More working women needed

GETTING more women back to work is gaining urgency as Singapore aims to reduce its reliance on foreign workers, said National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.

'Singapore cannot have a limitless pool of foreign workers without imposing tremendous strain on our society,' she explained on Wednesday.

Hence the need to woo more women back to work. The female labour force participation rate here is only 56 per cent, compared to the average of 78.6 per cent in Scandinavian countries. This lower female participation rate pulled down Singapore's position in a global competitiveness ranking - from third to 84th place.

She revealed this at the launch of a new book - Work! Live! Play! The Scandinavian And Singapore Experiences On Enhancing Productivity With Work-Life Innovations.

It features 11 companies that have work-life programmes.