The Singapore Alliance for Women in Ageing (SAWA) is an alliance of four organisations (AWARE, Persatuan Pemudi Islam Singapura, Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations and the Tsao Foundation), established in 2018 to raise awareness about the gendered nature of ageing in Singapore.

SAWA has this month submitted a report to the government to coincide with Singapore’s national gender equality review. This report is the product of a community discussion with 38 family caregivers of older persons conducted in May 2021, as well as past research. Through this report, SAWA hopes to give voice to caregivers in the community and ensure that their views are adequately considered in the ongoing review of gender issues.

The policy recommendations made in this report are aimed at addressing working caregivers’ needs and ensuring caregivers’ financial security in their old age. The four primary recommendations are:

1. Legislating the right to request flexible work arrangements
2. Converting childcare leave to family care leave
3. Making CareShield Life premiums gender-neutral
4. Introducing a caregiver allowance/matched retirement savings

Also included are key concerns about existing policies, and the potential drawbacks of each recommendation raised by community members during the discussion.

Read the full submission from SAWA here.