline court processes in the Family Justice Courts.
It aims to enhance efficiency and accessibility of family court procedures while addressing outdated legal provisions.
The bill also includes miscellaneous and consequential amendments to the Women's Charter 1961 and other relevant Acts to ensure coherence in family law.

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10 Apr 2023

Ministry of Social and Family Development

The Ministry will strengthen family support by expanding the Families For Life movement, enhancing marriage and divorce support, and investing in affordable preschools and early childhood educators to ensure 80% of preschoolers have places in government-supported preschools by 2025.
It aims to promote inclusivity through the Enabling Masterplan 2030, which will support persons with disabilities, enhance women’s leadership, and improve social safety nets like ComCare for lower-income families, including scaling up KidSTART nationwide by 2026.
MSF will integrate social services under Community Link (ComLink) for easier access, empower vulnerable families, and take a family-based approach to rehabilitate youth offenders while strengthening protections against domestic violence.
The ministry will partner with social service agencies, businesses, and institutes of higher learning to improve service delivery, digitalization, and workforce conditions, ensuring a coordinated effort to create a caring and inclusive society for all families.

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22 Mar 2023

Working with Hospitals to Increase Use of Infant Car Seats

Mr Louis Ng asked the Ministry of Transport about steps to work with hospitals to increase access to infant car seats.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary replied that there are no plans to partner with hospitals, noting that parents are generally aware of the child restraint requirements and market solutions are available.
Mr Ng followed up, asking if his previous recommendations—such as including infant car seat education in prenatal classes and providing seats at discharge—had been shared and considered by relevant stakeholders.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary confirmed the recommendations were reviewed, and highlighted existing collaboration between Traffic Police and KK Women's and Children's Hospital to educate parents on road safety and child car seat usage.
He also stated that infant car seats are not covered under Ministry of Health subsidies, as healthcare funds focus on basic healthcare services, drugs, and medical technology.

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21 Mar 2023

Number of Children Born to Women Degree Holders

Ms He Ting Ru requested a breakdown of the percentage of women with Bachelor's degrees or higher qualifications, born in three distinct periods, who have 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more children.
Indranee Rajah, representing the Prime Minister, directed attention to the publicly available Census of Population 2020, which provides data on the number of children born to ever-married resident women by age group and highest qualification attained.
The Prime Minister's office stated that the required percentages can be derived from this published census data without the need for a separate official breakdown.

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21 Mar 2023

BTO Flat Applicants who Purchased Flats as Fiancé and Fiancée but Do Not Subsequently Submit Marriage Certificate

HDB requires fiancé-fiancée flat applicants to submit a marriage certificate within three months of key collection, with possible extensions, and tracks 79 couples from the past 10 years who missed the six-month mark; most are recent cases citing COVID-19 disruptions.
Of these 79, three were allowed to retain the flat with a family member from the original application, HDB initiated compulsory acquisition for two, and five have applied to surrender their flats.
The Minister explained that retaining a flat after a breakup is generally not allowed due to the loss of the family nucleus, except when a parent originally listed in the application remains, as they can form a qualifying family unit on their own.

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21 Mar 2023

Tripartite Guideline or Standard on Unexpected Care Leave

MP Louis Ng asked the Manpower Ministry to upgrade the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Care Leave to Guidelines and consider legislating it, as well as to launch new Tripartite Standards for paid childcare and parent care leave.
The Minister of State explained that existing laws already mandate certain care leaves, and the voluntary Tripartite Standard on Work-life Harmony encourages employers to offer additional paid leave options like child sick leave and parental care leave.
The government prefers to keep Tripartite Standards voluntary to avoid burdening businesses, especially SMEs, while promoting flexible work arrangements and community support as more sustainable solutions.
The Minister for Manpower confirmed that Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements will be implemented in 2024, following tripartite consensus, but no immediate plans to convert care leave standards into mandatory guidelines.
MPs emphasized the need to support parents of multiples and pre-term babies, suggesting a review or phased approach for larger firms, but the government maintains a balanced focus on business viability and employee support.

