We have been reviewing our policies on membership and gender to study whether men should be allowed to vote and to serve on the Board. [1]

The Board has completed the review and we are proposing changes that include allowing male members (and members who do not identify as female) to vote and to serve on the board, subject to certain limits.

Our main reason for this is that while there is still much to be done to improve women’s rights, status and participation, men must be involved in this effort.  The social and political climate in Singapore is changing and AWARE should be ready to keep pace with these changes.

We have taken into consideration the views of members who fear that allowing men to vote and to sit on the Board will dilute AWARE’s work on women’s rights and status, and threaten its important function of being a place where women can feel safe and can learn to lead.

These are very valid concerns, but we believe that they can be addressed with the limits placed on  Associate Members’ rights to vote and to sit on the Board.

We will hold a members’ forum on Saturday 26 November to discuss in full the proposed changes. After this forum, also on 26 November, there will an EGM to vote on the proposals. Many other important Constitutional amendments are also being proposed at the EGM.  The link to the formal Notice of the EGM is set out below.

We urge members to attend the forum and EGM so that all arguments for and against the proposals can be heard and debated, and decisions made.

PROGRAMME

This is the programme for the Forum and the EGM on Saturday, 26 November at the AWARE Centre:

10.00 a.m.         Registration. Morning coffee and snacks will be served

10.30 a.m.         Members’ Forum

12.30 p.m.         Lunch

1.30 p.m.           EGM

We expect the EGM to end by 5 pm. However, there is a chance that it may end later to complete the discussion and voting on all the Constitutional amendments that are being tabled.

In addition to the amendments relating to men’s rights to vote and to serve on the Board, the EGM will also deal with proposals to amend and update the Constitution in many important respects. The main changes that will be tabled are as follows:

1. Change of the name of the organization from “Association of Women for Action & Research” to “AWARE”;
2. Update of Objective, Values and Functions of AWARE to more accurately reflect its current approach and work;
3. Change of the names of AWARE’s membership categories;
4. Male members to be given rights to vote, subject to a cap of 25% of the total votes.
5. Male members to be given rights to serve as Ordinary Members on the Board, but not as Office Bearers. In addition, they are subject to the same cap as Female Associate Members i.e. 25% of the total number of Board seats.
6. Change of board election procedures from a system where the General Meeting votes on each position to a system where the General Meeting votes in the President and eight (8) other Board Members, and the newly constituted Board decides on and appoints the Office Bearers and the Ordinary Board Members from among the eight board members.
7. Clarification of AGM, nomination, elections, voting and banking procedures.
8. Extension of Life Membership to all members.

Please refer to the Table of Changes (see link below) for all the changes.

PLEASE COME AND HAVE YOUR SAY

The EGM on 26 November is an important one for AWARE. At the heart of the debate are these questions:

• What are the best ways for AWARE to stay relevant, progressive, and strategic?
• Is AWARE about women’s rights or about gender equality, or both?
• How can AWARE continue to provide a safe space for women while expanding the space for men to play an active part to contribute to its mission?

DOCUMENTS

Please find attached:

1. Notice of EGM
2. Table of Proposed Changes
3.  President’s Letter setting out context of changes
4. Appendix A – Summary of our Members Consultation on our policies relating to gender and memberships

A copy of our current Constitution can be found at http://bit.ly/awaresgconst

The Constitution, with proposed changes marked up, is available at: http://bit.ly/awaresgrev

Please RSVP by Tuesday, 15 November so we can make the necessary seating and catering arrangements. You may do this by sending an email to membership@aware.org.sg or by registering online at https://aware.org.sg/files/egm2016.html. Please let us know if you will be attending the Members Forum or the EGM, or both events.

If you have any questions, please email our membership manager, Jesvinder Kaur at membership@aware.org.sg