Singapore Representative on the Asean Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC)
If you’re looking for someone who has made it a mission to give her time and energy to help others, look no further. Laura, the first Singaporean woman to be appointed as managing director of an international bank in 1984, was also president of the Singapore Council for Women’s Organisations from 2010 to 2014, where she motivated changes to the Women’s Charter to improve legal and support systems for divorced women and families. “I’ve always been conscious that I was lucky to have had supportive parents and access to a good education, that shaped me career-wise and as a person,” she confesses.
“Through the various organisations that I have served with, it was clear more could be done for other women and children.
I felt it was my responsibility, as someone who is able to improve the situations of others, to play my part.” Her appointment two years ago as Singapore’s representative for women’s rights to the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) has allowed her to do just that, and underscores the importance her voice plays in empowering the women in Asia. Laura, ever the optimist, also believes gender equality can only get better from here.