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21 Mar 2023

Support for Teachers with Young Children and Those Returning to Work after Extended Absence

The Ministry of Education provides flexible work arrangements for teachers with medical needs or caregiving responsibilities, but does not collect data on their usage as arrangements are often ad hoc and localised.
Teachers facing childcare challenges due to early work hours are encouraged to discuss their needs with school leaders to explore feasible solutions, though schools must balance these with their duty of care to students.
The Ministry is open to exploring partnerships with agencies like the Early Childhood Development Agency to facilitate childcare arrangements, but notes that parents' personal preferences must be respected.

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20 Mar 2023

Proportion of Women in Leadership Roles in Public Service

Member of Parliament He Ting Ru queried the number and proportion of women in senior leadership and diplomatic roles within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She asked for specific figures for positions such as Permanent Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Ambassador-at-large, and Head of Mission.
She also requested the proportion of women among foreign service officers and total ministry staff.
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan responded that women make up about half of the ministry's staff but only a quarter of senior appointments.
The response indicates a significant gender gap in leadership roles despite balanced representation in the overall workforce.

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20 Mar 2023

Difference in Income Tax Payable for Working Mothers from New Working Mother's Child Relief

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Finance for Year of Assessment 2022 data on the percentage of working mothers who would pay higher, unchanged, or lower income tax under the new Working Mother’s Child Relief (WMCR) formula.
The Deputy Prime Minister explained that the WMCR change is part of broader family support measures, shifting to a fixed-dollar relief to benefit all eligible mothers and is complemented by enhanced Baby Bonus and Child Development Account benefits.
A simulation by IRAS using YA2022 data showed that about 97% of mothers with newborns in 2021 would be better off or no worse off when accounting for the WMCR change and the increased Child Development Account First Step Grant.

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20 Mar 2023

Data such as Attrition Rates and Gender of Foreign Service Staff

The Minister reported that half of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officers are women, with the proportion at superscale grades increasing from 15% in 2010 to 29% in 2022.
There is no significant difference in attrition rates between men and women in the Ministry, though overseas postings can be disruptive for officers with spouses and young children, particularly women who bear a disproportionate caregiving burden.
The Ministry regularly reviews human resource policies, including terms for overseas postings, to better support career aspirations and family obligations, and expects more women to take on senior roles as the Ministry seeks to recruit and nurture all available talent.

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20 Mar 2023

Data on Types and Sources of Reporting of Child Abuse Cases

The Ministry of Social and Family Development investigated about 2,070 child abuse cases in 2022, with 20% involving emotional or psychological abuse and 45% reported through the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline.
Child Protective Service refers cases to the Police for criminal investigation but does not make recommendations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for prosecution; aggravating factors like active concealment may affect sentencing if convicted.
Penalties for child abuse offences were last revised in 2020, with maximum penalties for offences against children under 14 enhanced to twice the standard Penal Code penalties.

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20 Mar 2023

Extension of Co-Funding for Assisted Conception Procedures Scheme to Private Clinics

Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Ministry of Health for an update on extending co-funding for assisted conception procedures to private clinics and the review timeline.
Ong Ye Kung stated that public Assisted Reproduction centres have sufficient capacity with 67% utilisation and wait times of four to eight weeks, and are expanding.
He noted that the Ministry is reviewing the merits of extending co-funding to private centres, considering factors like clinical outcomes, reasonable charges, and prudent use of funds.
The review is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

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20 Mar 2023

Child Protective Service's Procedures for Suspected Child Abuse Cases Reported by Schools

The Child Protective Service investigates suspected child abuse based on reasonable grounds under the Children and Young Persons Act, using phone or video calls for initial assessments and conducting in-person assessments when there are immediate safety concerns or uncooperative caregivers.
MSF promotes public awareness through campaigns, helplines, and school education to help detect abuse, especially for children who may not have direct access to reporting channels.
Parliament members highlighted concerns about timely intervention, such as in-person home visits, and suggested improvements like anonymous reporting or peer support, with MSF noting ongoing reviews and expanded reporting options like an online text-based channel.

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