DPM Gan Kim Yong at the Centre for Fathering 25th Anniversary Charity Gala Dinner

Mr. Keith Magnus, Chairman, Centre for Fathering (CFF)
Mr. Lim Soon Hock and Mr. Richard Hoon, CFF Honorary Chairmen
CFF Board Members
Dr. Xander Ong, CFF CEO
CFF Partners, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Good evening to all of you. Thank you for inviting me to join you at this dinner to mark CFF’s 25th anniversary.

Families are the bedrock of our society. They provide us with support, security and love, particularly when we are in trouble, facing challenging times. When families flourish, so does society.

Studies have shown that active parental engagement significantly enhances a child’s learning, emotional growth, social development, and overall wellbeing. More specifically, research shows that children benefit from fathers’ active involvement in their early years; and these benefits last well beyond their childhood.

In this regard, CFF plays a vital role. Through its wide range of programmes and support groups in schools, workplaces, communities, and prisons, CFF equips fathers with the tools and confidence to be more present and connected to their children. These initiatives have reached more than 70,000 fathers since the year 2000.

I am pleased to note that CFF has also expanded its outreach to mothers since 2019, through the MUMS for Life movement. What would we do without mothers? Indeed, while mothers and fathers have different roles to play in parenting, they are complementary, and equally important to a child’s development.

Surveys show that Singaporeans have consistently placed their families among their top priorities. Many young couples also say that one key factor affecting their decision to have children is whether they would be able to balance both work and family commitments.

The Government will double down our efforts to create a more family-friendly environment, to make it easier for Singaporeans to achieve their parenthood aspirations.

This is why we have significantly enhanced our parenting policies in recent years. Let me just give you some examples: Last year, we doubled the Unpaid Infant Care Leave from 6 to 12 days per parent; since April this year, we doubled Government-Paid Paternity Leave on a mandatory basis from two to four weeks; and we also introduced six weeks of new Shared Parental Leave (SPL). This will be increased to 10 weeks come next April. So do not wait.

In addition, we also introduced the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests last year, which sets out the requirements and good practices for open communication between employers and employees on flexi-work arrangements, and aims to help employees – including parents – balance work with caregiving responsibilities.

We hope that these enhancements will support parents’ desire to be more involved in caring for their children, to have more equal sharing of parental responsibilities, and spend time nurturing and bonding with their children.

But to make Singapore more family-friendly, we will need a whole-of-society effort that involves the Government, the people sector, as well as the private sector.

As I shared earlier, CFF has a range of initiatives to support fathers and mothers in their journey as parents. I am also pleased to hear that CFF will launch a new “Our First 1,000 Days” programme next year. This programme will support fathers as they enter fatherhood, up until their child’s third birthday. It will also promote shared caregiving responsibilities, and work with employers to foster father-friendly workplace cultures through initiatives such as Eat With Your Family Day and Back to School with Dad.

Employers, too, have a role to play. It is not easy to manage the demands of work and family life, we should strive to create a family-friendly work culture. This should be seen as a business imperative, because it helps companies attract and retain talent, and encourages productivity in the workplace.

Earlier this year, six organisations received the Great Companies for Dads Awards from CFF, for championing family-friendly workplace policies. I commend them for their efforts, and hope more companies will follow in their footsteps to create more supportive, empathetic and inclusive environments for working parents.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate CFF on your 25th anniversary. May you continue to inspire, equip, and nurture generations of engaged fathers and mothers. Together, let us build a Singapore that is Made For Families. Thank you very much.

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