Supporting women dealing with menopause, early career stress, among PAP Women’s Wing focus areas

PAP Women’s Wing chairwoman Sim Ann delivers a speech during the group’s annual conference held at the Mandarin Oriental Singapore on Sept 26.

Published Sep 26, 2026, 07:20 PM

Updated Sep 26, 2026, 07:20 PM

SINGAPORE – As Singapore is now a super-aged societ y with a larger proportion of women seniors, improving the health of this group will significantly bring up the overall health of its senior population, said PAP Women’s Wing chairwoman Sim Ann.

More than six in 10 Singapore residents aged 85 and over are women, said Sim, who is Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, at the party’s women’s advocacy group’s annual conference on Sept 26.

Ensuring that women age well will allow them to gain more years of healthy life, and also benefit their families, she added.

Sim, who has headed the group since 2022, was speaking to an audience of more than 400 people, comprising PAP activists, MPs, partners and guests at the event held at the Mandarin Oriental Singapore’s ballroom.

Her remarks came a day after Singapore announced it has crossed the United Nations threshold for a super-aged society, with 21.4 per cent of citizens now aged 65 and older.

The UN defines a super-aged society as one where at least 21 per cent of the population is aged 65 and above.

Sim said the Women’s Wing will “think hard” about how to help Singapore’s women age well by better managing issues like osteoporosis, chronic diseases, frailty and dementia.

The advocacy group is also looking to promote women’s health during earlier life stages, so their life choices are not constrained by health needs, she added.

Keynote Address by Dr Jade Kua, ICF-certified Master Certified Coach & Founder Jade Life And Wellness Coaching Clinic & Academy during the PAP Women’s Wing Conference. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Keynote Address by Dr Jade Kua, ICF-certified Master Certified Coach & Founder Jade Life And Wellness Coaching Clinic & Academy during the PAP Women’s Wing Conference.

For younger women, health issues that they need to manage include menstrual disorders, fertility issues, menopause and endometriosis – a disease in which tissue similar to the uterus lining grows outside the uterus, leading to pelvic pain and impacting fertility.

“For example, with women marrying and having children later, we need to focus on reproductive and maternal health at older ages,” Sim said. “And given our high female labour force participation rate, we should consider how workplaces can be more supportive of women’s health needs.”

The PAP Women’s Wing, formed in 1989, looks into issues relevant to women and translates these into policy advocacy.

For instance, it conducted a joint survey with NTUC Women and Family – the labour movement’s division supporting working women and caregivers – in August to find out more women’s challenges across different life stages.

PAP Women’s Wing Chairperson Sim Ann interacting with the attendees during the PAP Women?s Wing Conference 2026 at Mandarin Oriental Singapore. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

PAP Women’s Wing Chairperson Sim Ann interacting with the attendees during the PAP Women?s Wing Conference 2026 at Mandarin Oriental Singapore.

It polled 2,375 women.

The survey identified three areas where more policy support could be needed: mental health and well-being among women early in their careers, destigmatising and improving literacy about perimenopause and menopause, and greater flexibility at the workplace.

Perimenopause is the transitional phase before menopause.

It found that while three in five respondents with perimenopause or menopause symptoms experience fatigue and half experience poor sleep, only one in 10 feel their workplace is open to discussing support for the issue.

It also found that a flexible and supportive workplace culture matters most to working women, with more than six in 10 saying that flexible work arrangements were the most helpful form of workplace support.

On stress at work, a quarter of respondents reported that stress, anxiety, burnout or emotional strain affects their work to a large or very large extent. Causes of such anxiety reported by those surveyed include the pressure to perform well, too much work, or long hours.

Sim said some of the survey findings reinforce what the Women’s Wing already knows, for instance, the importance of having flexible work arrangements, especially for women who are at the stage of forming families.

But at the same time, the findings also point to emerging areas where awareness may be lacking and open up avenues for the women’s group to explore.

This includes the experience of younger women early in their careers, how they deal with stress, as well as the issue of menopause and perimenopause.

