This year, the theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is #BalanceforBetter, focusing on innovative ways we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2019, we spoke to 6 incredible women in Singapore and asked them about who they looked up to, their struggles, the advice they have for young women and how they intend to celebrate the day.
-
Melody Chen
Meet Melody Chen, a woman who no doubt would be a familiar face to those who grew up on a diet of local television. These days, Melody juggles being an actor, host, emcee, radio DJ and a loving supermom and wife to her twins and husband. We caught up with her to talk about International Women’s Day and about the struggles modern women in Singapore face today.
Which female figure do you look up to? What about them do you admire?
I do not have one particular female figure that I look up to, but I do admire many women out there who wear many hats in their individual lives.
Being a mother, a sister, a friend, a colleague, a teammate, a partner, and whatever else is expected of them in their lifetime. It is not an easy job being a woman but there’s no one else better to accomplish all these roles.
Share with us one of the biggest struggles that you have experienced during motherhood?
Tandem breastfeeding. One of the hardest things to do as a newly minted mother of twins. I tried it for a few months but it was extremely challenging and stressful when the milk was not producing as much as I had hoped. The twins were not fed enough and kept crying for milk. I only had enough for one child but I breastfed anyway with what I had and topped it up with formula milk.
What do you think is the biggest issue modern mothers face today?
That we are expected to juggle all these societal roles and emerge like a supermom. There should be nothing to prove in being a mother. Whether I am a stay-at-home-mom, working-9-to-5 mom, fit mom, bosslady mom, it does not matter how you choose to raise your children and live your life.
Just drop the expectations and peer pressure and do what makes you feel happy. We all have different priorities in life.
How would you describe motherhood in 3 words?
Challenging, Fulfilling, Purposeful
What has been important to you as a daughter?
That I uphold family values like filial piety, respect, and compassion which were taught to me and to pass them down to the next generation.
This International Women’s Day, how do you intend to celebrate you?
I doubt there will be any major change to my daily schedule in caring for the twins but I would probably give myself a big hug first thing in the morning and say “I am enough. You got this”. J
-
Jamie Yeo
Meet Jamie, someone who needs little introduction for those who were Growing Up (geddit) in Singapore during the 90s. These days, Jamie balances her career as a Social Media Consultant and Influencer, Host, Emcee and Voiceover Artist with the demands of raising two children as a celebrity mom. We sat down with her to find out more about her struggles and the female figure she looks up to.
Which female figure do you look up to? What about them do you admire?
The female figures I look up to aren’t famous celebrities or public figures so you wouldn’t know who they are. Instead, they include a mother of a classmate of my daughter who greets everyone with a genuine smile and always wants to help without expecting anything in return.
There’s also one of my best friends, S, who is such a good friend that she would drop everything, including sleep and work to help her friends if we needed it.
I admire women who are kind and humble – Women who don’t feel like they need an expensive bag or car to be happy or to look good. I admire women who are comfortable in their own skin.
Share with us one of the biggest struggles that you have experienced during your career transition, juggling motherhood and your career?
I’ve been very blessed with work and have never had many struggles in my career. I’ve had struggles in my personal life though and they did impact me mentally and emotionally, which in turn did affect my work. For me, my biggest struggle with my career and juggling motherhood would be when to say no to work and put my kids first.
What do you want to see more done for women in today’s society?
Women in developed countries are very blessed. We’re used to equality and our rights have come a long way.
I would like us to remember women in some countries in the world where women are still not treated the same way men, especially when it comes with basic rights like the right to be educated. The question should be, what can we do for them?
What advice would you give to young women growing up in today’s society?
Firstly, it’s important to remind yourself that most of what you see on social media isn’t real or authentic so don’t let it make you feel inferior in any way. Focus on people and experience instead of things.
Life is short. Be true to yourself.
How would you describe motherhood in 3 words?
Best. Thing. Ever.
This International Women’s Day, how do you intend to celebrate the girlfriends in your life and yourself?
To be honest, I’ve never celebrated it. But maybe I will this year. For starters, I’m going pamper myself with some online shopping! haha! 
Lucinda Zhou
Meet Lucinda, a female entrepreneur, director of her own company, social media influencer and all around go-getter.
She is the co-founder of OHVOLA, a thriving online female fashion brand that carries outfits that allow the dynamic modern woman express every facet of their personality. Lucinda and her sister built the brand from the ground up, starting with a pushcart in NUS and progressing to successfulul online business and retail store at Orchard Gateway.
We sat down with her to find out what makes her tick.
