Women's development always a work in progress: Halimah

Ex-president says more workplace support is needed to ensure they do not drop out of jobs market

- Chin Soo Fang Senior Correspondent

Schemes like flexible work arrangements or skills training programmes are needed to make sure that women do not drop out of the labour market, given that they continue to shoulder most of the domestic responsibilities, said former president Halimah Yacob on Oct 28.

"If you want women to continue to live productive lives economically, you will have to make sure that... the schemes must be there to support them," she added.

While women have entered the workforce in droves to help shape the society with their talent and capabilities and progressed in educational attainment and career advancement, what has not changed much is society's caregiving demands on them, she said.

"Some changes are taking place, and I think that's for the good of society, but not fast enough," she said, adding that caregiving and child-caring duties are still very much a female responsibility today.