“This is about building and restoring confidence for women who may be suffering from the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, and who may attribute the impact on their work performance to other reasons,” she said.

Speaking to the media before the conference, the Women’s Wing’s adviser for health and well-being Goh Hanyan said the group will launch new programmes to deal with these issues.

It will work with the Obstetrical & Gynaecological Society of Singapore on a series of talks to increase health literacy, starting with a talk on perimenopause in December and carrying on into next year.

The Women’s Wing will also work with the PAP’s Mental Health Group to train mental health ambassadors across the party’s branches to understand common issues faced by women and provide support, she said.

Attendees in a group photo during the PAP Women’s Wing Conference 2026 Women Empowered at Mandarin Oriental Singapore on Sept 26. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Attendees in a group photo during the PAP Women’s Wing Conference 2026 Women Empowered at Mandarin Oriental Singapore on Sept 26.

It will also focus its advocacy on problem areas highlighted by the survey, said Goh, who is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth and Sustainability and the Environment.

This includes dealing with early-career stress, and making workplaces more responsive to women’s health needs and caregiving responsibilities, she said.

Sim, in separate remarks to the media, added that the Women’s Wing has completed eight “listening sessions” after announcing the new series of engagements in March.

The listening sessions are organised around the four advocacy areas the Women’s Wing adopted in 2025: careers and leadership, seasons of life, health and well-being, and safety and respect, and the first session was in April.

Most of these sessions have focused on Singaporeans’ aspirations for dating, marriage and parenthood, and it is preparing recommendations to submit to the interagency workgroup on marriage and parenthood, she said.

This workgroup, chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, has already submitted its first set of recommendations to the Government.

Some of these were announced at the National Day Rally in August, including moves to increase support for children across their childhoods.

人民行动党妇女组主席沈颖于9月26日在新加坡文华东方酒店举行的该组织年度大会上发表讲话。

发布于2026年9月26日晚上7:20

更新于2026年9月26日晚上7:20

新加坡——人民行动党妇女组主席沈颖表示，新加坡现在是一个超老龄化社会，老年女性的比例较高，改善这一群体的健康状况将显著提高老年人口的整体健康状况。

新加坡外交部兼内政部第二部长沈颖在9月26日举行的该党妇女倡导团体年度大会上表示，新加坡85岁及以上居民中，超过60%是女性。

她补充说，确保女性健康老龄化，不仅能让她们拥有更长的健康寿命，还能使她们的家庭受益。

自 2022 年以来一直领导该组织的沈志强在新加坡文华东方酒店宴会厅举行的活动中，向 400 多名观众发表了讲话，其中包括人民行动党积极分子、国会议员、合作伙伴和嘉宾。

在她发表这番言论的前一天，新加坡宣布该国已跨越联合国定义的“超老龄化社会”门槛，目前该国 65 岁及以上公民占比达 21.4%。

联合国将超老龄化社会定义为至少 21% 的人口年龄在 65 岁及以上的社会。

沈女士表示，妇女部将“认真思考”如何通过更好地管理骨质疏松症、慢性疾病、体弱和痴呆症等问题，帮助新加坡女性健康老龄化。

她补充说，该倡导组织还致力于促进女性在生命早期阶段的健康，使她们的生活选择不会受到健康需求的限制。

国际教练联合会（ICF）认证高级教练、Jade Life And Wellness Coaching Clinic & Academy创始人Jade Kua博士在人民行动党妇女翼会议上发表主题演讲。照片由《海峡时报》GIN TAY拍摄。

在人民行动党妇女翼大会上，国际教练联合会认证大师级教练、Jade Life And Wellness Coaching Clinic & Academy 创始人 Jade Kua 博士发表了主题演讲。

对于年轻女性来说，她们需要应对的健康问题包括月经紊乱、生育问题、更年期和子宫内膜异位症——一种类似于子宫内膜的组织在子宫外生长的疾病，会导致盆腔疼痛并影响生育能力。

