A Salute to All Women

The following is a speech by Dr Vivian Balarkrishnan, Singapore's Minister for community development, youth and sports and Second Minister for information, communications and the arts. He was there to present 2 awards for Her World's Woman of the Year 2006 at the Four Seasons Hotel on 6 March 2007.

I thought some of what he said was really meaningful. It is true, that God has made man and woman differently and before we go out and shout about equal rights, let's consider the fact that we ARE DIFFERENT. What we are really asking and fighting for, is a recognition that in our different roles, strengths and weaknesses, there are ample opportunities for us to reach the full potential of who we were created to be. Read on. :)

Mr Robin Hu, Vice-Chairman, SPH Magazines
Mr Loh Yew Seng, CEO, SPH Magazines
Ms Caroline Ngui, Group Editor-in-Chief, SPH Magazines
Ladies & Gentlemen

Thank you for the privilege of presenting the annual Her World Woman of the Year Award. I usually get into trouble when I address an audience on the subject of women. So I will have to be careful in my choice of words.

2. Unfortunately, I usually cannot resist saying what I really feel.

3. My starting point, which I hope will be uncontroversial, is that men and women are not the same. Without going into the details of what exactly these differences are, I thought we should spend some time contemplating how the modern world has offered new opportunities for women; what new challenges accompany these new opportunities; and how this affects men and society in general.

More opportunities for women

4. We now live in the Information Age with global interconnectivity. This means that the real winners will be people with ideas and networks – the ability to think deeply and the ability to communicate well.

5. The first consequence is that this has made physical attributes, or the lack of brawn, almost irrelevant. This, obviously, is a plus for women. Furthermore, because women usually communicate better, they have an added advantage. The upshot of all this is that women will continue to have many more opportunities to do well in the future. This is an unstoppable trend, just like globalisation.

6. Although women can probably do everything a man can do, there are still some things that men can’t do, like having a baby. And there is still something unique about a mother-child relationship that makes this the primary foundation of all human societies.

7. The problem then is that while women will have more choices, they will also have to pay a higher opportunity cost if they decide to marry or have children. We commonly hear of unmarried women saying that they have not found someone suitable. In fact, what they really mean is that they have not found someone who is “worth” the price of getting married and having babies with.

8. Our current angst about low fertility in Singapore just one symptom of this underlying problem. It is crucial that we diagnose the underlying problem rather than just treat a symptom.

9. If you agree with me that the real issue is the opportunity costs that women are forced to pay, then I ask you to think about how we can lower this hurdle.

Lowering opportunity costs

10. For example, I believe all women want to contribute both inside and outside the home. It may take the form of full-time, part-time, paid or voluntary work. Women may also have different formulae at different phases of their lives.

11. Whatever their choices, we must systematically find ways to lower the opportunity costs that women will bear as they exercise their choices in the future. Otherwise, all of us, both men and women, will ultimately pay the penalty in the form of weakening family ties, lower fertility and dysfunctional societies.

12. In a sense, everything we have done so far, e.g. Baby Bonus, Maternity Leave, child care subsidies, infant care subsidies, tax reliefs and rebates, flexi-work, work life balance, the 5 day work-week; are all attempts to lower this opportunity cost. It’s not just about money, nor is it something that government can unilaterally fix. I believe we need to restructure our social infrastructure so that we really empower and make it easier for women to exercise their life choices. In the long run, we need to think about how to create a society where the changing and expanded roles of women are adequately acknowledged and supported.

13. Are we doing enough? Probably not. All I can say at this juncture is that we are still searching, and your suggestions will be most welcome.

14. Tonight, we honour two outstanding women. Both have sterling achievements, and made a huge difference to the lives of their families, their friends and to Singapore. Like all super women, they make it look almost too easy. But it is worth remembering that the reality is that they, like all other women, have actually worked doubly, triply hard to achieve everything that we celebrate tonight.

15. And so tonight, we salute all women. Thank you very much.