PonyTales

Today’s newspaper was showing some statistics on the yearly percentage of women who are in workforce - going up. It makes me ponder for a while because I also contribute to the statistics. I am wondering whether this will help make it easier for women who are working full time and at the same time, have a family with children to care for. What I mean is whether companies and government will set up some policies based on the women’s interest.

You see…I used to wonder why in sports game and some other stuff, they will set goals or rules that are lighter for women. Like in badminton the game point for women is 11, but for men it is higher (15). But, when it comes to work, women have to work the same hour like men (sometimes longer), and after that need to rush home to wash, clean and care for the kids somemore. That way in long run, women really have to be much stronger and cannot afford to fall sick

I know there are some fortunate ladies who got jobs that gives them flexi hour and can work from home. But, in reality…I think there are only a few lucky ones.

Another option is to look for jobs that are not so demanding, maybe teaching in kindy or tuition for half a day. But women will have to trade off their higher paying job for that, and not to mention the numerous questioning by others on why they wanna let go of their qualifications and experiences.

Well…some may even say that we can explore the possibility of running own business (I personally think this requires more time and effort - at least for 5 years) or just marry a rich guy. But hey! I am talking about the majority of us who are working out there. Juggling between family and career.

It would be really great if one day, there are ‘women friendly’ policies or options such as:

• Women who need to be in office work shorter hour (1-2 hour shorter) so that they have enough time to still cook a healthy meal for the family.
• Working mom given flexibility to work from home if it is really not necessary for them to be in office all the time. Submit work through a web portal.
• Offices have proper nursing room for working mothers (instead of smoking room).

These are only a few that I can think of but I am sure there are many more. I think it is really very important points to consider and can contribute greatly to the social health. Women plays a very crucial role in nurturing a healthy generation for the future. I am not saying that men has a less important role, but women ought to be given more flexibility and options.

I hope if we take the first step now, it is still not too let yet