2024 Archives

MSF announces more infant and childcare places from 2025 and a new process for applying for childcare subsidies from 9 Dec 2024

AWARE welcomes the recent announcement by the Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF) Masagos Zulkifli, regarding improvements in accessibility for lower-income families seeking childcare subsidies.

Starting 9 Dec 2024, all lower-income families with a gross monthly household income of S$6,000 and below will qualify for the maximum amount of childcare subsidies available for their income tier. Furthermore, these families will be able to apply for the subsidies online, directly through the LifeSG app, allowing greater ease and accessibility in managing childcare support.

These changes, along with the addition of nearly 40,000 new infant and childcare places between 2025 and 2029, represent a constructive step in addressing some long-standing challenges within our childcare system that have restricted access to childcare and, by extension, limited many parents’ ability to seek employment.

These updates respond to some of AWARE’s key advocacy points, namely that:

The shortage of subsidised childcare places needs to be addressed
Low-income families should be afforded subsidies that enable their children to have free childcare
The application process should be improved to reduce the high compliance cost for parents and the administrative cost for childcare centres in order to access the subsidies
There should be no pre-condition of work to be able to access full childcare subsidies

The burden of compliance has, in the past, discouraged some childcare operators from enrolling low-income children. As one operator shared with AWARE, the substantial paperwork required can often be a disincentive. For more on the complexities of accessing childcare subsidies and other barriers to working, see our report, “Why Are You Not Working?“

The government’s plans are a very good step in the right direction, addressing the supply issue, easing the criteria for qualification for full subsidies and reducing the bureaucracy involved in applying for subsidies.

AWARE celebrates the fact that the current “work first, then childcare” approach will be replaced with a needs-based approach from 9 Dec 2024, that allows low-income families to access full childcare subsidies without having to prove they work at least 56 hours per month.

We believe that every child in Singapore should have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their family’s financial situation. We urge further steps to ensure a more equitable future for all Singapore families.

Limited services and closures for Women’s Care Centre and Sexual Assault Care Centre

The AWARE centre will be closed from 23 December, 2024 to 1 January, 2025.

The Women’s Care Centre (WCC) and Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) will provide limited services from 16 December, 2024 to 22 December, 2024 and 2 January, 2025 to 10 January, 2025.

Details of the limited services and closure are as follows:

WCC and SACC:

16 Dec, 2024 – 22 Dec, 2024: Helpline services are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday; no new clients will be accepted for our counselling, legal clinic and case management services during this time.
23 Dec, 2024 – 1 Jan, 2025: Closure. No services will be available.
2 Jan, 2025 – 10 Jan, 2025: Services will restart at a limited capacity. Helpline services are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday; no new clients will be accepted for our counselling, legal clinic and case management services during this time.

Normal services for WCC and SACC will fully resume on Monday, 13 January 2025.

If you have experienced sexual assault within the last 72 hours, you may refer to this page for suggested actions.

If you require support, you may reach out to these alternatives:

National Anti-Violence Helpline (24-hour, for reporting of domestic and sexual violence): 1800 777 0000
Samaritans of Singapore (24-hour, for coping with self-harm or suicidal ideation):
- Hotline: 1-767
- Email: pat@sos.org.sg
- Whatsapp: +65 9151 1767
IMH Helpline (24-hour, for mental health crisis): 6389 2222
ComCare Helpline (7am-12am, to locate your nearest Family Service Centre): 1800 222 0000
Care Corner Helpline (10am-10pm, for emotional support for Mandarin speakers): 1800 3535 800
Community Justice Centre (Mon-Fri, 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-4pm, 20 minutes free legal information, walk ins only, recommended to queue ~1.5h before it opens as its services are on a first-come-first-serve basis)
Pro Bono SG (Law Society Pro Bono Legal Clinic Services) (Free legal information, appointments needed)
Police 999, Medical assistance 995 (If you or someone you know is in danger or has an emergency)

We seek your kind understanding and patience. Thank you.

Better data enables stronger solutions for workplace discrimination

This op-ed was originally published in The Straits Times on 7 November 2024.

The Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) is expected to be tabled in 2024. In that context, accurate and meaningful data about workplaces is important and relevant to inform policymaking and legislation.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released on Sept 24 its annual report on fair employment practices (FEP), based on a survey conducted in 2023, which aims to track the prevalence of workplace discrimination. The findings appear highly encouraging, as they suggest that discrimination has been decreasing over the years and that having formal procedures is effective in reducing some forms of workplace discrimination.

According to the FEP report, 6 per cent of employees experienced workplace discrimination in 2023. This was lower than in 2022 (8.2 per cent), 2021 (8.5 per cent) and 2018 (24.1 per cent). The report also showed that during the same period, there was a downtrend in the proportion of job seekers who faced discrimination.

However, a closer look at how data is collected and reported in the FEP report shows there are limits to the conclusions that can be drawn.

Not comprehensive enough

The FEP survey did not include discrimination based on family responsibilities (like caregiving), medical conditions, sexual orientation and indirect discrimination. By not measuring characteristics such as these, the incidences of discrimination reported are much less.

