Corinna Lim

Corinna Lim (born 1965) is an openly gay lawyer who has served as the Executive Director of Singapore's premier feminist organisation AWARE since 2010. She joined it in March 1992. Her previous position at the advocacy group was Honorary Secretary from 2006 to 2007. AWARE has become more impactful and sustainable under Lim’s stewardship, with excellent services for women, and strategic research and advocacy programmes. She is also a board member of WINGS, the only nonprofit organisation in Singapore singularly focused on helping women through their later years. 

=Qualifications=

Lim has a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University and is a Fulbright Scholar. She graduated with an LLB from the National University of Singapore and was called to the Singapore Bar in 1988. She is currently a corporate counsel. Her experience includes 10 years in practice and partnership in Allen & Gledhill, Khattar Wong & Partners and Koh Ong & Partners.

Lim was for five years CEO of Bizibody Technology, a dot com start-up which transformed into an IT company providing IT solutions for the legal industry. Her experience here has much to do with how she transformed AWARE into an organisation that by 2020 had a team of 25 employees, supported by a group of passionate volunteers, running its services and programmes.

=Personal reasons for serving at AWARE=

While Lim did not enjoy the phase of her career when she worked as a lawyer, the practice opened her eyes to those who could not afford legal advice. She recounts: “I was doing legal counselling with the Singapore Association of Women Lawyers, and AWARE also had that service and they needed more lawyers, so I joined them (in the ’90s). My heart went out to those who needed help, and I wanted my work to influence real, positive change.” Those were the early days when she learned more about women’s rights.

On the AWARE saga: "You don't realise how precious something is until you come so close to losing it. I consider myself to be one of the "middle guards" in AWARE. I had done some exciting things in AWARE like working on the Domestic Violence Campaign, helping Dr Kanwaljit Soin to draft the Family Violence Bill, campaigning for more support for older women as a result of the AWARE-Tsao paper on Women Growing Older but Poorer."

I was taking a short break from AWARE work after an active stint on the Exco when it happened - AWARE was taken over and we were engaged in the intense but thankfully short battle of reclaiming AWARE. All the different generations of women came together and, in an incredible show of solidarity and strength, we won back our beloved organisation. In the process, AWARE was reborn.

We are now in what is, arguably, the most exciting part of AWARE's history since it was founded.

Many hearts and minds were ignited on 2nd May, a day when women from all walks of life experienced and participated in the passion, the intelligence and the courage of AWARE. Singapore and AWARE will never be the same again and I am honoured and privileged to have served on the EXCO, and now as the Executive Director, at this time. The work has been punishing and I expect that it will continue to be tough. But I will give it what I can to make the most of this unique opportunity.

What I can contribute - my legal and management skills, creativity and the ability to bridge the Old Guard with the younger generation who move at the speed of light through the Internet."

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Dr Kanwaljit Soin, a Nominated Member of Parliament from 1992 to 1996 and a founding member of AWARE, roped Lim in together with two other lawyers to draft the Family Violence Bill. Soin recalls: “I remember the incredulous look on Corinna’s face when she first heard my idea to table the bill in Parliament. She offered to be part of the legal team, rolled up her sleeves and worked long and hard.” Although the bill fell through, the Women’s Charter was amended in 1997, adapting principles from the Family Violence Bill, which gave women more protection from violence. Soin adds with admiration: “Corinna has grown from someone who was a little diffident, searching for her place in society to a confident leader and eloquent champion of women’s rights and gender equality.”

=Projects=
 * Domestic Violence Campaign
 * Drafting Dr Kanwaljit Soin’s Family Violence Bill 1995
 * Campaign for support for Older Women
 * Fund raising
 * Setting up AWARE’s training arm, Catalyse Consulting, targeted at companies to prevent and manage workplace harassment

Workplace sexual harassment
In late November 2018, Lim revealed to the media for the very first time that for three decades, she had kept silent about the sexual harassment she faced at work, even as she helped many others in similar situations as AWARE's executive director. It happened when she was a young lawyer in her first year of work during a private lunch with a "well-known accountant" who was a client. He had insisted that they go for a two-hour lunchtime cruise during which he talked about his "bad sex with his wife". Then, he started asking about her preferred sex positions.

Lim, then 54, recalled: "Initially I was just so shocked, and I was very unsure since he talked quite softly." She tried changing the topic multiple times, but he would return to it each time. Shocked and uncomfortable, she constantly excused herself to go to the washroom. Thankfully, he stopped harassing her after that lunch. If he had continued the harassment, she would have been at a loss as to what to do, she admitted. "We were a 40-lawyer firm, and there were no policies whatsoever (against harassment), so I didn't tell anyone," she added. She was disappointed and angry with herself for not standing up to the client. "I felt I had let myself down. Here I was, a lawyer that trained to defend others, but I couldn't even defend myself - I felt very ashamed. At that time, I did not understand power dynamics and the silencing effect that it may have."

