Daily Lesson from Life 29 March 2009

"Sun, Mar 29, 2009 The New Paper - She breaks the glass ceiling

IT SEEMS almost like a natural progression that Mrs Lim Hwee Hua should become Singapore’s first full-fledged woman minister.

It was announced last evening that the calm and good-natured former Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport was promoted to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).


She will also be appointed as Second Minister for Finance and Transport.

Mrs Lim, 50, had missed out on a full ministerial post in the last Cabinet reshuffle in March last year. It has been a steady rise since she entered politics 12 years ago. Her words in an interview with this reporter last year seem almost prophetic.

Mrs Lim,who is chairman of the PAP Women’s Wing, had replied then on whether there are invisible glass ceilings for women: “From the time I joined, there was always talk of glass ceilings.

First it was, ‘can a woman be an MP?’

“Then it was, ‘Can a woman MP be an office holder?’

“And now, ‘Can there be a full woman minister?’


“These glass ceilings have steadily risen over time. I believe that in my lifetime, there will definitely be a woman minister.”

She’s proved it by becoming the first, less than a year after uttering those words."

Congratulation to Mrs Lim for being the 1st full minister in the Singapore cabinet. It has been long time coming.

Lessons for me:

1. there should never have been a glass ceiling. The creator made men and women, and sometimes the in-between biologically, equally. It is about ability and capacity i.e. capability;

2. men or women will be measured by the same yardstick when they ascent to the higher office. Those who made it i.e. delivering the results and maintaining a high morale of the people are the best leaders. Those who only delivered the results but with morale severely dented and people's are very unhappy and unwilling are not good leaders. Those who only keep a happy-go-lucky team but with no result to speak off are also not good leaders!;

3. I guessed for some people the battle of the genders is still in progress. For me, this is a non-issue. Anyone who made it will need to prove that they belonged there. So, wise up and move fast forward. Women made up half of the human race, and in Singapore, there are probably more women in the workforce than men, therefore having a woman boss or minister should not be a rarity nor something to gasp about!

All the best to Mrs Lim and every successes in her work for Singaporeans.