During her studies in NUS, she was awarded several prizes, including the Rachel Meyer Book Prize, which is awarded to the best-performing female candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' final-year examinations.[5]
Teo worked at the Economic Development Board (EDB) from 1992 to 2002. She began her career in enterprise development before she was posted to Suzhou as part of the EDB team working on the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, where she was responsible for marketing resources. Upon her return to Singapore, she became the EDB's Head of Human Resources.[5]
In November 2005, Teo also took on the role of Director of Human Resources at the Administration and Research Unit of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). After she was elected to Parliament in 2006, Teo took on additional roles within the NTUC and the labour movement. She served as the Executive Secretary of the Singapore Industrial Services Employees' Union (2006–2011). At the Administration and Research Unit, she served as the Alignment Director (Youth Development) and Alignment Director (Organisation Development) (2007–11), and as the Centric Director (Staff) (2008–2011).[4] She also served as the NTUC's Assistant Secretary-General from 2007 to 2011.[6]
From 2009 to 2011, Teo also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Business China, an organisation aimed at improving cultural and economic ties between Singapore and China.[7]
During her first term in Parliament, Teo served as the Chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, and as a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs.[8]
On 18 May 2011, Teo was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport. She was promoted to Senior Minister of State at the Ministries of Finance and Transport on 1 September 2013, and switched to representing the Bishan North ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. She relinquished her position as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance on 30 September 2015. [9][10]
Teo was the PAP Community Foundation executive committee for 12 years as a member and the chairwoman from 2016 to 2020 and in October 2020 she was appointed as deputy chairwoman of the PCF management council.
As Minister for Communications and Information, Teo introduced the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill which was passed unanimously in Parliament on 9 November 2022.[14]
In 2023, as Second Minister for Home Affairs, Teo introduced the Online Criminal Harms Act, which allowed authorities to take down websites, apps, and online accounts suspected of facilitating criminal behaviour, including scams.[15]
Family planning
In a media interview in October 2016, Teo responded to questions of whether Singaporeans were getting their Housing and Development Board flats early enough in order to start a family, stating that one "does not need much space to have sex". Teo further added that "in France, in the U.K., in Nordic countries, man meets woman [and] they can make a baby already. They love each other."[16] Teo's words drew flak from on social media, with netizens criticising her for lacking empathy towards couples and being insensitive towards couples' practical considerations such as being able to secure a HDB flat before starting a family, as well as accusing her of promoting premarital sex in conservative Singapore.[17]
When asked about this in a 2019 interview by ST,[18] Teo acknowledged that she “should not have said that. It was meant as a private joke but, you know, when you are in public life, nothing is really private anymore. So, lesson learnt.”
White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development
In April 2022, Teo moved a motion to endorse the first-ever White Paper on Singapore Women's Development in Parliament. The Paper was unanimously endorsed by Parliament.[19]
Cost of living
In May 2017, Teo commented on her Facebook page about the high cost of milk powder in Singapore, saying that "milk is milk, however fancy the marketing". She further claimed that she would buy whichever brand of milk powder approved for sale by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority that was cheapest for her own children.[20]
On 26 October 2018, during a conference held by the Institute of Policy Studies, Teo commented that implementing a minimum wage in Singapore may instead lead to higher unemployment and that Singapore's income inequality gap is "a problem of success" that is "difficult to overcome".[21] Instead, to address such concerns, Teo said that the Government implemented measures such as the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme, which topped up the income of low-wage workers, “thereby achieving the same uplift as a minimum wage”.[22]
Risks of Dis- and Misinformation to Elections Integrity
Teo introduced the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Bill which was passed in Parliament on 15 October 2024. The Bill prohibits the online publication of deepfakes and digitally manipulated content of political candidates during the election period. [23]
Personal life
Teo is married to Teo Eng Cheong, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and Investment Development Co (SSTEC) and former Chief Executive Officer of Surbana Jurong. They have two daughters and a son. [24]
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency/seat he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party; PSP: Progress Singapore Party All of the leaders of the respective GRCs are in underline. MP(s) who is go on a leave of absence is in italic. NMPs do not belong to any party.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SPP: Singapore People's Party; WP: The Workers' Party For NCMPs, Gerald Giam and Yee Jenn Jong are from the WP, while Lina Loh is from the SPP. NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; SDA: Singapore Democratic Alliance; WP: The Workers' Party NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.
,_Capella_Singapore,_31_May_2024_-_cropped.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
