PAP Women’s Wing widens advocacy focus areas to better reflect issues

In the upcoming term, the PAP Women’s Wing will focus its advocacy in four areas, including career and health, that have emerged from its engagements with residents, activists and volunteers.

- Anjali Raguraman Correspondent

The unit has reorganised itself to better reflect the issues that women are concerned about, and this comes as more women than ever are representing the party in Parliament, said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Sim Ann on Sept 15.

Ms Sim, who chairs the PAP Women’s Wing, said the new areas are careers and leadership; health and well-being; seasons of life; and safety and respect. The party will put forth policy suggestions in these areas and organise more activities for women to participate in, she added.

The four groups each have a designated adviser and head, and they are an expansion of the previous policy group under the Women’s Wing’s executive committee. There is growing interest among Women’s Wing members in policy advocacy, and there are more issues on the agenda to be discussed, tracked and revisited, said Ms Sim. “We're very happy to see 29 elected PAP women MPs,” she added. There were 24 in the previous Parliament.

“This not only brings up the representation of women in Parliament on behalf of the PAP, but it also provides us with opportunities to build on the work of the Women’s Wing, especially in terms of advocacy.”