The Case For Women in Tech
By: Milla Samuel
Tags: Women In Tech, Startup, Programming, Women, Singapore

A History of Tech in Singapore and the Role Women Play in It

Underrepresented groups are only that way because of a history of discrimination or oppression. Hence to understand the reason behind why there are so few women in tech roles, we first need to understand the history of information technology in Singapore.

Shortly after Singapore’s independence in 1965, Singapore went through an industrial transformation. To boost the economy, the government created labour-intensive, blue-collar jobs, but mostly for men. To the state, education was survival-driven. The population needed technical skills that would enable them to contribute to Singapore’s industrialization. Women were seen as homemakers and caregivers for their children, which meant fewer girls in school. [2] All these factors created a population where men were much more educated than women on average.

Subsequently, in 1970, the industrial transformation of Singapore was in full force. Too many jobs were created too quickly, which led to a great staffing crunch. It was evident to the government that the other half of the population had to be activated, so women were encouraged to join their male counterparts in the workforce. Women now had a new role in the workforce — but that did not mean retiring from their role at home.

It was around this time that computers and information technology were starting to gain strong traction around the world. The first version of the internet, ARPAnet, was already functioning within academia in the U.S., and in 1975, they were already testing what were the early versions of the TCP/IP protocol we use today. [3] Not wanting to miss out on the imminent tech wave, the Singaporean government pivoted and announced a restructuring to become an “intelligent island.” The same year, the department of computer science was established at Nanyang University. Just two years later, the National Computing Board was established, meant to develop and establish the computer services industry as well as coordinate computer education and training. [4]

In the midst of these exciting developments in education and industry, women were being left on the sidelines. While they were getting educated and joining the workforce at astronomical rates, they were heavily discriminated against in the workforce. They were mostly contained in manufacturing jobs, limiting their exposure to tech. Women were also kept at low-level positions and had little representation in boards and governments. During the recession of 1975, female unemployment rates in Singapore rose sharply relative to male unemployment rates, showing that women were thought of as more disposable and were the first to be retrenched. In 1989, women earned only 69% of what men did, despite being better educated than male workers. [5]

In addition to being left out in such a crucial time during the technological advancement of Singapore, women faced rampant social stigma. Two-thirds of graduate women were unmarried because of a pervasive opinion that less-educated women were more attractive. [2] As then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew highlighted in his speech at the NTUC’s International Woman’s Year in 1975, “what has not yet taken place in traditional male-dominant Asian societies is the helping in household work by husbands.” [6]

While Lee Kuan Yew emphasized the need to relieve women of some of the work of homemakers, other minister’s speeches, as well as policies, outlined otherwise. Minister of State for Education Dr. Tay Eng Soon said, “Whatever their academic achievements or careers, the ‘natural and proper role in life’ of women is to marry and become mothers” at the 50th-anniversary celebration of St Nicholas Girls’ School. [7] Home economics became compulsory again for women in 1987 as a result of women choosing technical courses over home economics. [2]

It is even sadder to know that women were actively kept in their places as homemakers. In a speech delivered in 1983, Lee Kuan Yew said,

“We shouldn’t get our women into jobs where they cannot, at the same time, be mothers…our most valuable asset is in the ability of our people, yet we are frittering away this asset through the unintended consequences of changes in our education policy and equal career opportunities for women. This has affected their traditional role … as mothers, the creators and protectors of the next generation.” [8]

The 1980s were confusing and trying times for women in Singapore, where they were made to join the workforce, yet discouraged from excelling in it.

The 1980s were also where the bulk of the Computer Revolution of Singapore took place. The first computer club was set up in 1980 at the Marine Parade Community Centre, [9] the Civil Service Computerization programme started, [10] and NUS set up the first BITNET node in 1986, connecting to the internet in 1991. [11]

It is easy to think that IT and computers came at a time when society had already progressed regarding gender issues, but that is clearly not the case. Women were made to enter the workforce out of necessity, but none of the policies made in the past few decades had the interest of women in mind. The transfer of part of the household chores to men was discussed but never really happened. In fact, the increased commercial availability of kitchen appliances and frozen food technology did more to relieve the burden on women in the household than anything else in society. Only in the late 1990s, when foreign domestic workers and consumerism were popular, were women given the option to relieve themselves of their homemaker roles. [2]

From this, we see that the policies and rampant patriarchy of the past have led to a societal expectation that women are less valuable than men in the workplace, especially in positions of power. This, paired with the huge imbalance in maternal and paternal responsibilities, led to many difficulties in women having a place in the tech revolution of Singapore, leading up to the underrepresentation of women we have in tech today.