It was not until the #MeToo movement that she was encouraged to speak up about her ordeal, in the hope that it would spur others to likewise do so. Lim then began to strongly advocate a clear-cut policy against sexual harassment. "Policies are not just important to deter harassment," she explained. "A lot of this can be solved with minimal grief if the survivors were empowered by policies and training to say 'stop it, this is unacceptable, this is unprofessional', and if it stops there, that is ideal."

Lim was one of 10 women who appeared in the Aim for Zero campaign video by AWARE to tell their stories, without masking their identities, about the sexual violence and harassment they had endured, from workplace harassment to sexual abuse to rape. It was the first time so many women had come forward on such a public platform to share their experiences. Lim hoped that the video would be able to empower even more to share their stories. She said: "When #MeToo happened, it became okay to talk about it. Now we could see that this is unacceptable. If we didn't talk about it, things would just continue the way they were, and perpetrators would get away with impunity. Speaking up made a difference."



=Negotiation= Like a savvy negotiator, Lim speaks with fervour on a myriad of topics, tinged with the occasional dose of humour that puts one at ease - a quality that enables her to engage with different folks, whether heartlander, chief executive or civil servant. Lim, who has a twin sister, says: “I have regular dialogues with the government bodies that AWARE works closely with. It’s important to provide feedback on various issues, and share the knowledge. We’re like another pair of eyes on the ground.”

While AWARE has many loyal supporters, the group has its fair share of detractors who sometimes make hurtful comments on social media. Lim concedes: “It (criticism) comes with the territory of making social changes, even when it’s for a better and fairer society. Still, we have to be empathetic, thick-skinned and focus on what’s ahead.”

With her wealth of experience, Lim pays it forward, helping groups such as Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT). DOT’s executive director Carrie Tan says: “Corinna is a mentor and friend, and AWARE is a big sister to DOT. From 2016 to 2018, AWARE helped us with capacity-building, mentorship and funding.” To close friends like theatre thespian Pam Oei, there is another side to Lim. “She can be very blur for someone with an amazing brain power,” Oei muses. “Corinna approaches everything with curiosity, positivity and a twinkle in her eye.”

In December 2019, Lim scored a coup, interviewing former American first lady Michelle Obama when the latter was in Singapore for a talk.

Lim admits to being a workaholic. “Having a balanced work life is challenging for me as I enjoy what I do,” she says. “It’s really hard to say ‘no’ to opportunities, and taking on more stuff.” To unwind, she goes on hiking trips with her friends, having recently returned from Bhutan. “I read books on meditation, do tai chi to keep myself sane, and I’m a fan of local plays.” Still, the most rewarding aspect in life for her is helping women emerge from adversity. “This is what I wanted to do from Day 1. What’s better, after they survive the crisis with a little help from us, they become ambassadors of the cause, or come back to help other women in need.”

=8th SR Nathan Fellowship for the Study of Singapore=

Lim was appointed the 8th SR Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore for the Academic Year 2021.

She delivered the 8th IPS-Nathan Lecture Series entitled "Gender Equality: The Time Has Come" from late April to late May 2021 at the National University of Singapore. Lim felt that it was such a rare and prestigious honour to be invited to give the Lectures that she took three months off work to read, research, conceptualise and write the presentations. The context for the Lectures was the ongoing gender equality review led by Law Minister K Shanmugam. In line with the very ambitious goal of this Government initiative to “imprint gender equality deeply into the collective consciousness” of Singaporeans, she aimed for these Lectures to:
 * inspire visions for how Singapore could achieve a more caring and gender equal society
 * boldly tackle sensitive topics and sacred cows
 * provoke new and important conversations

As a prelude and teaser to the Lecture series, Lim was interviewed by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). The main soundbite was: "These lectures are not about being anti-men in any way."

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Lecture I — Herstory: The Road to Equality (29 April 2021)
Lim spoke about the most pressing concerns faced by women in contemporary Singapore and contributed insights into the national gender equality review. The lecture was moderated by Dr. Kanwaljit Soin, a founding member of AWARE, a former Nominated Member of Parliament and an outspoken campaigner for women's issues. The session was livestreamed on IPS' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IPSLKYSPP/live

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Video caption:

"Gender equality is not a new conversation in Singapore, nor is it a settled matter. From Singapore’s inception, women were critical in fighting for their rights and forging the nation. Singapore’s early women pioneers paved the way for gender equality in Singapore, though not without opposition. The journey towards gender equality in Singapore has meandered and, at times, veered almost completely off course. Though the tasks ahead remain challenging, significant strides in recent years have given reason for hope. This lecture will explore this history, as a way of understanding the present and the needs for the future, and compare Singapore’s present position with other countries."

