Report: WMD Dialogue with Lim Hwee Hua and Ellen Lee
July 15th, 2010
WMD with Mrs Lim Hwee Hua (centre in black jacket and white shirt) and Ms Ellen Lee (second from right) PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN/CITY NEWS
WOMEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- DIALOGUE WITH MRS LIM HWEE HUA AND MDM ELLEN LEE
HELD ON 8 JUL 2010 AT 7.30PM AT NOBEL HOUSE, UIC BUILDING
1. Mrs Lim Hwee Hua opened the dialogue by thanking WMD for inviting her, and for the questions posed to her prior to the dialogue. She grouped the questions to 3 key areas: work-life balance, discrimination at the workplace and implications of rising singlehood.
Work-life balance
2. Mrs Lim shared that women need to know that responsibilities need to be juggled on a daily basis. Women need to set priorities amongst the many demands of her time and energy, and this could only be done when they are clear about what really mattered. Trade-offs were inevitable; women need to recognize that it was not possible to have it all – perfect career and perfect family. There were different seasons in a woman’s life, and one would need to prioritise accordingly. It would not be realistic to achieve a perfect balance.
3. She also shared that one of the key things she learnt through the years was not to run away from issues; women need to have the courage to deal with issues as they came and not hide from them, hoping that they would go away in time.
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua. PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN/CITY NEWS
Discrimination at the workplace
4. Mrs Lim said that discrimination need not be just based on gender, but could also be based on race or nationalities. The kind of response we had is crucial – do we let the discrimination get to us or not. She said that women should have the courage to experiment and get out of our comfort zones. Avoid being too humble and offer to take responsibilities instead of waiting for opportunities to come to us.
5. Mrs Lim added that the Singapore’s economy provided many opportunities for women as the economy was dominated by knowledge work, compared to other economies that were heavier on agriculture or other kinds industries that needed more physical power. Women can excel in a knowledge economy, as gender would be less of an issue.
Implications of rising singlehood
6. Mrs Lim shared that there were considerations concerning singlehood e.g. whether one would have financial sufficiency and companionship in old age. Also, as the number of elderly increases, the burden on the younger generation would be higher. This would like to potential social incohesion.
7. She noted that issues for single parents tended to be tougher for those who are younger, especially with young children. There is also an increasing trend of grandparents who preferred not to look after their grandchildren but to enjoy their independence.
Ms Ellen Lee in discussion with the attendees.
Q&A Session
Women dropping out of the workforce
8. She then opened the floor for questions. To the question concerning her views on whether there is a trend of women dropping out of work to look after young children due to considerations such as difficulty in finding part-time work or childcare, or financial burden in getting a helper, Mrs Lim shared that it was a matter of personal choice. She shared that she gave up 4 years of her life to look after her children. She also said that not every woman was made to look after her home full time.
9. She recognised that there was a shortage of infantcare currently as there was insufficient manpower. Therefore many couples had little choice but to employ foreign domestic helpers. She said that although couples could decide to live with their parents, there is a trend that both sides might be reluctant, and usually from the younger couple. It is also getting harder to find babysitters as parents’ expectation were high e.g. some expect babysitters to be licenced by MCYS. At the end of the day, it was a matter of trade-offs; if one did not like to live with parents-in-laws, and did not want a helper, then something had to give. She highlighted that it was possible to live to parents or parents-in-law, and parents then would not have to worry about the quality of care of their children.
The women MPs taking questions from the floor. PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN/CITY NEWS
10. Mrs Lim said that employers should allow flexible working arrangements; they should look at results rather on whether the employee was in office or not. She said that she was moe concerned about employers who might seem to be family-friendly, but if employees asked for longer leave, their careers might be affected. She said that it should not be difficult for employers to make accommodation for women, as they were already doing so for men who go for National Service every year. Women do not go on maternity leave too often anyway. She said that one of the benefits to the employers were more loyal women employees.
11. On the comment that employers tend to reject women who wish to return to the workforce after being away for a few years to look after their children, and the question on how Mrs Lim coped after her break from work for 4 years, Mrs Lim said that she was in civil service during her maternity leave so she had job security. She then decided on a career switch after going to business school. She highlighted the need for women who have been away from the workforce to be prepared to work under younger bosses. She commented that it would be hard for a woman to be away from the workforce for 4 years as things change very quickly. Depending on the industry that the woman wants to join, it may be hard to adjust if she had been away for too long.
Financial literacy in schools
12. On the question on whether schools should include financial literacy into the curriculum, Mrs Lim was of the view that parents needed to take responsibility of imparting values such as respect, appreciation of life, as well as management of money, to their children. Schools could support but they should not be responsible. Parents as adults are examples for their children.
An attentive and responsive audience. PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN/CITY NEWS
Implications on the fast pace of life
13. To the comment that Singapore is a fast paced country with high pressure, Mrs Lim said that it was important to discern on what was really important. As a society, we should not be afraid to check one another’s behaviour e.g. to comment on a fellow citizen if his behaviour was not appropriate.
14. On the observation that more people were getting critical illnesses and at a younger age, a participant asked what we could do to help society cope better. Mdm Lee said that there were many activities organized at grassroots level for people to network and de-stress. She noted that decision to slow down was a personal choice. She also said that it was important to learn new things, gain new perspectives and knowledge. Mrs Lim commented that women did not network enough. We need to set aside time for ourselves and not check sms nor emails during those times so that we could take a breather.
Journey to being a politician
15. To the question on how Mrs Lim started her political journey, Mrs Lim shared that at first she did not know what she was really going into. When she was invited to join the political party, she felt that she would like to give back to society. She also found relief in interacting with people on the ground, which was very different from her work in the financial sector. Now her grassroots visits complemented her work as she would have opportunities to get direct feedback on policies.
A question from the audience. PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN/CITY NEWS
Children and the arts
16. To the question on whether children with a gift in the arts had opportunities to be groomed, Mrs Lim was of the view that there were sufficient opportunities, even to the extent that parents were forcing their children to take up art.
Women in Singapore
17. To the question on how women can find their place in Singapore, Mdm Lee said that women should just go out to network instead of waiting for people to look for them. Women who want to help others need not always join a resident’s committee or community centre; they could just attend the activities. Mrs Lim said that as Singapore becomes more cosmopolitan, we should remember to be good to fellow Singaporeans. One way is to help out at weekly Meet-The-People sessions, where there would be opportunities to help others with specific problems. She shared that some JC students volunteered at those sessions and commented that their perspectives had been broadened. Mrs Lim and Mdm Lee invited the participants to help at MPS if they wished.
PAP meets WMD (from left) WMD director Wendy Lim, Ms Ellen Lee, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua and WMD spokesperson and stage actress Karen Tan
REPORT BY: Carol Loi Pui Wan
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO ANDREW TJIOE OF TUNG LOK GROUP FOR HIS MOST GENEROUS SPONSORSHIP OF THIS DINNER AT NOBLE HOUSE. MANY THANKS ALSO TO NANZ CHONG-KOMO AND RAE NG OF TUNG LOK GROUP FOR MAKING ARRANGEMENTS.
