The Paradox of Women in Parliament

By: Vaishali S.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (April 2024), women make up roughly 26.9% of lawmakers worldwide. In India, women representation in the parliament is at 14.7%. India was ranked 149th out of 193 nations in terms of the percentage of women who serve in the lower house of parliament.

In recent years, the representation of women in parliament has been on an upward trend. While this growth is consistent with the increase seen in 2022, it has been slower than in 2021 and 2020, when there was a 0.6% rise each year. The progress from just 11% representation in 1995 to approximately 27% today reflects significant strides made by women in achieving leadership roles in lower or single legislative houses. However, despite these gains, much work remains to be done. According to UN Women, at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2036 to achieve gender parity in national legislative bodies. 

While most countries have not achieved gender parity, gender quotas have played a significant role in advancing women's representation. In nations with legislated candidate quotas, there is a noticeable increase in women's representation- five percentage points higher in parliaments and seven percentage points higher in local governments- compared to countries without such legislation.  In the same light let's examine a few countries that may not have achieved better gender parity than India overall but still send more women to their lower or single house of parliament.

More presence of women in the legislative bodies does not automatically translate into greater empowerment and may not be a true reflection of the progress and empowerment that women have achieved. The mere presence of women in politics does not necessarily address deeper issues such as economic inequality, access to education, or gender-based violence. Gender parity is something which should be looked at to get a better idea. The Global Gender Gap Report 2024 says that the gender gaps remain largest in Political Empowerment (77.5% unaddressed). The countries covered in the graph above have a reverse scenario when seen on the Gender gap front with Chad and Pakistan occupying the last positions across 146 economies.

Although these countries rank low on the Gender Gap Report, their levels of political representation present a striking paradox. For instance, a country ranked among the bottom three sends almost 30 percent of women to its lower house. This suggests that political representation alone does not equate to holistic empowerment. True empowerment should encompass not just political participation but also improvements in other areas such as education, economic opportunities, and societal equality. 

For increasing the participation of women in politics, reservation and quotas also have an important role to play if it's implemented in true spirit, especially for countries like India which have the potential to bring a lot on to its leadership. The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution that reserves one-third seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and in urban local bodies has given positive results. Similarly, reserving 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha is expected to yield positive results for a country like India, which has been making strides in empowering women economically and educationally but still lags globally in political representation. However, it is crucial to ensure that “Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam” does not become mere tokenism, offering seats to women without real power or influence. The focus should be on genuinely empowering women from diverse backgrounds, rather than just bringing affluent women into positions of power, as has been observed in Pakistan. There, despite women holding 60% of the seats in the National Assembly, the country still struggles with gender parity, as reflected in global rankings. The goal should be to foster inclusive and meaningful participation for all women, not just a select few. 

The implementation of a 33% quota for women in India's Lok Sabha will position the country among 64 nations worldwide that have reserved seats for women in their national parliaments. Achieving a critical mass of 30% female representation in parliament is generally associated with positive outcomes for women's empowerment. While reservations for women in politics are a crucial step toward challenging patriarchal norms and promoting gender equality, they must be complemented by broader strategies. These strategies should focus on fostering inclusion and equality and promoting economic empowerment. Efforts should also address cultural norms and provide opportunities in education and the workforce, contributing to a more equitable and inclusive society.