And while discrimination on the basis of gender identity and criminal history was measured, the report did not present this data in any meaningful way.

This means we do not have a more detailed picture of the types of discrimination experienced by employees.

The data is also not segmented and measured in a way that enables us to more meaningfully understand and address the actual trends in discrimination.

For example, by measuring discrimination only by age or race as a category and not by separating the respondents into age groups or races, we are not identifying whether there is a difference in the incidence of discrimination against some segments – such as older workers or minority races – compared with other segments, such as younger workers or the majority race. We are also not able to see the trend in such discrimination over the years.

Here’s an example: Take a sample size of 100 respondents, who each need to report whether they have noise complaints from living close to an airport. Seventy-four of them live beyond the range at which the loud sounds of planes can be heard (Group Far), but the remaining 26 reside within that (Group Near).

In 2022, 44 per cent of Group Far and 89 per cent of Group Near reported noise complaints from passing aircraft. Overall, the rate of complaints would be 55.7 per cent. In 2023, only 20 per cent of Group Far and 95 per cent of Group Near reported noise complaints from passing aircraft. Now the overall rate of complaints would be 39.5 per cent.

Without knowing the rates of reporting for the different groups, we would simply conclude that rates of noise complaints decreased, and that any interventions being made are working.

However, this trend is because there is a large number of people in Group Far, and their many reports cancelled out and overshadowed those from the smaller Group Near, which actually saw an increase of 6 percentage points in reports. Without this segregated information, we wouldn’t see that conditions are worsening for Group Near, and the need for solutions for this minority group would be overlooked.

The figures in this example are the exact rates of discrimination reported by the different races in the 2022 Aware-Milieu survey: Chinese reported discrimination by ethnicity at a rate of 44 per cent, while Indians (92 per cent) and Malays (85 per cent) reported it at an overall rate of 89 per cent.

Given that Chinese make up three-quarters of Singapore’s population, we can see that a decrease in rates of discrimination reported by this group might very well result in a skewed overall decrease, even if discrimination against minorities increased.

The FEP report shows a decrease of race-based discrimination from 2.6 per cent to 1.7 per cent. However, we do not know if this means that all races experienced less discrimination or if some races are, in fact, experiencing increasing rates of discrimination by race.

Lack of segmentation in the data not only obscures certain trends but also draws attention away from the roots of discrimination, which have to do with the broader systemic, social, economic and cultural realities of life in Singapore.

By comparison, the Aware-Milieu survey in 2022 of 1,000 respondents, nationally representative by age, gender and race, measured the segmented data, which showed that certain groups proved more vulnerable to discrimination at work than others.

Minority races experienced discrimination at a significantly higher rate (89 per cent) compared with those of the majority race (44 per cent); and 58 per cent of women had experienced at least one type of discrimination, compared with 53 per cent of men.

People with disabilities experienced discrimination at a significantly higher rate (78 per cent) than people without disabilities (50 per cent). And LGBTQ people experienced discrimination at a significantly higher rate (68 per cent) compared with those who did not identify as LGBTQ (56 per cent).

By not segmenting the data, the FEP report does not present a picture of which specific categories of people are experiencing higher rates of discrimination, and so we are unable to see the trends of discrimination for each of these categories.

Segmented data would help us to understand discrimination in the way it is actually being experienced by people and inform interventions that should be implemented.

Harassment is not measured

Harassment is a serious and prevalent problem among employees.

Aware’s Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory service, which ran for almost five years from September 2019 to May 2024, found that of the 1,122 clients we served, 50 per cent reported either sexual harassment or other forms of harassment and bullying in the workplace.

Yet, the FEP survey did not measure the incidence of harassment in the workplace and the WFL is not expected to provide employees with protection against harassment.

While we have the Protection from Harassment Act, the onus is on the employees who suffer such abuse in the workplace because they have to take legal action against the harasser.

It should be the employer’s duty to provide a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Aware maintains its strong recommendation that protection against harassment in the workplace should be legislated.

Correlation is not causation

One of the key findings from the FEP report was that having formal procedures to manage discrimination at work was effective in reducing the likelihood of experiencing age discrimination.

This conclusion was drawn using a statistical tool that showed a correlation between two things: the presence of formal reporting methods in an employee’s workplace, and the chances of an employee saying whether they have ever experienced age discrimination at work.

The correlation could be explained by the fact that more progressive workplaces tend to employ formal reporting systems, and they also tend to have lower incidences of reports of discrimination. Without better data, we can’t draw the conclusion that having formal reporting systems reduces the incidence of age discrimination in the workplace.

What would have been more useful data to collect for this purpose?

One example would be knowing whether the outcome of reporting an instance of discrimination was positive, and the extent to which the discrimination was resolved or addressed by such reporting.

Analysis of employee satisfaction from different formal procedures would also be helpful in evaluating and providing evidence about which procedures are more helpful than others.

