Speech by President Halimah Yacob at 7th Singapore Women's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Social and Family Development

Ms Junie Foo, President of Singapore Council of Women's Organisations
 
Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. Welcome to the Istana for the 7th Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Today is International Women’s Day, and it is most appropriate for us to mark the day by celebrating the achievements and contributions of Singapore’s outstanding women.

Over the past seven years, 160 women have been inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame. These outstanding women have made an indelible impact on our nation – as boundary breakers, record holders, risk-takers and change-makers. Today, I am delighted to induct another seven women to this list. Their contributions may be in different areas - such as in health and community services, the arts, sports, education, and aviation – but what they have in common is the determination to excel, to do good and to make a difference in the world.

Some of them have had to overcome great challenges and adversities in their journeys. For example, despite going through many hurdles to become one of the first women here to complete a flying training course, Teo Ah Hong could not fulfil her dream of becoming a pilot, simply because she was a woman. This must have been a frustrating setback for Ah Hong – to be denied the opportunity to become a pilot not based on her skills and qualifications, which she had, but on her gender. But she persevered and did not let it deter her from her passion, and three years later in 1974, Ah Hong became the first woman in Singapore with a commercial pilot licence. Over the next few decades, she went on to train many pilots, many amongst them men.

Some of them dared to do what others had not done before. For example, when Santha Bhaskar was young, she excelled at science and mathematics in school. But she was also very good at dance and music, which was the path she took in the 1950s when her parents arranged for her to marry a classical Indian dancer and dance instructor. She shone as an instructor and choreographer, often looking for ways to inject elements of other Asian dance styles into her work. In her late 70s, Santha managed to find a way to merge her different passions together – she worked with researchers at NUS’ Centre for Quantum Technologies on dance performances that mimicked the behaviour of particles through fine, precise movements. I am glad to see her here today, and understand that she is still actively teaching future generations of artists in the art of classic Indian dances.

Ah Hong, Santha and the five other ladies being inducted today – Ida, Mae, Shan Mei, Myrna and Annabel – as well as the 160 ladies before them, exhibit traits and values that we hope many more Singaporeans will embody, regardless of gender and age. They were bold and fearless, visionary and creative, courageous and compassionate, tenacious and determined, and most importantly generous and selfless. These women have shown us the importance of building resilience, learning to overcome setbacks, being free to dream, and working hard to make those dreams come true. Congratulations to all of them!

I am pleased to know the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations, or SCWO, have encapsulated the stories of these uplifting women in a book for children, titled “Awesome Women of Singapore”. Apart from bringing these inspiring stories to children, the book will also showcase the skills of 10 local women illustrators. These artists have done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the women and their achievements. I am sure that many young Singaporeans will be inspired by the stories of the women inducted in Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame.

SCWO will also be implementing “Project Awesome: Dare to Dream” alongside the launch of the book. They will be giving complimentary copies of the book to schools and children’s homes. Lesson plans, workshops, exhibitions and talks will be offered to those who wish to use the stories of the Awesome women to teach about core values and personal skills. Through this initiative, SCWO will be able to extend the reach of the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame beyond the 200,000 Singaporeans it has already reached.

The journey towards gender equality is a relentless one. Societal attitudes have evolved over the years and will continue to change.  Different generations will have different perspectives on women’s issues. If we want to affect change, it is important to hear views from different segments of society and on issues about women that interest them. That is why the ongoing Conversations on Singapore Women’s Development are important. It is an opportunity for us to take stock of the many changes we have gone through in our society and to hear each other’s aspirations for the progress of women here. It also allows the Government to rethink how to approach policies and issues, based on our aspirations and goals. I hope that the recommendations put forth by the Government in its White Paper later this year would encapsulate our aspirations in practicable and pragmatic ways. I think many of us will not realise it, but Singapore’s industrialisation programme was very successful in the early seventies onwards because we had factories coming in that brought along plenty of opportunities for women. If you did not have women working in those days making sure the machines were running, our industrialisation programme would not have been so successful. It is very important that we share with our women and younger generation that they had really powered the factories in those days so we could start our industrialisation programme.

Individually, we can also play our part by discerning how our own actions can influence others around us, especially our young. Our own actions and speech can perpetuate gender stereotypes and distort our views of both ourselves and others. For example, how a mother and father interact in a house will influence their child’s view on how women and men should interact, and the expectations of each gender within a household.  We have seen research on why there are so few women in STEM, whether it is lack of ambition or jobs. It is because of conversations at home. Parents tend to encourage the girls to go for softer options, rather than go for what we think are largely for men, such as engineering or science or mathematics or technology, so conversations are very important. We have to be careful and mindful of how we are influencing our young, particularly our young women. We often do not realise it, but women ourselves can sometimes inadvertently perpetuate certain stereotypes too. For example, a seemingly harmless comment to our fellow female colleague that a promotion is out of reach for women may weaken her self-confidence and discourage her from pursuing it. Let us be more cognisant of what we say and do, and quash attempts to box women into bleak and distorted stereotypes, which may set them back emotionally, physically and professionally.

But all is not bleak. Over the past few days, I have had the opportunity to meet different groups of women and men who are charting new grounds in different fields and building the means to advance women’s roles in our society. They are paving the way for the next generation of women leaders, in fields ranging from the arts to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). They are allocating safe spaces and encouraging our young to speak up through dialogues. They are building a society that values, respects and creates opportunities for our women to contribute alongside men. Seeing such enthusiasm and dedication from these women and men gives me hope that we are on the right track to reduce the equality gap between women and men.

Today, I am also happy to be unveiling the Papilionanthe SG Women. I would like to dedicate this flower to all Singapore women in commemoration of International Women’s Day. It is a new orchid hybrid which traces its lineage back to the Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore’s national flower and one of the first orchid hybrid bred by a woman, Miss Agnes Joaquim. I am sure that this flower will flourish and bloom like all our elegant and poised Singapore women who are always striving to fulfil their aspiration and achieve ever more for our nation, families and human kind.

Once again, I would like to congratulate Ida, Mae, Shan Mei, Myrna, Santha, Annabel and Ah Hong who are being inducted to the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame. You have helped to shape Singapore and your stories will continue to inspire Singaporeans for many generations to come.

Thank you.