Photo Credit: Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY
The findings of the 2021 Marriage and Parenthood Survey findings was released by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Monday (Oct 10). SMU Dean of Students and Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Straughan had been appointed as one of the research consultants since the 2012 survey. Asked if the results were affected by the pandemic at the time, Prof Straughan said she does not believe that the global health crisis had a significant impact on the trends found in the study, though it was a boost to the push for a better work-life balance. "We have noted changing gender roles – a shift from gender-specific responsibilities in childcare to a more gender-neutral stance – from previous studies before the onset of the pandemic," she said, adding that these changes were influenced by global trends as well as ideals of equality within formal education. On the concerns over cost and effort of child-rearing, the researchers also found similar trends to previous studies done before the pandemic, she added.