What useful data can help us to achieve

Some of the best workplace discrimination studies in other countries have resulted in legislation and solutions which equipped workers, the government and employers with significant rights and protection to enable the identification and addressing of workplace discrimination. These measures include the setting up of commissions that oversee and monitor discrimination in the workplace in the US, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Sweden.

Aware repeats the call for such a commission to monitor compliance with the WFL and other forms of harassment and discrimination in Singapore.

The annual FEP report provides valuable insights on the landscape of workplace discrimination in Singapore, but has the potential to become an even more effective tool to deal with workplace discrimination and harassment.

With further data collection and segregation, we can paint a more detailed picture of our current workplaces and inform the direction of future policy and legislative intervention.

Sugidha Nithiananthan is AWARE’s Director of Advocacy and Research.

MOM replied to this op-ed via a forum letter to the Straits Times on 19 November 2024.

We are hiring! Communications Intern

Position: Communications Intern
Department: Communications Team
Citizenship: Singaporean/PR
Salary: $820
Duration: Minimum 6-month paid internship

AWARE, Singapore’s leading gender equality advocacy group, is hiring a media intern to join our communications team. In this role, you will support the communications team with content management and creation, as well as community and social media engagement. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals, work on impactful projects, and contribute to AWARE’s success.

What you’ll do:

Conduct an audit and develop strategic content for a new project focused on raising awareness about sexual violence.
Be part of the planning committee for our 40th anniversary celebrations in 2025.
Help build a research database to consolidate AWARE’s past, ongoing and upcoming research.
You will work closely with our research and advocacy team to write impactful, persuasive copy to further our advocacy work.
You will support the creation of engaging and informative content for various platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), including designing posts, writing stories, and creating videos.
Assist with other communication tasks as needed, such as event promotion, press releases, and internal communications.
Stay up-to-date on current trends and best practices in social media and fundraising communications.

Are you the one we’re looking for?

Current student or recent graduate who ideally has a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, or a related field
1-2 years of experience in social media management and/or content writing (including fundraising)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills (English)
Strong understanding of social media platforms and best practices
Creativity, initiative, and the ability to work independently
Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE

Bonus points if you have experience in:

Audience analysis and segmentation
Social media marketing (TikTok, Instagram)

To apply, please email your resume, cover letter and three examples of your work to comms.executive@aware.org.sg.

Please note, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview. If you have any questions about this position, please email careers@aware.org.sg.

Gendered biases hiding in plain sight

Did you know women are 73% more likely than men to be injured in a car crash? According to a 2019 University of Virginia study, this is because car safety measures are built with mostly male anatomy in mind.

Car crash test dummies, first designed in 1976 and still in use today, were built to replicate a man’s height and build. And while female test dummies do exist today, they are mostly scaled down versions of the male ones and do not account for female anatomy, like breasts and wider hips. It took until 2022 to develop the world’s first female crash test dummy.

This is one of many subtle yet damning ways gendered biases exist in our society. Institutions favour men when they design products, services and public spaces. When women’s needs are left out in so many corners of their lives, it creates unfair burdens they have to endure. Here are a few more of these gendered biases hidden in plain sight.

Ever wondered why women have to wait longer for the loo? According to a 2017 Ghent University study, one of the reasons is that men’s restrooms can hold more people at once. This is because urinals take up less room than cubicles. Even if you allocate restroom space equally between men and women, fewer women than men can use the bathroom at the same time.

Men also spend an average of 60 secs in a public restroom, while women need 90 secs, researchers at Ghent University said. This is because women need to open and close the cubicle door twice and take time to undress and dress. The study reported that unisex toilets can reduce waiting times for women by one and a half to six minutes.

Do you find yourself reaching for your cardigan in the office? One reason is that the standard office temperature, set in the 1960s, was based on the metabolic rate of a 40-year-old man, according to a 2015 Nature Climate Change report. A 2021 Qatar University and University of Oxford assessment of office workers in Qatar, India and Japan found that women feel more uncomfortable than men in colder indoor environments.

Further research by a 2021 University of California, Berkeley study found out offices today tend to set lower temps to make up for poor air-conditioning systems, a process called overcooling. So when people overcool their offices, women bear the brunt of the discomfort.

According to popular media, when someone gets a heart attack, they clutch their chest. But women who are having a heart attack may not feel any chest pain at all. John Hopkins Medicine confirmed that while anyone can experience chest pains during a heart attack, women are more likely to experience silent symptoms like back pain, shortness of breath, and nausea. If the media only shows dramatic symptoms, people are less likely to spot a woman in serious cardiovascular trouble.

That said, the media reflects larger medical trends that focus on male anatomy and neglect female anatomy. Professor Carolyn Lam, director of Women’s Heart Health at the National Heart Centre Singapore, said the misdiagnosis of heart failure among women is long known. This is because the “yardstick” used to diagnose and treat heart failure is tailored to male bodies, and not female bodies. In fact, male bias is seen across all types of pre-clinical research.

