Leading the country: Women just as capable

SINGAPORE - It is imperative that we have more women as full ministers ("Four women now in senior positions"; last Thursday).

While Britain, India, Sri Lanka and Australia have had women prime ministers, our country finds it an uphill task to appoint or promote women to ministerial positions.

The chances of having a woman as defence minister or foreign minister, not to mention prime minister, in the near future seem remote.

Singapore has a pool of talented women, many of whom are holding positions of power in both the public and private spheres. They can be a force to be reckoned with, if given opportunities to assume ministerial roles.

But first, we must discard the outmoded notion that helming ministries and leading the country are "men's jobs".

Nowadays, our women are much concerned about the nation's progress and prosperity; they are as competitive and ambitious as their Western counterparts.

Our women should be given more scope to expand their energies and talents at senior levels of decision-making, especially now that Singapore is at a turning point.

- Jeffrey Law Lee Beng

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