The welcoming remarks were made by Janadas Devan, Director of the Institute of Policy Studies. The Q&A session was moderated Dr. Kanwaljit Soin.

Lecture II — The Caring Economy (14 May 2021)


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Video caption:

"Women are taken to be the natural stewards of care, often bound to the home. In Singapore, where most women are in the workforce, these beliefs nevertheless persist. If couples have children, women are made to factor that into career considerations. These expectations do not exist for men. As Singapore’s economy grows and its people age, whose job is it to take care of our kids and our elderly? Are foreign domestic workers the solution? Why is Singapore’s total fertility rate at rock bottom levels, despite the billions spent on pro-natal measures? This lecture will deal with these questions and explore how we can build a robust care infrastructure to support our families, our economy and our nation."

The Q&A session was moderated by Lin Suling, Executive Editor of CNA Digital News, Mediacorp Pte Ltd.

Lecture III — Reset: Men, Women, Violence (24 May 2021)


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Video caption:

"When discussing gender equality, we tend to focus on just one gender: women. We speak of “women’s development”, “violence against women”, “women in leadership” and so on. But we rarely talk about masculine norms. This lecture will explore masculinity in Singapore and its implications on gender equality. It will also look at violence against women and discuss how the internet, porn and #metoo, have affected gender relations, online harassment and sexual violence in Singapore. What can our institutions — families, schools, workplaces and National Service — do to promote healthier masculine norms and more respectful environments that empower everyone?"

The Q&A session was moderated by Eunice Olsen, Founder of Eunice Olsen Media and former Nominated Member of Parliament. The closing remarks were made by Janadas Devan, Director, Institute of Policy Studies.

Reaction
Many people were inspired by the call for gender equality to be included in the Singapore National Pledge and Constitution (Lecture 1), the abolition of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the equalisation of paternity leave (Lecture 2). Caregiving (Lecture 2) resonated with a lot of people, who agreed that Singaporeans needed to do and invest a lot more to support their family caregivers. Lecture 3 provoked important new conversations on comprehensive sex education, harmful masculine norms and National Service. It generated much controversy as early media coverage caused some misinterpretation of what Lim actually said.

=Coming out=

During the Institute of Policy Studies' 35th Anniversary Conference on Monday, 12 June 2023 held at the Sands Grand Ballroom on level 5 of the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Lim, speaking as Executive Director of AWARE, revealed to the audience and the media that she was a gay woman. Her remarks were made in a personal capacity and she was applauded by the organisation she represented for taking the brave step of coming out in public. She was part of the 3-member panel in a discussion topic entitled "Revisiting pluralism" which commenced at 2pm and was moderated by Prof Chan Heng Chee from the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design. The other two panelists were K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, and Zuraidah Ibrahim, Executive Managing Editor of the South China Morning Post. The following is a transcript of Lim's comments with additional edits for clarity:

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"Good afternoon, Minister Shanmugam, Professor Chan, everyone. I am grateful for this chance to speak on a topic that is close to my heart. I speak from the vantage point of someone who is both privileged and marginalised, and as someone who has worked in the social justice space for more than 30 years. You can read about my privileged position in my profile. My marginalisation is my experience as a gay person in Singapore — covering up my sexuality from my family, colleagues and, until now, the public sphere.

When I was younger, there were no acceptable words to speak about this. The term LGBT only made it into the Singapore lexicon in the 2000s. Being a stigmatised minority is difficult, and even more so when this marginalisation is hidden and invisible. It is no fun in the closet. In fact, it is pretty painful and lonely. So, as a young lawyer, my main aim was to migrate to a more gay-friendly country, with lots of nature. That was 30 years ago. Thankfully, I found the women’s cause—or it found me. And I am still here. My work as a gender equality activist has been an important part of my identity. If I could not speak up for myself safely, I could do so for the women who had it a lot worse than me. The women who were victims of family violence, sexual assault, workplace discrimination and harassment.

Why now?