The medical gendered bias also transcends species. For decades, researchers have used only male mice for their experiments, believing that female mice are harder to work with because of their fluctuating hormonal and reproductive cycles. But according to a 2022 Journal of the Biology of Sex Differences study, among other research articles in the past 10 years, the behaviours of female mice’s can actually be more stable than behaviours of male mice. Yet, many researchers today still only use male mice.

This introduces gendered bias to experimental outcomes—when researchers do not include both male and female mice, they cannot analyse their data to find different reactions between sexes. Different reactions between male and female mice may translate to different reactions between male and female humans.

Meanwhile, men are less likely to be diagnosed with mental health issues. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America said one in 10 men will experience anxiety and depression in their lifetime, yet less than half of them will seek treatment. This is not a surprise; when society teaches men to hide their pain, they’re less likely to ask for help.

It is clear: gender equality is not just a woman’s problem. It affects everyone and has a significant impact on our everyday lives. What other gendered biases have you noticed?

AWARE played with power and won at our 12th Annual Ball

We played with power and won. At our 12th Annual Ball this year, our generous donors smashed an all-time fundraising record of $865,000 on 7 September, 2024. The Tote Board and the Government matched our funding with an additional $250,000, which means our Ball raised over $1.1 million for women’s rights and gender equality.

Siti “Bubble” K (left), AWARE’s Executive Director Corinna “Bubbles” Lim and Pam “Buttercup” Oei helmed the stage at AWARE’s 12th Annual Ball on 7 September 2024. Photograph by Wesley Loh / Memphis West Pictures.

Of course, we are not just here to raise funds — we are here to have a Ball. Every year, supporters of AWARE unite in a quest to dress their best, and this year’s theme was Royals and Rebels. That night, we saw Empress Dowager Cixi, Samsui women, politicians, and more.

“I support AWARE, because obviously I’m Frida Kahlo,” Ball supporter Dianne Rajaratnam said. She arrived in an iconic cosplay of Mexican feminist activist Frida Kahlo: in an indigenous huipil dress, a red rose flower crown, and a monobrow.

“On a more serious note, I support AWARE because I fundamentally believe the policies that AWARE is putting into place and fighting for [are] actually making Singapore a better place for women to be, and to live.”

“I’m a father of three girls, I want them to have equal opportunity in the world,” Ball supporter Simon Fiquet added. “and I think AWARE is helping to make that possible.”

AWARE Board President Aarathi Arumugam (left) and Dianna Rajaratnam posing at AWARE’s 12th Anniversary Ball on 7 September 2024. Photograph by Athiyah Azeem. — **AWARE Board President Aarathi Arumugam (left) and Dianne Rajaratnam posing at AWARE’s 12th Anniversary Ball on 7 September 2024. Photograph by Athiyah Azeem.**

To command this field of fashionable feminists, AWARE board president Aarathi Arumugam showed up as the queen of the ball herself: Ru Paul. In her first speech as president, standing on stage in a bald cap and a floral suit, Aarathi addressed why the category is: Power/Play.

“This year, we’ll be seeing more than 18 countries go to the polls, some with women as front runners, and where we tackle gender inequality every day,” Aarathi said. “We can’t do so without recognising the structures that exist to uphold those in power.”

Speaking of AWARE’s leaders: Executive Director Corinna Lim flew into the Ball as none other than Blossom, a Powerpuff Girl! She joined forces with Siti K and Pam Oei, or Bubbles and Buttercup, to fight for women’s rights.

On stage, Corinna recapped how she represented AWARE alongside 11 other NGOs at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW. In 15 minutes, these organisations stood in solidarity to raise the most urgent issues Singaporean women face today.

Seven other CEDAW representatives formed a Ball table. This included Anne Goh (below, centre), who represents Sayoni, an organisation that supports Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LBTQ) women’s rights. She said opportunities to unite with AWARE with other NGOs are essential.

“LBTQ women’s rights are women’s rights,” Anne said. “NGOs should stand together in solidarity because we are all serving the same community.”

**Anne Goh (centre), representative of Sayoni, clapping at AWARE’s 12th Anniversary Ball on 7 September 2024. Photograph by Khoo Yi Ting (@ytshoots).**

Many passionate individuals also stand in solidarity with AWARE to help women in need. For 23 years, Bharathi Manogaran helped survivors of abuse and violence as a social worker. She uses her extensive experience as a volunteer at AWARE, training people to be effective sexual assault first responders. And on stage that night, she announced she would be joining AWARE’s senior leadership team soon.

“I call on each and everyone of you to awaken the inner rebel in you. For we cannot do this work without you,” Bharathi said.

And the Ball heard our call. We asked attendees to raise their hands if they wanted to donate to help AWARE research masculinity norms in Singapore, and run consent education workshops. These projects are crucial: our masculinity research will inform future interventions. These can help reshape our perceptions of masculinity, so that we can work towards a more gender equal society. The consent workshops are dedicated to children and youth placed in residential homes for their protection, who have often experienced emotional, physical and sexual abuse. These workshops help them make informed decisions, support their peers, reclaim their agency and foster a culture of safety and respect.

