SINGAPORE has suffered from a chronically low birth rate for decades, with just 1.14 children per woman. The government is trying to remedy this concerning situation by introducing various measures to boost the birth rate in the city-state.
Extending paternity leave is one such initiative. To encourage fathers to be more actively involved in the arrival of a child, paternity leave will be doubled as of January 1, 2024. It will be increased from two to four weeks, as recently stated by Singapore's Finance Minister, Lawrence Wong, at the annual budget presentation.
Companies will be able to choose whether to grant these two additional weeks of leave to new fathers, in order to manage their staffing needs. The extra days off will be fully reimbursed by the government.
While paternity leave came into effect in 2013 in the city-state, few men use it. Two-thirds of Singaporean fathers did not use it in 2018, according to The Strait Times.
Other people's perceptions weigh heavily on the choice of paternity leave for new parents. The traditional view of the 'pater familias' – very focused on his career and not so involved in family tasks – remains firmly rooted in Asia, as does the idea that childcare is primarily a woman's responsibility.
In addition, Singaporeans have a very particular relationship with work. Many of them work overtime in order to be seen in a good light by their managers and colleagues, even if that means sacrificing family life.
Towards parental parity?
This is why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is thinking of making the extra two weeks of paid leave mandatory. "We will review this over time and intend to make this mandatory in due course. We want paternal involvement to be the norm in our society," said Lawrence Wong in his budget speech, reports Bloomberg.
Other measures have also been put in place to encourage fathers to get more involved in family life and, more generally, to encourage couples in the city-state to have children. These include an increase in the baby bonus paid to new parents and an increase in the number of days of unpaid annual leave parents can take to care for an infant.
Charlene Tan, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, hopes that these initiatives will enhance gender equality in the workplace. "Such moves can also help women back into the labor force and increase the chance of having colleagues who are empathetic and understanding in covering work when the need arises," she writes in an opinion piece for Channel News Asia.
So is parental parity in Singaporean companies imminent? Nothing could be less certain. But the government's initiatives to boost the birth rate in the city-state are inspiring other Asian countries, which are similarly concerned about their aging populations.
Japan, for example, allows its workers to take paternity leave for up to a year, compared with one and a half years in South Korea. But mentalities still need to change when it comes to parenthood. – ETX Daily Up, February 22, 2023
