Close to half of middle-aged women in Singapore have reported experiencing mental health concerns, but only 59 per cent of them have sought professional help.
More than 70 per cent of the women who experienced mental health concerns cited feeling like a burden to others as the reason why they did not seek help.
These preliminary findings are from a September survey by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) and James Cook University in Singapore to study the perceptions of mental health among women aged 40 to 59. The survey is still ongoing and aims to eventually reach 1,000 women.
The early findings, from 300 women, were presented on Sept 29 at the Summit for Action on Gender Equality, held at One Farrer Hotel.
At the summit, panellists shared their views on how middle-aged women have to juggle different issues, such as menopause and caregiving, which may contribute to a growing toll on their mental health.
Dr Razwana Begum, head of the public safety and security programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that not many can openly talk about their struggles, such as dealing with menopause or mental health issues, without feeling like it may affect their loved ones or careers.
Society must think about ways to create a less competitive environment in the workplace and community that allow for this open conversation, she added.
“Policies and regulations are just words, but what matters are people’s actions, behaviour and how comfortable people feel talking about certain things,” she said.
Dr Razwana added that while Singapore fares well on measures of gender inequality, maybe other measures of a woman’s lived experience would be helpful. Singapore ranked eighth out of 166 countries and first in the Asia-Pacific on the 2024 United Nations Gender Inequality Index.
“Singapore is doing fabulous work, but if you were to ask a woman here if she feels tired or if she feels like she needs to fight her way to get somewhere, I think she would say yes,” Dr Razwana added.
In a separate panel about reframing masculinity in Singapore, Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming noted that some people describe national service as a test of manhood, which is not a very useful description as there are many female members in the armed forces.
Mr Goh, who served in the armed forces for more than two decades, gave examples of a female commander of a fighter pilot squadron, a female tank battalion commander and female naval divers.
“We have, increasingly, examples that show women can do just as well as, if not better than, men in what are seen as traditionally male-dominated roles. They are really leading the pack and breaking down walls and mental models,” he said.
Perceptions are also being changed among soldiers, especially teenage boys going through national service, so that they become more cognisant of and more sensitive to the weight their words and actions can carry when they are in personal environments with families and loved ones, he added.
United Women Singapore, a local non-profit organisation that advocates women’s empowerment, has been conducting workshops on gender equality for trainers at the Basic Military Training Centre, Mr Goh noted. “These trainers will then be able to carry this positive messaging to the rest of the recruits.”
Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who spoke at the summit, said Singapore has made significant progress in women’s development in the past 60 years.
The Government has rolled out initiatives over the years to contribute to this, such as a 10-year road map on women’s development, encouraging equal parental and caregiving responsibilities through increasing government-paid paternity leave, and policies in the workplace to fight discrimination.
But Singapore must persist in its efforts to change mindsets, and more can be done to continue the progress amid new challenges, Mr Masagos said.
Employers must go beyond policies and encourage cultures that foster supportive workplaces, while men can step up and normalise sharing the caregiving load at home, he added.
“Parents are our first role models and first examples of partnership and respect between men and women. Active fathers instil the right values by demonstrating healthy forms of masculinity, leading by example through their actions to be equal partners,” Mr Masagos said.
“It is our responsibility to teach our sons what it means to respect all women.”
Syarafana Shafeeq for The Straits Times