Within seconds, we saw many hands fly up in the air. Together, they raised $18,500 to research masculinity, and $26,500 to run consent workshops. We thank our donors for this incredible display of solidarity.

**Ball supporters raising their hands to donate to masculinity norms research and consent education for youths. Photograph by Wesley Loh / Memphis West Pictures.**

Of course, no Ball is complete without congratulating our best dressed. Our best dressed group title belongs to the folks from digital marketing company, Xpointo Media, who truly played with power by dressing as human-sized playing cards. They dressed as a ten of hearts, a jack, a queen, a king and an ace — a royal flush.

Another group deserves an honourable mention for gracing the Ball together as Asian royalty.

We split the category for best dressed individuals into three themes. Wearing military uniform and high heel boots, Pink Dot organiser Harris Zaidi won the Most Subversive category. CEO of 1880 Singapore Jean Low wore a dress with text that read “Proud Feminist. We should all be feminists. The future is feminist!”, and clinched the Most Feminist category. Finally, by reusing Straits Times newspapers to construct and wear Elizabethan royal finery, Recyclopedia founder Robin Rheaume won the Most Creative category.

Honourable mentions go to Shyn Yee for arriving as Lady Jessica, a power player from Dune; Shawn and Emily as the Xianfeng Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi, the last female empress of China; Michelle, Christine and Jeanette for arriving in politician glam; Melissa, Cherrylene and Lesley for posing as both the controversial Samsui Women mural, and as the mural’s artist Sean Dunston. You all captured the heart of being Royals and Rebels.

We cannot thank all 79 event partners and sponsors enough for donating an unprecedented amount of in-kind auction items, which fueled the Ball’s fundraising efforts. Over 60 volunteers poured a combined 400 hours of work, sweat and passion into making this night spectacular.

A special shoutout to Gold Sponsors KOP and KAH Motor as well as Wine Sponsor Cornerstone Wines who have been long-time supporters of AWARE. We couldn’t have pulled this off without you!

View the rest of the photos here.

Our fundraising campaign, “From Crisis to Change”, will continue to run online until the end of the year. If you would like to make a pledge, you can continue to do so via Give.Asia. To see how your contributions make a difference, we invite you to explore the 2023 Impact Report.

The Platform Workers Act is a Landmark Piece of Legislation — Here’s How It Can Go Further in Protecting Workers

By Sugidha Nithiananthan and Adilah Rafey

AWARE commends the recently passed Platform Workers Act (PWA), which seeks to provide vital protections and rights for platform workers in the ride-hailing and delivery sectors. Under this Act, these Platform Workers (PWs) are recognised as a third legal class of workers, distinct from employees and self-employed workers.

This acknowledges the unique conditions platform workers experience in their work, which combines the flexibility of self-employment with a lack of autonomy over the terms of their work, similar to traditional employment.

The act provides long-overdue rights, such as the ability of workers to form Platform Work Associations, and crucial protections for retirement adequacy, work injury compensation and wage security. It is therefore no surprise that the Act was widely-supported across party lines and amongst Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs).

Background

As of 2023, 3% of Singapore’s labour force works in some kind of platform work. When we expand the possible scope of platform work to include other forms of operator-based gig work, this figure increases to form close to 5% of the labour force.

Not only does platform work provide essential services which most of us rely on, but a large number of Singaporeans rely on platform work to make a living. While the PWA ensures that platform workers in ride-hailing and delivery sectors are afforded some of the rights that their counterparts in traditional employment enjoy, there are some areas where the PWA falls short.

Many are still not covered by the Act

The PWA’s definitions of “Platform Operators” and “Platform Workers” are wide enough to apply to a broad spectrum of platform workers. However, the Act then proceeds to limit it to only delivery and ride-hailing services.

Several parliamentarians echoed a concern that AWARE raised in the public consultation on this Act, which is that the Act excludes broad segments of platform workers, including those on platforms where the services are mostly provided by women.

Nominated Member of Parliament Usha Chandradas, referring to AWARE’s submission to the Ministry of Manpower in January 2024 on the platform workers legislation, emphasised this gendered lens during the Parliamentary debate on the PWA:

“Platform workers in the delivery and ride-hailing sectors tend to be male, whereas a greater proportion of workers in the areas of beauty and grooming, caregiving and cleaning services, tend to be female. Now, if we consider the framing of the Bill from this perspective, it appears that a good number of female platform workers may not be able to benefit from the protections offered by this new law.”

Platform Workers under the PWA can now receive employer’s CPF, compensation for injury under the Workmen’s Injury Compensation Act and be eligible for Workfare Income Supplement (subject to meeting the other criteria), and can form representative organisations (Platform Work Associations). Platform workers in the sectors not covered under the PWA deserve these protections just as much as delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers do.

