NON-PROFIT organisation SG Her Empowerment (SHE) and Standard Chartered (StanChart) bank on Tuesday (Apr 11) launched a new programme to provide work opportunities to underprivileged teenage girls and young women by referring them to half-day placements with various organisations.

The programme, Sneak Peek, aims to help participants, aged 15 to 21, in their professional and personal development by letting them gain work experiences and build networks in the organisations they are placed in.

They will attend up to four half-day, small-group learning placements in various industries. Sneak Peek intends to provide placement opportunities to 250 teenage girls and young women who are facing challenges in their financial, personal or educational backgrounds.

Simran Toor, chief executive officer (CEO) of SHE, said the hope behind the initiative is to expose participants to “interesting and inspiring working-world opportunities, of which they may not have been previously aware”. She added: “The idea is to expand their horizons and challenge any limiting thoughts on what they can achieve.”

Around 40 organisations spanning the public and private sectors have expressed interest in hosting placements, referring participants and providing skills training, said SHE. These include CapitaLand, DBS, Grab, TSMP Law Corporation and the Singapore Police Force.

This was a heartening sign, said Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, who is a special adviser to SHE and was present at the launch. 

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Speaking on a panel discussion with Patrick Lee, StanChart’s cluster CEO for Singapore and Asean markets, and Georgette Tan, president of non-governmental organisation United Women Singapore, Sim added that sparking a change in mindsets on gender roles required a “whole-of-society effort”. The panellists discussed their own career pathways and motivations in pushing for gender equality, as well as the challenges that women continue to face in the workplace.

Striving for gender parity

Regarding her aspirations for the Sneak Peek programme, SHE’s chairperson Stefanie Yuen Thio hopes it would be “a stepping stone for girls from all walks of life”, and that the participants would “be able to build a strong community of support”.

“I hope that they can come together, that we will create a community in Singapore where we support one another,” she said.

Meanwhile, StanChart, which is the main sponsor of the Sneak Peek programme, shared that it has two upcoming initiatives to address the issue of gender inequality in Singapore.

In June, the bank will roll out its Women in Entrepreneurship programme, noting that female-led startups in South-east Asia receive only 8 per cent of venture capital funding. This is despite women accounting for 30 per cent of the region’s entrepreneurs.

The programme, done in collaboration with the Singapore Management University’s Lien Centre for Social Innovation, will provide training, mentorship, networking and seed funding for women-led businesses and business ideas that create social impact. 

StanChart will also partner the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) in operating the New2U Thrift shop, an initiative by the SCWO to raise funds for its programmes. These include services such as the Star Shelter, a crisis shelter for women and children who are survivors of domestic violence.

“We believe our starting points should not determine our future,” said StanChart’s Lee. “We are working conscientiously with like-minded partners to create and run targeted programmes such as Sneak Peak to uplift less-privileged segments of society and empower them to learn, earn and grow in their chosen fields.”