Insight #6: The existence of reliable caregiving support can greatly affect women’s trajectory towards stability. The availability of support is very much linked to women’s own social ties within their families and workplaces. In turn, the availability of support also affects women’s ability to seek stable employment, address urgent issues such as health, and ultimately provide stable income for their families.

The absence of reliable caregiving support heightens job insecurity and insufficiency of household income. While nearly all mothers are affected, caregiving demands are particularly acute among single mothers and those caring for children with special needs, chronic illnesses, or behavioural challenges.

Many mothers are unable to take up or sustain full‑time work due to childcare needs or unpredictable caregiving demands. To cope, they often seek flexible or part‑time roles, engage in home‑based work, or patch together multiple jobs to maintain some income. Others exit employment or turn down opportunities due to sick children, lack of childcare availability, or eldercare responsibilities.

The narratives highlight that being the sole or primary caregiver—often while juggling multiple insecure jobs—creates high stress, fatigue, and reduced self‑confidence. Even with income transfers, women reported skipping meals, taking unpaid leave, and experiencing social isolation due to unreliable caregiving backups. Furthermore, these adaptive employment arrangements, though resourceful, are largely unsustainable. They typically lack employment benefits such as medical leave and CPF contributions, and exacerbate “time poverty,” further eroding women’s wellbeing.

Compared to stable infrastructure support (e.g., electricity, internet), caregiving systems remain fragile and informal. Women depend on ad‑hoc networks that can collapse without notice. Even improvements, like hiring helpers, were often viewed as temporary and uncertain once financial aid ends.

Stoplight  indicators suggest that caregiving can amplify precarity: Family savings and Debt appear in the “most reds” list. This might be compounded by caregiving: women can’t accumulate savings because they are out of work or spending income on childcare, tuition, or medical needs of dependents.

Data also suggest that caregiving stability is interlinked with other domains of wellbeing. In the Coaching Support group, stronger extended‑family involvement created informal safety nets; coaching also improved women’s ability to organise and negotiate caregiving duties. Similarly, income support enhanced trust and help‑seeking behaviour, leading to better caregiving outcomes.