In response to several queries across the board from all the parties and NMPs, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Manpower Koh Poh Koon (SMOS Koh) said that the Ministry of Manpower “will certainly review the scope of the Act in the future as the platform landscape continues to evolve”. The plight of platform workers was recognised with the adoption of the PWA and we urge the Ministry of Manpower not to leave those left out of the PWA unprotected for much longer.

CPF contributions — risk of discrimination

CPF contributions will be mandatory for all born after 1995, while older workers can choose to opt-in. Those who choose not to opt-in will be required to continue to make their CPF MediSave contributions, but will not receive the PO’s contributions.

Most platform workers heavily rely on the take-home cash from their work, but also experience long-term precarity due to the lack of savings (including CPF) they are able to accrue from the job. As demonstrated by a 2023 DBS study, gig workers (which include platform workers) are the “most financially stretched” category of workers: with their expense-to-income ratio of 112% (compared to the median of 57%), they are effectively spending more than they earn. This means that many PWs may not actually be able to afford to opt-in.

For those who do opt-in or for whom CPF contributions are mandatory, this will result in a higher wage cost for the POs, who will have to make contributions to their PWs’ CPF accounts. This opens up the risk of discrimination by POs against such PWs.

In Parliament, MPs Pritam Singh, Louis Chua, Jamus Lim, Fahmi Aliman and NMP Ong Hua Han, amongst many others, brought up this issue of discrimination. In response, SMS Koh referred to market forces deterring POs from treating their workers unfairly.

Beyond relying on market forces or assurances from POs, it is important to ensure that the algorithms underpinning the platforms do not directly or inadvertently penalise PWs who are a higher wage cost to POs because of CPF contributions. AWARE recommends that the government implement guidelines for POs that mandate this requirement of the algorithms of these platforms.

AWARE also urges the government to consider requiring POs to compulsorily contribute their share of the CPF contributions for all their workers, including those who do not choose to opt-in. This will provide these financially-vulnerable PWs with much needed support for their housing and retirement needs and also remove the risk of discrimination by equalising the wage cost to the POs.

Wage security needed

Mr Ng (not his real name) is a platform worker who relies solely on his income from food delivery to support himself and his disabled family member, to whom he is the sole caregiver.

Mr Ng (whose story is highlighted by SG Riders, a grassroots network of food delivery riders) reports that he only receives $3 – $3.30 for jobs that would take close to one hour to complete on his Power-Assisted Bicycle. He has to work beyond midnight to make ends meet.

AWARE’s 2018 report “Why Are You Not Working?” revealed that many low-income mothers who perform caregiving duties are often only able to access employment through the gig economy because of the flexibility it provides. However, the low and unpredictable income typical of platform work entrenches them in a position of precarity and poverty. Platform workers deserve a reasonable level of wage security, and this was echoed by several parliamentarians, linking it to the Ministry of Manpower’s Local Qualifying Salary (LQS):

“I hope that we can pay a fair wage for our Platform Workers and ensure that they earn at least our minimum wage equivalent, the local qualifying salary.”

– Louis Chua (WP MP)

AWARE recommends that all platform workers should receive a minimum base fare guarantee, meaning a guaranteed amount that workers must receive for any given job. For starters, as recommended by several parliamentarians, this minimum base fare should be tied to the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS), and should progressively increase to a living wage standard, as echoed in parliament:

“Platform companies and platform work associations should work towards an appropriate minimum base fare, calculated with reference to [a] living wage.”

– Leong Mun Wai (PSP NCMP)

Protection against Harassment

According to several research studies across the world, women platform workers are more susceptible to abuse and harassment than their male counterparts. For example, a series of interviews conducted by the University of British Columbia showed that women platform workers often face sexual harassment and have few options for recourse when such incidents occur for fear of retaliation from customers and consequences from taking such action, which can range from lower ratings to being given fewer jobs as a result of reporting such incidents to the platform operators they work under.

Harassment is a serious form of abuse which affects the safety and well-being of the recipient of such harassment and AWARE recommends that platform workers should have legislative protection against harassment, whether from customers, the staff of platform operators or other platform workers on the same platform. The PWA does not contain such protection and the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation is not intended to include such protection for employees either. AWARE urges the government to introduce a new anti-harassment legislation which will protect all employees and platform workers.

Algorithmic Discrimination

In order to efficiently and adaptively allocate jobs to platform workers, platform operators often rely on algorithms which take into account many factors and use additional features, such as incentives, to adjust labour supply to customer demand. For example, they measure each worker’s “Acceptance Rate”, which refers to the percentage of orders accepted while online, and “Cancellation Rate” which refers to the percentage of orders cancelled after accepting, and these measures affect how jobs are offered to platform workers.

However, while algorithms are crucial to platform services and are efficient at maximising profits, there are many unintended effects which, when unregulated, often result in discriminatory labour practices.

