ETHNICITY MINORITIES FIRST, WOMEN LATER? THE TRAVAILS OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The adoption of legislative gender quotas has proliferated globally since its inclusion as a policy recommendation in the “Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action”, a landmark document drafted at the United Nations’ (UN) Fourth World Conference for Women (1995). Yet, Singapore has refused to deploy gender quotas to ameliorate its enduring underrepresentation of female political representatives, citing that such measures undermine meritocracy, a fundamental national principle. This thesis points out that this caveat is inconsistent with the state’s readiness to introduce ethnic quotas. Why is the state eager to enact quotas to ethnically-diversify its political representatives, but not to ensure a more proportionate representation of women in politics? What impedes the application of gender quotas in Singapore? This thesis will first scrutinise the various state-directed mechanisms introduced to variegate Singapore’s parliamentary demography, and how this has impacted women’s and ethnic minorities’ representation. Consequently, it will account for the government’s varied commitment to women’s and ethnic minorities’ political representation by uncovering the socio-historical/political reasons behind its prioritisation of ethnic over gender issues. Finally, this thesis will navigate the reservations held about gender quotas, i.e. meritocracy and tokenism, by examining the case study of 2017’s Presidential Elections and President Halimah Yacob. Ultimately, the state’s tendency to relegate women’s causes to the periphery – relative to its ardour to protect multi-racialism – is the most stubborn encumbrance to the implementation of gender quotas and the progress of Singaporean women’s political representation.