For the first time, Singapore will have two women ministers in Cabinet.
Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, who will be promoted to full minister on Monday, will join Community, Culture and Youth Minister Grace Fu as the second woman in the now 22-strong Cabinet.
Mrs Teo, 48, will be Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.
She will also take on a new portfolio as Second Minister for Manpower, a field not unfamiliar to the former assistant secretary-general at the National Trades Union Congress.
MPs and women groups said yesterday that Mrs Teo’s promotion brings women one step closer to having equal representation in leadership positions, including politics.
In a Facebook post welcoming Mrs Teo to Cabinet, Ms Fu said: “This signifies yet another step forward for women in Singapore. I hope to see more women fulfilling their aspirations and taking on leadership roles, regardless of their line of work.”
Ms Jolene Tan, head of advocacy and research at the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware), said: “It is important to not just remove formal barriers to equal representation but also promote it actively.”
This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
