This post was originally published as a press release on 15 February 2023.

Amid a suite of announcements in the 2023 National Budget aimed at boosting support for families and working parents, gender-equality organisation AWARE found cause for optimism. Yet the group also identified places where the Government’s vision, of a “Singapore Made for Families”, fell short of full inclusivity.

Responding to the “Moving Forward in a New Era” Budget announcement, delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on 14 February, AWARE Executive Director Corinna Lim commended a number of progressive family-oriented policy changes. “Initiatives to support families inevitably provide support for women, as the domestic sphere is still viewed as ‘women’s domain,’” she noted. “We were pleased to see attempts to break that stereotype and address other historical shortcomings.”

The doubling of paternity leave entitlements from two to four weeks—which continues a promising trend to increase men’s domestic participation and thus dismantle traditional gender roles—was heartily cheered on by AWARE. The group also praised the doubling of unpaid infant care leave for all parents with Singaporean children under two.

“A decade after Singapore first introduced paternity leave, we’re glad to see the leave quantum increased to a full month,” said Ms Lim. “That said, the amount of leave available to fathers now still falls short of the full 16 weeks available to mothers, which signals that the latter should be primarily responsible for childcare. This despite the fact that, as DPM Wong noted, paternal involvement carries a wealth of benefits to all members of a family, and indeed to society.”

AWARE has previously recommended the full equalisation of paternity and maternity leave.

Secondly, AWARE welcomed the announcement of additional financial support for new parents under the enhanced Baby Bonus Scheme: larger cash gifts (increased by $3,000 per child), more Government contributions to the Child Development Account (in the form of the enhanced First Step Grant and $1,000 in co-matching caps per child) and the extension of the Baby Support Grant.

The group also commended the change to the Working Mother’s Child Relief (WMCR), from a percentage of mothers’ earned income to a fixed dollar amount. While some higher-income mothers will receive a smaller relief sum, WMCR will provide proportionately more support for the low-income women most in need of assistance, and thereby be more progressive.

Ms Lim pointed out, however, that “it is not clear if this change would reduce the total amount of relief available to mothers via the WMCR. We hope that the Government will clarify this point and confirm that this was not the intention or expected effect of the change.”

AWARE noted furthermore that the aforementioned benefits do not support all parents equally: Unwed single parents are only eligible for those under the Child Development Account, not the other benefits under Baby Bonus or WMCR.* Considering that single parents are likely to be the sole breadwinners of their households, not to mention primary providers of care for their children, AWARE has advocated for their inclusion in such cash gifts and relief schemes.

“We celebrate alongside the mothers, particularly low-income mothers, who stand to benefit from these upgraded schemes, and whose child-rearing costs will be offset,” said Ms Lim. “Yet it is impossible to celebrate without thinking of those for whom the news was meaningless—or, worse, a sharp reminder of the prejudice and marginalisation they continue to face, as unwed single mothers. We hoped that the Budget would put a dent in the suite of policies that unreasonably penalise vulnerable single-parent families in Singapore, but it was not the case.”

Lastly, with low-income families facing the pressure of inflation and pandemic-related challenges, AWARE applauded measures to tighten the social safety net, such as the $300 million top-up to the ComCare Endowment Fund, the upscaling of KidSTART and the continued commitment to provide subsidised childcare. AWARE had previously recommended that childcare be made free for all low-income families in Singapore.

“When families’ social mobility is constrained, women and children often bear the brunt,” observed Ms Lim. “While there is room to go further, we are happy to see sustained efforts to equalise the playing field for these children at the earliest stages of their lives.”

Read AWARE’s previous Budget recommendations and responses here.

* Correction: An earlier version of this press release implied that unwed single mothers were eligible for WMCR in addition to CDA, but they are not.