This is the first time that I am sharing about my own personal situation in a public setting. I think it is partly to do with the repeal of Section 377A. It somehow seems it is safer to talk about this. If we are to take the “pluralism” journey forward in Singapore, it’s important to create brave spaces for the marginalised to share their experiences. Only then can we start talking more deeply and sensitively about these topics without causing antagonism and polarisation. And so I chose to speak about this today, even though it is still a bit scary, to ground this discussion in the lived experiences of a marginalised person, and to emphasise why it is so important for Singapore to get this right.

First, we want people in Singapore to feel like this is their home, where they can be fully appreciated and accepted for who they are. A place where they can show up fully at work or in the community and where they do not have to hide or be ashamed of any aspect of themselves. I know of too many LGBT persons who left Singapore as they did not feel that they could thrive here. I came close to being part of that statistic of people who left, but I’m glad I stayed.

The pace of change in Singapore

The recent repeal of Section 377A shows that Singapore is constantly evolving. Change always feels too slow for any activist; by definition, we cannot be satisfied with the status quo. But in the past 30 years, I have seen changes in almost all areas of work that AWARE is involved in: housing for single parents; protection against workplace harassment; the recent changes to the Women’s Charter strengthening protection against non-physical violence; the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development affirming gender equality as a top national priority; the forthcoming Workplace Fairness Act. All these changes are of critical importance to the lives of single mothers, LGBT persons and people experiencing abuse and violence, workplace harassment and discrimination.

In Singapore, change is sometimes too gradual. It took a long time for the Government to repeal Section 377A. But once it did, the Government did a fantastic job in consulting the various stakeholders and doing a “national mediation” on this issue. I know from my friends in the LGBT community that they have had many discussions with policy-makers. Minister Shanmugam said that pluralism is essentially about social cohesion. I see pluralism as being about embracing diversity and promoting equal, active participation in society. There must be a welcoming of different views and perspectives.

As a civil society organisation that fights for gender equality, AWARE approaches advocacy in the following ways:
 * Advocacy must be data-driven, backed up by research.
 * We always try to assume good faith.
 * We believe in engagement. It is important to consider the positions of all stakeholders closely.
 * We have back-door meetings while also engaging the public to create awareness, educate and influence public opinion.
 * We understand that we are playing the long game.
 * Dialogue and understanding is key. So are reasonableness and dogged persistence.

The above approach is not possible for many groups that do not have access to policy-makers. It is therefore critical to create this access. Since 2011, I have seen the Government become a lot more approachable to groups with causes. And this is a very good thing.

True pluralism

A precondition for pluralism is this: The Government must protect minorities. If we are to embrace diversity, we must ensure that minority groups are not bullied by the majority. So, things like the Workplace Fairness Act are critical. I am very disappointed that, at this point, it looks like the Workplace Fairness Act will not protect against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. With S377A repealed, there is no reason not to extend protection against workplace discrimination to everyone, including LGBT persons. It would be ironic for our first workplace anti-discrimination legislation to be itself discriminatory by excluding LGBT persons. Going forward, this issue can only get more complex. How we deal with pluralism has a deep impact on people’s lives. It’s important that we get this right."

=See also=
 * AWARE saga

=References=
 * https://aware.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/Corinna-Lim-bio-as-ED.pdf
 * https://www.herworld.com/women/women-now/aware-executive-director-corinna-lim/
 * https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/former-lawyer-recounts-harassment-by-client
 * https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/speaking-up-on-sexual-abuse
 * https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/research/s-r-nathan-fellowship-for-the-study-of-singapore/8th-s-r-nathan-fellow-corinna-lim
 * https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/events/details/ips-nathan-lectures-by-ms-corinna-lim-lecture-iii-reset-men-women-violence
 * https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/toxic-masculinity-time-to-tackle-it-on-all-fronts
 * Goody Feed, "AWARE Chief Proposes Reviewing NS to Eliminate Toxic Masculinity & Lessen Gender Inequality", 25 May 2021.
 * Mothership, "It's 2021. Why do women continue to take on a disproportionate burden of caregiving?", 22 May 2021.
 * Mothership, "Make NS gender neutral & review it to weed out toxic masculinity: AWARE chief Corinna Lim", 25 May 2021.
 * Mothership, "AWARE director: Is focusing on ‘abstinence before marriage’ still realistic sex ed in S’pore today?", 29 May 2021.
 * The Independent Singapore, "Weed out toxic masculinity and let women do national service, says AWARE chief", 25 May 2021.
 * The Straits Times, "Call to review NS to weed out toxic masculinity", 25 May 2021.
 * TODAY, "IPS lecture: Govt review needed to promote positive masculine norms in S’pore, says Aware executive director", 24 May 2021.

=Acknowledgements=

This article was written by Roy Tan.