As stated in AWARE’s submission to the Ministry of Manpower in January 2024, and which NMP Usha Chandradas highlighted as follows during the Parliamentary debate on the PWA:

“the design of these platforms can inadvertently result in gender imbalances being perpetuated. To put it another way, digital labour platforms are built using real world data, but we must not forget that the real world is itself full of biases and imbalances.[…] if workers have unpredictable caregiving responsibilities and need to suddenly cancel work assignments, because of these responsibilities, they may accordingly be penalised by platforms which operate by automatically allocating tasks to workers. Similarly, if ride-hail or delivery workers choose to decline jobs that take place late at night, or in areas where they feel it is unsafe to work, they lose out on potential job opportunities. […] Given that women still tend to take on the lion’s share of caregiving responsibilities in society, and given that women are also a group who may be exposed to higher levels of risks when working alone in remote areas, or late into the night – the overall outcome is a situation where gender pay imbalances continue to be perpetuated even in the realm of platform work.”

Beyond pay gaps which arise from the time flexibility and choices which women platform workers are more likely to exercise, algorithms may also inadvertently reproduce existing social biases against women through ratings systems, where women are more likely to be rated unfavourably by customers, affecting their access to jobs as a result of this.

AWARE therefore recommends that the government issue guidelines to platform operators that mandate that platforms must be designed in gender-sensitive ways.

AWARE also supports the suggestion by Nominated Member of Parliament Jean See, who recommended that algorithms be required to fulfil requirements set by AI Verify, which “apply standardised tests to validate their AI systems’ performance against internationally aligned AI ethics principles of transparency, explainability, repeatability, safety, security, robustness, fairness, data governance, accountability, human agency and oversight, inclusive growth, and societal and environmental well-being”. AWARE suggests that the government incorporate this requirement in guidelines for platform operators on the design of their platforms.

The PWA, in context

Notwithstanding these gaps and risks, the PWA is a huge step forward for some of these very vulnerable and unprotected class of workers. We hope that the rest of the workers on non-ride-hailing or delivery platforms, many of whom are primarily women, will not be left unprotected for long; no reason has been given as to why they could not be afforded the same protection.

Dive into Coercive Control: A Panel with Wild Rice

Wild Rice Dramaturg Joel Tan (left) hosted a panel discussion about coercive control on 15 September 2024 with play director Sim Yan Ying, AWARE Director of Advocacy, Research and Communications, Sugidha Nithiananthan, and survivor of coercive control, Devika Panicker. Photograph by Athiyah Azeem.

Local theatre company Wild Rice has been staging a play, Dive, that walked audiences through a difficult-to-detect form of abuse, coercive control, within an intimate partner relationship.

Laura Hayes, the playwright of Dive, was inspired to write the play after learning that some of her friends had experienced coercive control in their relationships—yet she hadn’t recognised the signs at the time. Coercive control is a crime in Laura’s home country, the United Kingdom, introduced under the 2015 Serious Crime Act.

On Sunday, 15 September 2024, Dive’s dramaturg Joel Tan moderated a panel discussion to talk about this insidious form of abuse with our Director of Advocacy and Research, Sugidha Nithiananthan, the director of the play, Sim Yan Ying, and one of AWARE’s advocates and a survivor of coercive control, Devika Panicker. AWARE is currently undertaking research on coercive control in Singapore.

Devika shared the journey of her relationship with a controlling partner who began by being very caring—to her and to the people around him. While she noticed some red flags after they began dating, she brushed them off as normal relationship issues. Unfortunately, things worsened over time.

“When I tried to raise certain issues, it was all deflected into my own shortcomings, my own incapabilities, attacks on my intelligence, attacks on my memory, my finances,” Devika recalled.

She said he would call her names, gaslight her, change the facts of an argument in order to undermine her confidence in herself, and lie about incidents that had happened. The abuse was happening so frequently that his insults started to feel normal to Devika. He also pressured her for money, saying that giving him money would show she was “rooting for him”.

Coercive control is a pattern of controlling, threatening or oppressive behaviour by which the abuser dominates or subordinates someone, usually an intimate partner or a family member. The abuser can employ many tactics, such as isolating, degrading, exploiting, frightening, harming or punishing the survivor. It can also be accompanied by other forms of abuse, such as physical or sexual abuse.

According to Sugidha, an intimate partner relationship does not usually start this way.

“If somebody began on the first date by throwing or shattering a glass next to you, you’re probably not getting a second date,” Sugidha said.

She explained that coercive control often starts with ‘love bombing’, where the abuser showers their partner with affection and builds trust. Then the egregious, controlling behaviours begin, often leaving the survivors too drained to argue or too afraid to upset their abusive partners.

AWARE’s research indicates that many survivors do not realise they are victims of abuse, let alone victims of coercive control. When public understanding of abuse is primarily limited to physical or sexual violence, survivors and those around them may fail to recognise forms of abuse such as coercive control.

Sugidha explained, “Coercive control is also a relationship dynamic, making it difficult for survivors to recognise they are actually in an abusive relationship.”

Many survivors, like Devika, feel they are unable to leave until there is some tangible abuse such as physical violence.

“A part of me knew the only way I would break up with him and stay broken up and stay far away was if it led to some sort of physical violence, and I was right,” Devika said.

