White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development: Hazel Poa on equal parental leave

Women have taken on more economic responsibilities but their share of caregiving and family responsibilities has not been decreasing correspondingly, said NCMP Hazel Poa. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 5), she echoed the White Paper’s position that mindsets on gender roles need to change, saying that Singapore’s current parental leave structure reflects the old mindset. She urged the Government to make parental leave "equal share" by default. The flexibility to re-allocate the parental leave between the couple should be based on mutual agreement, subject to a minimum period for each parent. Equal parental leave signals that parenthood is a shared responsibility, and would give fewer reasons for employers to discriminate against female employees. Studies have shown the benefits of fathers taking on a bigger role in parenting, she said.