New workgroup to tackle Singapore’s falling fertility rate to release full report in early 2027
The workgroup will examine factors such as costs, housing and workplace practices, and may make early recommendations before its full report.
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SINGAPORE: A new workgroup to tackle Singapore’s falling fertility rate will release its findings by early next year.
The Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup will examine factors affecting marriage and parenthood in Singapore, such as financial costs, work-life support, caregiving, housing, healthcare, preschool and education, the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) said in a press release on Wednesday (Apr 29).
The workgroup, first announced during the Budget debate in February, will also engage with employers, businesses, community organisations and individual Singaporeans to promote societal norms and workplace practices that better support marriage and parenthood.
It may make early recommendations before the full report is released.
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Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, who chairs the group, said the issue is a "very personal" one involving people's mindsets, attitudes, values, personal goals and ambitions – things the government cannot intrude too heavily upon.
“There is a tendency to generally ask: ‘So what's the government going to do?’. And the expectation is that that will just result in a policy change. You can do that for some things, but not when it involves intangibles like this,” she said at an interview with reporters at The Treasury building.
Society as a whole – employers, religious organisations, relatives and influencers – must play a role, said Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and for National Development.
Alongside her in the workgroup are eight political office holders, four of whom are serving their first term in office. They represent the Prime Minister's Office and eight ministries:
- Indranee Rajah, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and for National Development
- Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry
- Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State for Health
- Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Manpower
- Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education
- Goh Pei Ming, Minister of State for Social and Family Development
- Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Minister of State for Social and Family Development
- Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower
- Goh Hanyan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth
Singapore's total fertility rate (TFR) fell to a record low of 0.87 last year, from 0.97 the year before. Ms Indranee said this carried "deep ramifications" for the country if left unaddressed.
She identified housing, caregiving and preschool education as three areas where changes could be made earlier than others.
When asked to name a target fertility rate, Ms Indranee declined to put a figure on it.
"What would really, really be good is if we have more babies than we had last year, and if our TFR figure is better than it was last year," she said.
WHAT SUCCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE
Ms Indranee listed six measures of success for the workgroup.
The first is for young people to have opportunities to form relationships and potentially find a life partner. She noted that many young Singaporeans find it harder to meet people once they enter the workforce, and are uncertain about who they might encounter on dating apps.
The second is for people to associate parenthood less with fears about "competition, stress and horror stories", and more with the joys of raising children and the support available to them.
Third is a significant reduction in the stigma around fertility treatment, alongside more progressive workplace practices to support employees undergoing it.
Fourth is reducing the "maternity penalty" faced by women. Ms Indranee proposed the concept of a "detour" – normalising women taking two or three years away from work to have and raise a child, with the assurance of a supportive employer upon their return.
Fifth is a shift in workplace culture so that work and family goals are seen as compatible rather than competing.
“Right now, it seems the conversation is always binary. When you talk to employers and employees, it's almost as though if I have family time, somehow work has to be sacrificed, or if I'm doing work, family has to be sacrificed. And honestly speaking, that shouldn't be the case,” said Ms Indranee.
Employees should be able to leave work before dark to spend time with their families, and enjoy weekends and public holidays without work interruptions except in emergencies, she added.
The sixth is better and more progressive human resource practices and work design, given that some existing norms may be outdated.
“Now, work can be much more flexible. You can do things online, you can do things on computers, you can leverage AI to work,” she said, while acknowledging that the degree of flexibility varies by sector.
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