[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/battle-of-the-sexes-what-equal-really-means-in-gender-equality\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/battle-of-the-sexes-what-equal-really-means-in-gender-equality\/","headline":"Battle of the sexes: What \u2018equal\u2019 really means in gender equality","name":"Battle of the sexes: What \u2018equal\u2019 really means in gender equality","description":"\u201cYes! I advocate gender equality \u2013 women should also be caned in prison.\u201d \u201cThere definitely should be gender equality. I welcome the idea that females need to serve National Service (NS) as well.\u201d These are some of the common comments from men when the issue of gender equality springs up. Perhaps the road to equality […]","datePublished":"2021-09-01","dateModified":"2022-01-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Atalia%20Chua\/#Person","name":"Atalia Chua","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Atalia%20Chua\/","identifier":339,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a83f1814f9ae936340d5c9530df0dcd78295c85ee63b72b84945716f843d62d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a83f1814f9ae936340d5c9530df0dcd78295c85ee63b72b84945716f843d62d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1630449357655_feature_image_equal_.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1630449357655_feature_image_equal_.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/battle-of-the-sexes-what-equal-really-means-in-gender-equality\/","about":["Community","Local","Sex & Gender","Singapore"],"wordCount":1305,"articleBody":"\u201cYes! I advocate gender equality \u2013 women should also be caned in prison.\u201d \u201cThere definitely should be gender equality. I welcome the idea that females need to serve National Service (NS) as well.\u201dThese are some of the common comments from men when the issue of gender equality springs up. Perhaps the road to equality has been incessantly bumpy and divergent because what men and women want and what they feel is equal are different, fundamentally hindering society from moving forward.\u00a0This is what \u2018equal\u2019 means to me\u00a0Zheng Xiaoting, 28, wants the right to opinions for both genders. But more significantly than that, the opinions have to matter and be taken into consideration for areas that involve them. She says that men and women should be \u201cable to do the same thing like being a breadwinner or doing house chores\u201d.\u201cWe should also be able to choose what we want to do and be encouraged regardless of our gender,\u201d the account manager adds.\u00a0What Ms Zheng has a gripe with are restrictive and misogynistic catchphrases that stereotype the roles and abilities of genders.\u00a0\u201cAs a [female], I do wish that the other gender would realise that some of the things that they deem as \u2018a man can do it better\u2019 or \u2018it is a woman’s job\u2019 are not true,\u201d she says. Ms Zheng lists a few examples. \u201c[Take for example] driving. Men feel that women are bad drivers. For chores, men feel that women should do them instead,\u201d she says. Ms Zheng feels the societal definition of genders have made \u201cmen feel [like] they should be doing jobs or be in roles that are more \u2018important\u2019 [such as] making money\u201d while women are expected to be submissive housewives or home-makers. For Maxcelin Tan, she believes basic respect is the crux of gender equality.\u00a0\u201cIt simply means having the same amount of respect. As a female, I wish that males could first acknowledge and recognise women as equal human beings and that discrimination or sexism is a form of weakness,\u201d says the 30-year-old bank executive.\u00a0Unfortunately on the job-front, Ms Tan feels discrimination and sexism still exists. She says that opportunities and remuneration are still not equal for both genders.\u00a0However, according to Dr Tan Ern Ser, Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), it is imperative to set the premise of \u2018equality\u2019 before the argument for what is \u2018equal\u2019 can commence.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOne needs to make a distinction between equity and equality,\u201d he starts.Dr Tan cites an \u201cobvious example\u201d where women who just gave birth need more time and work leave to recuperate after pregnancy and childbirth. \u201cAnother example [would be] the restroom design for women. [It] is different from men\u2019s as the former has more cubicles. If we provide [an] equal number of cubicles [for] the sexes, it\u2019d be unfair to women. Consider the long queue outside women\u2019s toilets after a concert,\u201d he says. Therefore, he states that \u201cwhat is equal may not be equitable or fair\u201d.\u00a0Nevertheless, Dr Tan observes similar inequalities that Ms Zheng raised.