Singapore's attitude towards foreign domestic helpers is a social problem in Singapore. As of December 2012, the number of Foreign Domestic Workers stands at 209,000, according to the Ministry of Manpower. Since domestic helpers are a significantly large population in an economically-active Singapore, the negative attitudes that some Singaporeans may harbour can pose a significant social issue in the long run.
Based on reports, many Singaporeans do not treat domestic helpers with respect and think of them as second-class people. Some possible reasons that we have identified for this social trend are that some Singaporeans feel that domestic helpers are less intelligent and do not belong in Singaporean society. As many of Singapore's industries are mainly knowledge-based, the government allows foreign workers to work in Singapore, mostly in labour-intensive industries. In recent times, there have been a few cases of discrimination against foreign workers and domestic helpers, bringing home the negative reactions and lack of respect for domestic workers in Singapore.
As such our group aims to bring the negative mindsets of Singaporeans towards foreign workers, especially domestic helpers, into the open so that Singaporeans may reflect on the way they treat domestic helpers. We can also shed light on the fact that domestic helpers often experience much hardship to come to Singapore for job opportunities. As a society, Singapore can learn to be more tolerant of domestic helpers. Since Singapore is a country with equal opportunities, the goal of our project is for Singaporeans to accord more respect to domestic helpers and view them as equal members of society, regardless of their nationality or job. Thus, through our project, we hope to cultivate the right values of respect and care for domestic helpers in Singaporeans and also come up with a few possible solutions to tackle this prominent social issue.