why do you think there are so few women in india parliament? has there been an effort to change the situation
Answers
Women are severely under-represented in political positions across the world. This column analyses constituency-level election data from Indian states to explore why this is so. It finds that while women are more likely to contest elections in backward states where there are more male electors than female electors, they are less likely to win elections in such states.
The severity of under-representation of women in political positions is highlighted by the fact that women representatives account for merely 20.3% of all parliamentarians in the world (International Political Science Association 2013). According to Norris and Inglehart (2000), the gap between men and women has narrowed the least in political representation, as compared to education, legal rights and economic opportunities.
There is growing evidence in the literature to show the association between women´s representation and policy decisions. Then why are there so few female representatives in political positions, relative to their share in the population and electoral rolls? This column seeks to answer this fundamental question.