Which female family figure do you look up to? What about them do you admire?
Without a doubt, my dearest Mum. She always makes it a point to put our family’s needs before hers and I am truly thankful for everything she has done to keep the family close-knitted and united all these years. Now that I’m pregnant and going to become a mother myself, I appreciate and admire her even more.
Share with us one of the biggest struggles that you have experienced while starting up your business, and a time when you thought you couldn’t accomplish something, but you persevered through and did it.
Time management. I remember being a student while having to fulfil the different roles of a new business owner and a student. I had to work through the night responding to new orders, and attend classes the following morning. It was difficult to maintain a work-life balance but picking Fashion Communication which was relevant, definitely helped me to cope better.
What do you hope for our future generation of young female entrepreneurs?
New challenges will continue to arise as we progress. Despite the initial rejections the future generation of young female entrepreneurs might face, I hope they learn to endure the hardships and be willing to move outside of their comfort zone.
What advice did you receive early in your career that has stayed with you?
Never stop pursuing new opportunities and do not be afraid to fail. I believe this is the true spirit of entrepreneurship.
What has been important to you as a daughter?
Honoring my responsibilities as a daughter and respecting decisions made by my parents. I also hope to spend more time with them to express my gratitude for all that they have done and continue to do for me.
This International Women’s Day, how do you intend to celebrate the female figures in your life and yourself?
Nothing beats spending time together over a good meal. A homemade hotpot party over at my place, most likely!
Aarika Lee
Meet Aarika, Marketing director, influencer, bona fide musician, a loving wife, and mom to her husband and two kids and star of the catchy ‘vroom vroom’ McDonald’s commercial. These are some of the roles she plays. But who is the real Aarika Lee? We sat down with her to find out.
Which female family figure do you look up to? What about them do you admire?
My mom and her strength. My dad passed away when I was 11 and it wasn’t easy for mom to take on raising us on her own. She was a working mom but as busy as she got, we never felt like we had to miss her. She was always there and still is for us now that we’re all grown up. She was our rock and has never wavered over the years. Who we are today is because of her immense love and support for everything we wanted to do. I know she’s sacrificed a lot for us but has never once made us feel that.
Share with us one of the biggest struggles that you have experienced while juggling motherhood and your music career, and a time when you thought you couldn’t accomplish something, but you persevered through and did it.
I think it was feeling at first that I would have to give something up when the kids came along. It was and isn’t easy trying to juggle motherhood and making it a priority, with wanting to still perform and be part of a startup.
But as the saying goes, no (wo)man is an island, and that is very true for my life. I have an incredible family and circle of friends who support me everyday. Without which I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. The strive for balance is still something I struggle with everyday but we need to remind ourselves that it’s ok not to get it 100% all the time. We’re human.
What advice would you give to young women growing up in today’s society?
Know your worth. It isn’t measured by who you are online, or what people might perceive you to be. It matters that you’re awesome in real life. I tell my kids all the time to be proud of who they are. That’s it’s awesome to be different and weird. You can only be the Most Awesome You. Not anyone else cos that slot’s been filled by that person! So don’t be afraid of your own awesomeness. Society can make you shy away from it sometimes but you have to know that you’re worth fighting for.
What do you want to see more of done for women in today’s society? What advice would you give to your younger self?
I hope more women are allowed to be LOUD and not be told what they can’t do because they’re a girl. We say it a lot “that girls can do whatever boys can do” but when they become women and men suddenly things change again. We need to start walking the talk.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Believe in yourself and the abilities you have to accomplish what you dream. I think I still tell myself this today. We never stop dreaming or growing right?
This International Women’s Day, how do you intend to celebrate the girlfriends in your life and yourself?
I want to celebrate each and every one of our successes. I’m so proud of what everyone has achieved and worked for. I also want to celebrate the journey because it came with some failures but it only made us stronger, as cliche as that might sound.
No life goes without failure but it’s how we come back that matters and all of us came back swinging hard. So proud of that.
Diah Mastura Roslan @etrangle
Meet Diah, a former MOE educator who gave up her career to become a full-time blogger and mom extraordinaire. Her time is devoted to her loving husband and family and giving the best possible life to her 4 kids (1 pair of twins), with baby number 5 coming along the way. We sat down with her to ask how she manages all of it while looking fabulous at the same time.
Which female figure do you look up to? What about them do you admire?
All that I am is because of my Mother. I would love to mention the other female idols that I have but my mum, she tops the list.
