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New York UN

STATEMENT BY MR. JEREMY SOR, DELEGATE TO THE 73RD SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ON AGENDA ITEM 29, ON ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN, THIRD COMMITTEE, 5 AND 8 OCTOBER 2018

5 October 2018

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Mr Chair,

1.             Thank you for giving me the floor.

2.             Singapore aligns itself with the statement delivered by Thailand on behalf of ASEAN.


3.             Our discussion on Advancement of Women takes on added significance this year with the election of Her Excellency María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés as President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.  As the fourth woman to preside over the General Assembly, her election marks another milestone in the global advocacy for gender equality and empowerment of women.  I join the other Member States in congratulating her.

4.             Back home, Singapore continues to move the needle on the advancement of women. Our first woman President, Madam Halimah Yacob, was sworn in on 14 September 2017. 

5.             Mr Chair, Singapore remains committed to the advancement of women as integral and equal members of our society.

6.             As a small island state with practically no natural resources, the survival and success of Singapore depend on our people.  For this reason, the Singapore Government spares no effort in ensuring the equality of all persons before the law; in recognising every talent and developing it to the fullest; and in upholding a system where opportunities and rewards are not based on gender or other discriminatory criteria, but merit.  This concept of meritocracy forms the bedrock of gender equality in Singapore.

7.             Women in Singapore enjoy strong legal protection under our Constitution and legislation, such as the Women’s Charter, the Penal Code, the Employment Act, the Protection from Harassment Act, and the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act.  In 2015, Singapore acceded to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

8.             We see education as an enabler, and have designed our education system such that no child gets left behind.  In 2017, the literacy rate of our resident female population was 95.7%, and this continues to improve.  In 2016, over half of our university graduates were women.  Women in Singapore contribute actively to our economy.  Last year, the labour participation rate of women in their prime working ages of 25 to 54 years was 80.8%, compared to just 58% in 1995.  They have also made inroads into previously male-dominated professions, such as medicine, scientific research, the legal profession, and, against the backdrop of the ongoing technological revolution, digital entrepreneurship.  The Singapore Government has worked with employers and unions to promote fair, responsible, and merit-based employment practices. 

9.             However, these figures cannot be taken for granted.  The demands on women today are increasingly challenging, and we salute ordinary women accomplishing extraordinary things every day, both at home and at work.  To help our people better juggle their work-life commitments, the Singapore Government has introduced funding and incentives to encourage employers to offer flexible work arrangements and to redesign jobs.  We have also enhanced our leave schemes and increased the number of child care places by over 40,000 in the past four years.  There are now enough child care places for one in two children island-wide.

10.        Mr Chair, our work is not done.  We have taken steps to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions, and the Singapore Government is leading by example as women accounted for nearly a third of the top two leadership positions in the Civil Service last year, compared to just 10% in 2004.  Our Diversity Action Committee is also working to increase the proportion of board positions held by women in publicly listed companies from the current 11% to 30% by 2030.  With the improvement in healthcare and longer life expectancy, it is also important for us to strengthen the retirement adequacy of our people, especially women.  With this in mind, the Singapore Government enacted the Retirement and Re-employment Act, which allows seniors who are willing and able to continue working beyond retirement to do so, and introduced initiatives such as SkillsFuture to help our people remain in or re-enter the workforce through reskilling and upgrading.

11.        Mr Chair, Singapore is heartened to be ranked 12th out of 160 countries in the 2017 Gender Inequality Index, and 9th out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index in the same year.  The advancement of women is not a short sprint but a marathon.  We will continue our efforts in the advancement of women, as part of our goal of realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

12.        Thank you, Mr Chair.

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