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Article from Straits Times, 14 Mar 2007
March 14, 2007
Stay-at-home mothers have a big job; they are CEOs of the home
I REFER to the Insight feature, 'Zooming in on the stay-at-home team' (ST, March 10).
The realities are these - Singapore's population is ageing, and living longer; Singapore has to continue creating jobs so the economy can continue to grow; matured workers have to have a fighting chance to continue contributing to the economy and, more importantly, remain physically and mentally active and to grow old gracefully; stay-at-home mothers constitute a potential pool of talent that employers can and should tap.
Let me first acknowledge the 'sacrifice' that stay-at-home mothers are making. Most do so to spend enough quality time with growing-up children so they grow up with good and strong values, and to be good citizens of Singapore. This is an important task that cannot and should not be relegated to domestic helpers nor well-meaning grandparents.
When I am asked what my wife does, I take great pride to say that she is working, and that she is working very hard at being the CEO of the house. Not only does my wife look after our two children, but she also takes care of the entire family's daily needs, for example, providing healthy meals.
Without a shadow of a doubt, stay-at-home mothers play a very important role in the family as well as in society. We should acknowledge this and maybe give them a new identity, 'Home CEOs'. 'Housewives' sounds demeaning, is a misnomer and does not acknowledge the contributions they make in society.
Here's another reality. When women become parents, many of them 'cease to exist' for themselves. They (rightly) place the interests of their children and family in the forefront of their daily lives - they arrange their time to suit their every need and devote most, if not all, of their waking hours to family needs.
This is not quite right. They need to acknowledge that they are still individuals in their own right and need to take good care of their physical, mental and emotional well-being. Playing the role of Home CEO is an important one. However, we cannot deny the fact that many women need to continue their association with the working world as the mental and intellectual stimulation is at a different level and dimension.
Besides employers having to make available practical work arrangements to encourage this group of talent to contribute to their business, husbands can and must also play a contributing role. There are many practical ways that husbands can be involved in the management of the family and household - and they should.
This will alleviate, somehow, the demands on their wives so they can consider returning to the workforce. At the end of the day, we should work towards a win-win situation such that the economy can benefit from the contributions of Home CEOs and matured workers, who in turn can continue to contribute to the economy and retain/regain their sense of self-worth, and growing up children and aged parents continue to receive the much needed guidance and support. There is another possible 'win' - working women may be further motivated to have more babies.
Paul Heng
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