“I was relieved when he punched me.”

Last year, the Women’s Charter was amended to define family violence as physical, sexual and emotional or psychological abuse, with Minister of State Sun Xueling clarifying that coercive and controlling behaviour is now covered under this law.

But outside of the legal system, few know the term “coercive control”. Sugidha said plays like Dive help raise awareness about this form of abuse and can help survivors realise that they are being abused, so they can start thinking about what they can do to get help and support.

“If I had the vocabulary for it sooner, I do think I would have felt a little bit more empowered to [leave the relationship sooner], or at least talk to someone about what this is that I’m experiencing,” Devika said.

Sugidha shared that the safest option for friends and family of survivors who want to help them is to let the survivors know that they are there for them, so that the survivors know they can reach out to them for support if they need it. She added that direct intervention can sometimes be unsafe for the survivor, who might then face retribution from the abuser for the intervention.

Awareness about this often unseen form of abuse must be spread so that survivors can recognise it and seek help. AWARE will complete its research on coercive control and publish our report in 2025.

NDR 2024: Bold steps for families, but let’s not stop there

This op-ed was originally published in The Straits Times on 23 August 2024.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first National Day Rally, where he mandated four weeks of paternity leave and introduced 10 weeks of shared parental leave, among other measures to ease the pressures of caregiving, was a breath of fresh air.

While there’s a lot to celebrate, there’s also room to ask: Why stop here?

Caregiving isn’t just a woman’s job

What struck most about PM Wong’s rally was that he didn’t frame this conversation around falling birth rates or Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR). Instead, he shone a spotlight on women – their careers, their ambitions, and their rightful place in the workforce. It’s refreshing to see women’s needs front and centre, rather than as an afterthought to population statistics.

The recent Singapore Perspectives 2024 survey revealed that 40 per cent of women aged 21 to 34 don’t see marriage in their future, and this same group is 12 per cent less hopeful about having children compared with their male counterparts. Understanding the findings starts with recognising that women approach their careers with the same ambition as men.

The reality is, the status quo when it comes to half of our population – women – hasn’t worked for Singapore, nor for other countries grappling with declining TFRs. It’s high time we tackle the root of the problem and create a society where everyone can pursue their ambitions without compromising their personal lives.

PM Wong’s direct call for fathers to step up and share in the caregiving duties, and his recognition of women’s career ambitions, is a significant move. No longer are we just talking about birth rates – the conversation is now about families.

In a society where traditional gender roles have long dictated that men work and women care, fast-tracking to make paternity leave mandatory from April 1, 2025 and adding an additional 10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave sends a clear message to fathers and employers: this is the new norm.

PM Wong’s example of a Ministry of Finance colleague who was a young dad and took time off to care for his newborn in the midst of Budget preparations, is a smart, subtle nudge to show what can be achieved with the right measures in place.

Here’s another example. Nishant, a young father of one who returned to work after nine weeks of paternity leave, said that while he had expected fatherhood to be amazing, he has found that it is so much more. The connection he built with his one-year-old son during those early months gives him overwhelming feelings of love, protectiveness, and responsibility. The connection he has with his son is no less than the connection his son has with his mother.

A 2022 study by the National University of Singapore showed fathers who take two or more weeks of paternity leave can reduce stress on mothers, parental conflicts and children’s behaviour problems, more than those who took only one week of leave.

But here’s the thing: policy changes are only part of the puzzle. Employers need to not only allow but also actively encourage both fathers and mothers to take their leave. Until caregiving is actually a shared burden, young women will continue to think twice about starting a family. True gender equality isn’t just about changing policies; it’s about rethinking how we value the roles of both men and women in our society.

We can do more, surely

Sunday’s rally demonstrated how swiftly the government can enact significant changes when necessary. Maternity leave benefits for married and single mothers were equalised from January 1, 2024. But why did we stop there? If all mothers are equally in need, then unwed parents should also have access to the Parenthood Tax Rebate, Working Mother’s Child Relief, Handicapped Child Relief and Baby Bonus schemes.

These benefits aren’t luxuries—they’re necessities, and unwed mothers often need them even more than their married counterparts. Privileging the children of married mothers over those of unmarried mothers in the Baby Bonus schemes is entirely discriminatory to the children involved.

PM Wong’s talk of a refreshed Singapore dream—one that’s more adventurous and open—is promising. But this will only happen if the policies catch up.

Changing the criteria for tax rebates and Baby Bonus schemes to align with maternity leave benefits is a straightforward step. What remains to be seen is whether there’s the will to make it happen. We’re just asking for every family to have an equal start.

We hope Budget 2025 contains the news that these benefits will be equalised for all parents and all children here.

For the rest of us, we must champion equitable practices in our workplaces and communities that lead to thriving individuals and families. If we want a Singapore where everyone can genuinely succeed, then we must actively shape it—not only through policy but through the everyday choices we make.

Sugidha Nithi is AWARE’s director of Advocacy, Research and Communications.

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