SINGAPORE - How to get Singaporeans to have more babies has become a major part of
the debate about this country's future, and the government is encouraging
people to speak out on the issue.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
in his national day speech on Aug. 26, assured this nation of four million
people that the government would make "the most important long-term
investments in our people" by increasing spending on pre-school and
university education.
His pledge to boost public
spending on education, especially at the pre-school level, is in response to
concerns that Singapore's fertility rate has dropped alarmingly in the past two
decades as the country has progressed economically. At 1.2 births per woman it
is well below 2.1, the figure needed to keep Singapore's population from
shrinking.
The issue was given further
momentum when Singapore's 91-year-old founding father Lee Kuan Yew, addressing
a national day dinner recently in his constituency, warned that the country was
facing a choice of more babies or more immigrants to maintain its economic
prosperity. "If we go on like this, this place will fold up" he
warned.
The government has set up a
National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), which has invited views from
the public on how to bolster Singapore's sagging birth rate. The new office is
expected to come up with recommendations by the end of the year.
Singapore's leading women's
association, AWARE, argued in a recent submission to the NPTD that quality of
life concerns are the main reason that people are not having more babies. The
group called for prioritizing gender equality in public policy.
Corinna Lim, executive director
of AWARE, said in an interview with IPS that there are many issues which the
government could address, such as the lower rate of female employment, issues
of childcare and dependency on foreign domestic workers, and the pressure on
mothers to secure high-quality education for their children.
"Quality of life and having
a baby comes in as the most important factor (in people's reluctance to have
babies)," she said. "If you are going to look at it as, oh, if I have
children I need so much money, you might end up not having children."
Research Assistant Sangeetha
Madasamy, 24, a sociology graduate, would like to get married and have three
children. "I think it would be nice to have more than one child, but this
really depends on the cost of living," she told IPS. "I just started
working, and I still have to pay off my student loans and would like to
continue my studies."
Laura Hwang, president of the
Singapore Council of Women's Organizations, recognizes that lifestyle
aspirations are an important part of young peoples' decision to create a
family.
"More young couples delay
marriage and parenthood till after they are able to secure their own nest,
whereas previously, couples were more accepting, staying with family before
launching off on their own," she told IPS.
"Other factors are increased
anxiety over marriage stability due to job prospects, overseas postings and
increased demands on mobility in one's career advancement," she added.
Living in a small country where
many companies have overseas holdings or are regional headquarters for
international operations, many upwardly mobile professionals have to frequently
travel overseas on work assignments.
And the strong focus here on
academic and career excellence puts added pressure on the mother in terms of
education for her children. "We have an education system that teaches at a
certain level and examines at a higher level," notes Lim. "In between
is the tuition [and] it's the mother who has to take the child everywhere.
"We know cases where when
the child goes to secondary school and is not doing well, the mother gives up
her job. She feels if the child doesn't do well, she will blame herself for the
rest of her life" says Lim.
"Active involvement by both
parents in a child's care and upbringing, as well as a network of support, are
what would be the biggest influence on a young professional woman's decision on
having children," says Hwang. She recommends that workplaces adopt
flexi-hour schemes for both parents, so that the parenting load can be shared.
"In Singapore, many
companies, especially local ones, are not family-friendly, so women are afraid
of losing their jobs when they get pregnant," complains Jacinta Leow, 33,
a communications executive and a mother of a two-year-old. She gave up her job
when she became pregnant and started a new one a year after giving birth to her
child.
"It would really help if the
government could be tougher on companies that fire women for petty reasons
after they get pregnant," she told IPS. "They should also legally ensure
that women can take maternity leave for a year to be with their baby without
fear of losing their jobs."
With no mandated parental leave
for fathers in Singapore, the "message is that childcare is the mother's
problem," says Lim. "We must give more support to both parents. We
need shared childcare."
In July, the National Trades
Union Congress suggested that the government create paternity leave, and Prime
Minister Lee hinted in his national day speech that this may be considered.
But the Singapore National
Employers Federation is opposed to such a move.
Ian Tan, a 36-year-old father of
two schoolchildren writing in the 'Today' newspaper, argued that "a
relentless focus on grades and wealth as key measures of success has led to a
society where many people want to succeed materially first before they want to
start their family.
"If more Singaporeans can
have the opportunity to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle while contributing to
the nation's progress, it's not only the birth rate that will improve
dramatically," he maintained.
Kalinga Seneviratne
Business & Investment Opportunities
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