Singapore is rethinking how family policy can better support people in managing work and family life. At the National Day Rally on 23 August, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong outlined the first set of measures from the Marriage and Parenthood Reset workgroup, including more childcare leave, sustained financial support and more affordable preschool. He described the goal as a “fundamental shift” in how families are supported and began with “something every parent wishes they had more of: time.” If Singapore wants to understand and ultimately lighten that load, it needs to measure that resource more systematically. A regular, nationally representative time-use survey would provide an important evidence base for designing and evaluating family, care and work-life policies across the life course.

Amid concerns about clearing Maju Forest for housing, suggestions that Singapore should only build on “brownfield sites” are reasonable. But they may also overlook a few things.

When we discuss the future of work, we usually jump to AI, green jobs, and digital skills. Those conversations matter, but they miss something basic: paid work runs on care work. Children, older adults, and people with disabilities still need daily support, no matter how advanced an economy becomes. In aging societies, care needs rise while family size shrinks. The central policy question is straightforward: who provides care, and what protections do they have?

In October 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government announced digital literacy and coding modules for all madrasas. By 2025, many Muslim women had landed IT jobs after completing coding courses, many working remotely. Success stories proliferated: Shadan Women's College partnering with tech firms, Kerala madrasas teaching Python, the SAFA Foundation placing graduates in freelance careers. These stories are real. But they obscure an uncomfortable truth: remote work is creating a two-tier system among Muslim women, benefiting an educated minority while leaving millions behind and potentially validating the very restrictions that keep Muslim women out of public life.