She has taught me so much about being a mother and it’s amazing to see how she will never have to think twice about sacrificing for her kids. Even though I am now 38 with kids, she still makes it a point to call me every single day to check if I’m okay.
Share with us one of the biggest struggles that you have experienced during motherhood, juggling being an influencer and a time when you thought you couldn’t accomplish something, but you persevered through and did it
People see my job through social media as a glamorous one – this whole idea of being a blogger. It’s not easy having to multitask so many things in a day – managing my kids, managing my home, working from home and meeting deadlines.
At times, I think it would be easier to manage my time if I were to go out to work because you can afford to focus and concentrate when you are working out of home. But like they say, if there is passion, even the toughest jobs will seem like the easiest, and I love my job as a blogger.
What barriers did you face as a woman, to becoming successful in the current blogging field? How did you overcome that?
As a woman, I was told by many that you cannot do this or that. Sometimes people see you as the weaker gender. Sometimes people underestimate what you can really do for yourself and for others.
My way of overcoming this is to keep proving to myself that my capabilities and talents do not depend on others’ opinion of me.
How would you like your daughters to grow up to be?
I want my girls to grow up having the freedom to be who they want and do what they want because they know themselves best. I want them to be able to express themselves freely without worrying about being judged by anyone. And most importantly, I want them to be proud in their own skin.
What are you most proud of as a mother/mother-to-be?
The proud moment for me will be to see how my girls and son have grown up to be fine and happy individuals. Being a mum just makes me feel so accomplished every single day.
This International Women’s Day, how do you intend to celebrate you?
I intend to celebrate ME by being myself. No matter how tough life can get, I still want to continue to be as real as I can to myself and to my followers.
Zoe Raymond Tan
Meet Zoe, full time professional, social media influencer, loving wife, mom, and yoga fanatic. Zoe deftly balances all these roles in her life and documents this journey across her social media platforms while sharing her passion for travel, fashion exercise, and beauty. We sat down with her to find out how she is able to achieve all of this.
Which female figures do you look up to? What about them do you admire?
My mother and my grandmother. These two women are the most independent women I know, and I admire how they sacrificed so much for their family. Growing up, my family spent a lot of time together. I hope that when Arielle grows up, she will learn to value spending time with her family too.
Share with us one of the biggest struggles that you have experienced as an influencer, juggling different roles as a daughter, mother, influencer and a time when you thought you couldn’t accomplish something, but you persevered through and did it.
You left out a role, I am professional too. I hold a full-time day job!
A few months back, I found myself struggling to juggle between finishing my blogging assignments and spending time with Arielle. After a long day at work, I would like to get some rest but because she does not sleep through every night so I take naps together with her. When we are both up, I would be busy working.
But I’ve decided that I want to spend my weekends with her. So I have decided to work through nights when she is sleeping or when I’m on the way to and fro work, even in the toilet. Anywhere and everywhere so I don’t have to take any precious time away from Arielle.
How do you celebrate yourself on a daily basis?
I keep fit and work hard towards improving myself as I think that’s the best thing you can do to celebrate you.
For example, I like that there’s never an “end goal” in yoga. When you finally attain this particular posture, there’s another deeper posture out there. An example would be Ustrasana, a deeper posture to work towards would be Kapotasana.
There’s always something more, something more advanced you can achieve. Just like life and motherhood
What advice would you give to young women growing up in today’s society?
To always remember that all mothers do things for your benefit. As you are busy going up, she is also growing old. As cliche as it may sound… Especially after becoming a Mother to my own 1 year old, it’s amazing how long your body can function without adequate sleep or nourishment and fuel only on adrenaline & baby smiles.
This International Women’s Day, how do you intend to celebrate you?
I’m currently in Japan with my family. There’s really no better way than to celebrate together with my daughter and husband – who empower me as I take on multiple roles and creating fond memories together every day.
That’s it from them. We like to thank Zoe, Diah, Aarika, Lucinda, Jamie, and Melody for sharing so candidly about their lives and inspiring us with their drive for life.
That’s not all. In celebration of International Women’s Day, IUIGA will be having an International Women’s Day Sale. Here are the juicy details.
From 1st-7th of March, invite your friends to register for an account on IUIGA to win vouchers.
Invite one friend to unlock an $8 off storewide voucher to be used from the 9th-15th March.
Invite three friends and gain an entry ticket to our 38% Off Arena where you can purchase a curated list of products at 38% off! Arena will only be open on the 8th of March from 00:00 to 23:59. You can only buy 1 of each item, while stocks last!
*Terms and Conditions apply.
Head on over to our site for more!