changing roles of men and women

Traditionally, women have primarily been the employees of their own home. For centuries, it was the men who worked jobs to make money and the women who remained at home to raise the children and fulfill the household duties. Over time, some women have stood out among the crowd and have
made themselves distinct due to extraordinary things they've accomplished through exhaustive efforts, but they were unique- it was not the norm. Women had always faced challenges entering and progressing within the workforce. However, there seems to be a change in the whole dynamics. Around the world, as feminism became a stronger driving force and often due to looming economic pressures, women became united and fortified and became more involved and accepted in work and activities outside the home.

According to the Gender Empowerment Measure on inequalities between men's and women's opportunity in a country, Singapore ranks 16 out of 177 countries in the 2007/2008 UN Human Development Report. Many companies now provide inclusive environments for female employees where their ideas thrive, their opinions matter and their contributions recognized. This reflects not only the progress that Singapore women have made in areas such as education and career, but also a shift in employers mindsets, a shift towards providing equal opportunities to nurture the talent of female executives to help them realize their fullest potential.
In terms of workforce participation, more women are working today. Last year, almost 56 percent of the women residents aged 15 and over in Singapore contributed actively to the workforce. According to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women's Advancement, there are 70.59 women for every 100 men in the labour force this year. Although women still lagged behind men in terms of labour force participation rate, we have closed the gap over the decade.
On top of that, more women are rising up the corporate ladder. It is no longer unusual to come across a lady CEO. The proportion of lady corporate managers has been climbing progressively over the years. From 24 percent in 1994, the figure rose to 35 percent in 2007. That is a significant and steady increase. In fact, women set a record in 2006, representing 58 percent of all corporate managers.
Chua Sock Koong is the Group CEO of Singtel. She oversees the businesses in Singapore, Australia and International. She was ranked 15th in the most powerful female executive in global business by CNN magazine in 2007.
Deb Henretta is the group president of Procter & Gamble. She was ranked 19 in the most powerful business women globally. She was also ranked 86th in the “World’s most powerful women” by Forbes magazine.
Olivia Lu is the group chief executive officer, and the president of Hyflux Group. She was ranked 50 in the most powerful women in global business. Moreover, she is the only woman on Forbes’ “Southeast Asia Rich List” in 2005.
Ho Ching is the executive director and Chief executive of Temasek holdings. She is ranked 5th in the list of “the World’s most powerful women” in 2009. Their rankings are a combination of two scores: visibility – by press mentions and the size of the organisation or country these women lead. In 2007, she was picked as one of the “100 most powerful men and women” who shaped the world by TIME. Also in 2007, CNN ‘s fortune magazine ranked her 3rd in the list of “most powerful women in business”.
Even in the politics, there has been a changing role of women. There are now 23 women among the 94 Members of Parliament. With more higher-educated and professional women, we are optimistic that we will see more women entering politics in the near future. April 1st 2009 marked the day when a woman joined the ranks of Singapore’s top political leadership as a full minister. Mrs Lim Hwee Hua was promoted to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and appointed concurrently as Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport. Mrs Lim’s promotion marks the end of a long wait for Singapore’s first woman minister and she was promoted because of merit, not gender, according to the Prime Minister Lee himself. These changes have been made possible due to equal and easy access to opportunities in education and career in Singapore.
It is clear that women's roles have changed over time largely due to feminism but also due to economic pressures, although how much and to what extent is not always as obvious. Throughout the world it was predominantly assumed that the role of the woman is to stay home and raise their children. This practice has been done for thousands of years, and although some women distinguished themselves and acted outside the social norms, the majority of women still remained subservient and domestic. There may always have been the sentiment that women felt qualified to do more than what was expected of them but because it is difficult to resist the trends and the traditions in society, these feelings may have been muted or dampened into submission. Over time, the passing of centuries always brings with it different movements, transformations, and revolutions that create an atmosphere allowing for modifications to take place and to hopefully remain. Additionally, wars and periods of economic difficulties also allowed for changes. It is during these and other times, that feminism and its ideas of equality for women grew in strength and determination, allowing for the transition of women from the home-place to the work-place to take root. However, just because women began taking on new roles does not mean that they were completely accepted and were given equal opportunities as men. Even today there are situations where women performing the exact duties as men are paid less. Has the transformation of women into the workplace changed over time? Obviously, but has the transformation been completed with women given equal status as men? The answer has to be no because there are still cases of discrimination and preferential treatment for men.