“例如，随着女性结婚生育年龄的推迟，我们需要更加关注老年女性的生殖健康和孕产妇健康，”沈女士说。“鉴于我国女性劳动参与率较高，我们应该考虑如何让工作场所更好地支持女性的健康需求。”

人民行动党妇女团成立于 1989 年，致力于研究与妇女相关的问题，并将这些问题转化为政策倡导。

例如，该机构于 8 月与全国职工总会妇女及家庭部（该劳工运动中支持职业女性和照顾者的部门）联合开展了一项调查，以了解女性在不同人生阶段面临的更多挑战。

人民行动党妇女组主席沈颖在新加坡文华东方酒店举行的2026年人民行动党妇女组大会上与与会者互动。（海峡时报摄影：金泰）

人民行动党妇女部主席沈颖在新加坡文华东方酒店举行的2026年人民行动党妇女部大会上与与会者互动。

该调查访问了 2375 名女性。

调查发现，有三个领域可能需要更多的政策支持：女性职业生涯早期阶段的心理健康和福祉、消除对围绝经期和更年期的歧视和提高相关知识水平，以及提高工作场所的灵活性。

围绝经期是绝经前的过渡阶段。

调查发现，虽然五分之三的受访者表示有围绝经期或绝经期症状，并伴有疲劳感，一半受访者表示睡眠质量差，但只有十分之一的受访者认为他们的工作场所愿意讨论如何支持这一问题。

调查还发现，灵活且支持性的工作场所文化对职业女性最为重要，超过十分之六的受访者表示，灵活的工作安排是最有帮助的工作场所支持形式。

关于工作压力，四分之一的受访者表示，压力、焦虑、倦怠或情绪紧张对他们的工作产生了很大或非常大的影响。受访者提到的导致焦虑的原因包括业绩压力、工作量过大或工作时间过长。

Sim表示，一些调查结果印证了妇女部已经了解的情况，例如，灵活的工作安排非常重要，尤其对于正处于组建家庭阶段的女性而言。

但与此同时，研究结果也指出了一些人们可能缺乏认识的新兴领域，并为妇女团体探索开辟了道路。

这包括年轻女性在职业生涯早期的经历、她们如何应对压力，以及更年期和围绝经期的问题。

“这旨在帮助那些可能正在经历围绝经期和绝经期症状的女性建立和恢复自信，她们可能会将工作表现受到影响归咎于其他原因，”她说。

在会议召开前接受媒体采访时，妇女组健康与福祉顾问吴汉燕表示，该组织将推出新的计划来应对这些问题。

它将与新加坡妇产科学会合作举办一系列讲座，以提高公众的健康素养，从 12 月份关于围绝经期的讲座开始，一直持续到明年。

她表示，妇女组还将与人民行动党的心理健康小组合作，在全党各支部培训心理健康大使，以了解女性面临的常见问题并提供支持。

9月26日，在新加坡文华东方酒店举行的2026年人民行动党妇女翼大会“女性赋权”上，与会者合影留念。（海峡时报摄影：金泰）

9月26日，在新加坡文华东方酒店举行的2026年人民行动党妇女翼大会“女性赋权”上，与会者合影留念。

文化、社区及青年部兼可持续发展及环境部高级政务次长吴作栋表示，该组织还将重点关注调查中指出的问题领域。

她表示，这包括应对职业生涯早期的压力，以及让工作场所更加关注女性的健康需求和照顾责任。

Sim在另一次对媒体发表的讲话中补充说，妇女部在3月份宣布新的一系列活动后，已经完成了8次“倾听会议”。

聆听会围绕妇女部在 2025 年确定的四个倡导领域展开：职业和领导力、人生阶段、健康和福祉以及安全和尊重，第一次聆听会于 4 月举行。

她说，这些会议大多集中在新加坡人对约会、婚姻和生育的愿望上，目前正在准备建议，提交给婚姻和生育跨部门工作组。

该工作组由总理公署部长英兰妮·拉贾主持，已向政府提交了第一套建议。

其中一些措施在8月份的国庆群众大会上宣布，包括加大对儿童整个童年时期的支持力度。