This post was originally published as a press release on 17 February 2021.

Gender-equality organisation AWARE expressed approval of some measures in Singapore’s “Emerging Stronger Together” National Budget, announced yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. These measures were aimed at alleviating the challenges of low-income workers and senior workers, groups that traditionally contain a large proportion of women. AWARE was also pleased to see a Green Plan 2030 budget being set aside to develop a more sustainable island. 

However, AWARE found a disappointing dearth of measures to explicitly uplift and support the caregivers in society, who are predominantly women. In its Budget submission last month, AWARE had urged policy-makers to adopt a gender-sensitive approach, with (among other measures) the introduction of a state-funded income for caregivers, mandatory paid eldercare leave and investment in long-term care infrastructure for ageing-in-place.

“Given the announced 2021 theme of ‘Celebrating SG Women’, the ongoing gender equality review and Singapore’s rapidly ageing population, we had hoped that this year’s budget would acknowledge the unequal road to success and security for women, whose vulnerabilities are well-documented,” said Ms Corinna Lim, AWARE’s Executive Director. “We are glad that the government announced salary increases for nurses and healthcare workers, but we wished to see more measures to support unpaid, informal caregivers, especially family caregivers to the elderly.”

Research by AWARE in 2019 looked at eldercare’s negative impact on women’s finances, finding that many respondents had experienced a change in employment status due to their care responsibilities. These suffered an average 63% loss in income, or an average annual loss of $56,877.

“DPM Heng rightly observed that Singapore must never stop thinking about its future,” said Ms Lim. “We are glad to see the government taking necessary steps to raise its revenues to fund the increased healthcare needs of our ageing population. But we also need a plan for the country to develop healthcare and social infrastructure to meet these needs. This is not news—every year that passes brings Singapore closer to an eldercare emergency.” 

One announcement that AWARE commended was the government’s aspiration to expand the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) beyond its current sectors. However, Ms Lim added that universal application of PWM should be a more immediate goal. 

“We hope that this expansion can be rolled out at a quicker pace, especially to women-concentrated sectors such as the long-term care and social care sectors,” she said. “We know that the pandemic has shaken up low-income workers’ livelihoods, so let’s assure them of a living wage and reduce their reliance on the vagaries of global economic forces.” 

AWARE looks forward to more gender-specific concerns being addressed by various ministries in the Committee of Supply debates.

AWARE’s 11th annual Budget submission was submitted on 8 January 2021.