\u00a0He observes that women shoulder more household and childcare responsibilities than men. This may disadvantage women in their careers or affect their chances of being employed. Even if they enter the workforce, Dr Tan says that the discrimination against women at the workplace, such as a glass ceiling, is a form of gender inequality.\u00a0As gender inequality is about both sexes, he recognises that there are displeasures that men feel towards their obligations.\u00a0\u201cOne common grouse among men is that their national service [causes them to] enter the workforce later than women. At the age of 25, male graduates would be new hires, while female graduates would already have a two-year head start,\u201d Dr Tan says.Evolution of gender equalityAlthough gender inequality still persists in the society, Ms Zheng was asked if it had evolved for the better over the years.\u00a0She believes so. \u201cOver the past 10 years, I could see that there are more females who are prioritising their career [over] being a homemaker. Some are even taking up managerial roles which were commonly [given to] men in the past,\u201d Ms Zheng says. Photo source: FreepikShe sees that the opposite for men is true as well. \u201cThere are also more men who are house husbands now, the person who is doing the chores and looking after the kids instead of climbing the corporate ladder,\u201d Ms Zheng adds. Ms Tan is of the same opinion but brings up the fields of politics and public sector.\u00a0\u201cSince General Election 2020, we are seeing a record high number of women entering politics and making decisions in policy making,\u201d she says. Ms Tan adds that this had shifted equality in the favour of women because \u201cmore female candidates in Parliament give a different perspective in terms of underlying issues that may be affecting the country [where] male candidates may not have the same [amount of] empathy\u201d.\u00a0\u201cThe last decade has also witnessed more females signing on with the Singapore Armed Forces, voluntarily choosing to be a soldier as their career. Being females, they have to go through the same kind of military training as per their fellow male soldiers,\u201d Ms Tan adds. In this regard, she feels optimistic that Singapore is heading in the right direction as \u201cit is encouraging to see that Singapore does not restrict women from having their voices heard and given the same opportunities.\u201d\u00a0In Dr Tan\u2019s view, he thinks that the rise of some forms of feminism has caused a \u201cpush-back\u201d which ironically hindered gender equality as males feel discriminated against.He also says that some \u201cgender division of labour at home or at work need not be seen as a manifestation of male domination or exploitation of women\u201d. That is because some may have been a product of \u201cegalitarian and gender power relations\u201d instead.\u00a0How can things be more \u2018equal\u2019Despite these, Ms Tan says that more has and can be done. Despite the improvements, she would like to see \u201cmore regulations imposed on companies in the area of workplace fairness\u201d. Ms Tan elaborates that employees should not be discriminated against and that they should be afforded the same opportunities as fresh graduates. \u201cIt is very common to hear older people struggling to find [a place] in today’s society. So in terms of employment practices, more could be done,\u201d Ms Tan adds.\u00a0Ms Zheng on the other hand believes division of labour when it comes to raising a family should be rebalanced.\u00a0\u201cI feel that both men and women can do house chores and [look] after kids at home,\u201d she says. But like Ms Tan, she criticises the discrimination women face at the workplace.\u201cIn Singapore, we get to receive proper education regardless of our gender thus we have equal opportunities. However, there are companies or recruiters who prefer a certain gender for some jobs as they deem it is \u2018more suitable\u2019,\u201d Ms Zheng says. In addition, she says that the perception of certain roles or jobs need to change in order to encourage the other gender to venture into those fields, such as nursing or childhood education where it is female-dominated.\u00a0Dr Tan re-emphasised that the challenges that hinder more equality is because of the egalitarian nature of gender power dynamics. \u201cWhen women do more housework than men, is it necessarily a manifestation of gender inequality? I am inclined to say no [because] division of labour is mutually agreed by an egalitarian couple,\u201d he says. The issue with equality of power relations is women do not have \u201cequal power to choose and access to opportunities”.\u00a0According to Dr Tan, if they do, then that is gender equality.Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Battle of the sexes: What \u2018equal\u2019 really means in gender equality","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/battle-of-the-sexes-what-equal-really-means-in-gender-equality\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]