PAP Women’s Wing to submit marriage and parenthood recommendations in January 2027

SINGAPORE – Making workplaces more supportive of employees undergoing fertility treatment will be a key focus of proposals by the PAP Women’s Wing to help Singaporeans navigate marriage and parenthood.

The group aims to submit its recommendations to a marriage and parenthood workgroup in January 2027.

Women’s Wing chairperson Sim Ann said on Nov 12 that the group hopes to firm up and put forward recommendations on fertility support, including how employers can create workplaces that are more supportive of those undergoing fertility treatment.

Meanwhile, NTUC is rolling out initiatives to help workers better balance their jobs and family responsibilities, including a refreshed jobs portal with a dedicated section for flexible-work roles.

These include jobs offering remote work, flexible hours and reduced or flexible workloads. About 37 employers will test the platform on Nov 13.

Speaking at the Women’s Wing’s ninth engagement session in 2026, Sim said more support from workplaces could make a difference for couples trying to conceive.

“Singaporeans undergoing fertility treatments are already committed to the idea of starting a family. If we are able to provide more support for them, including in terms of getting employers to also buy in to create a more fertility-friendly workplace culture, I think that would make a big difference.”

The session, held in collaboration with NTUC Women and Family and Fertility Support SG, brought together employers and employees to discuss how workplaces can better support those going through fertility treatments.

Sim said more than 800 people have taken part in the nine sessions held so far, which have focused largely on dating, marriage and parenthood.

Among concerns raised were the financial costs of starting a family, finding enough time for family life, balancing career and family commitments, and health and well-being issues such as conception and fertility.

The Women’s Wing will consolidate feedback into recommendations for the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah.

The inter-agency workgroup is reviewing areas including work-life balance, fertility and maternal health, childcare costs, housing and education pressures. Its full report is expected in early 2027.

Sim said there is no single solution to making Singapore more family-friendly, and efforts would have to address workplace culture, financial pressures and wider attitudes towards marriage and parenthood.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling said the refreshed jobs portal was developed partly in response to feedback from workers who said they did not know where to find flexible jobs.

Some of the jobs listed had been redesigned by employers to accommodate flexible arrangements, rather than simply labelling existing roles as flexible, said Yeo, who is also director of NTUC Women and Family and PAP Women’s Wing’s head of research.

But such arrangements are not enough, Yeo said. Employees also need to feel safe asking for flexibility without fearing it would affect how they are assessed.

“A lot of people, when they return to the workplace, they don’t stop being mums. They don’t stop being caregivers,” she said.

Employers at the Nov 12 session said making workplaces more fertility-friendly would require them to navigate difficult questions around disclosure, fairness and business needs.

Adrian Ang, 39, director of pickleball business Pickle and Bones, one of the participants, said the discussion deepened his understanding of emotional and practical challenges employees may face during fertility treatments.

Having gone through his own fertility journey with his wife, Ang said employees may find it difficult to tell their employers about such needs.

“How do we create a safer environment? How can we make these conversations a little bit more comfortable?” he said.

His company already offers flexible work arrangements, but he said the bigger challenge is making such flexibility part of workplace culture, especially when longer-term arrangements are needed.

Employers also face questions of fairness when dealing with different workers with different needs, he added.

Businesses would benefit from guidance and professional support on managing these needs, he said.

Men should also be part of conversations about fertility-friendly workplaces, Ang said, as starting a family is an equal responsibility. Men, too, could face emotional challenges and need time away during fertility treatment.