SPECIAL ARTICLE

Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 47
Praveen Rai ([email protected]) is with the Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies, Delhi.
Electoral Participation of Women in India:
Key Determinants and Barriers

Praveen Rai
Womens participation in formal politics in India reveals
that there has been a marked increase in their voting
turnout and election campaigning. While there have
been significant gains in these two areas, women
continue to be under-represented in legislative bodies
both at the national and state level and in political
parties. An analysis of the factors influencing
participation reveals that these differ for women in
elections as voters and their involvement as
campaigners. All said and done, positive affirmative
action in the form of reservation in legislative bodies,
greater accommodation of women in decision-making
positions in political parties and in government would
go a long way in addressing a serious lacuna in politics
in the country.
T
he participation of women and their engagement in elec-
toral process is an important marker of the maturity and
efcacy of democracy in any country. It can be dened not
only in terms of the equality and freedom with which they share
political power with men, but also in terms of the liberty and
space provided for women in the democratic framework of elec-
toral politics. The Constitution of India promulgated in 1952
promised, to secure to all its citizens justice, social, economic
and political and equality of status and of opportunity (Basu
1998:21). Despite the constitutional promulgation, women in the
Indian subcontinent continue to be grossly under-represented in
the legislatures, both at the national and the state levels. Female
representation in the lower house (Lok Sabha) of the Indian
Parliament is still much less than the world average of 20%,
lower than the critical mass required to introduce gender p arity
in political decision-making and legislation. Similarly, the
number of female representatives in legislative bodies in most of
the states in India is also below the 20% mark reecting a pan-
Indian gender exclusion from electoral participation and quality
representation.
The Indian female marginalisation from electoral participa-
tion stems mainly from political party competition, as national
political parties and regional parties in the states discriminate
not only in terms of seat allotments in the electoral fray, but also
in the party rank and le and chain of command. This could be
attributed to a large extent to the party competition structure in
the Indian subcontinent that is encumbered by inherent male
dominance and a patriarchal mindset that excludes women from
the electoral process. In contrast to the poor allotment rates of
seats to women by political parties in the electoral process and
marginalisation within the party structure, female electoral parti-
cipation as voters has seen a notable upsurge in the late 1990s as
voter turnout gures of three general elections held in the last
decade indicate.
The electoral participation of women in India is a much discussed
issue with a wide range of opinions and differing views. On the one
hand, some theorists argue that the electoral process in India is
fraught with male patriarchy and dominance that act as impedi-
ments to women participation. The lack of political voice and poor
representation of women in Parliament is a result of exclusions on
gender basis (Agarwal 2006). On the other hand, there are theorists
who dispute this argument and feel that the increased participation
of women in electoral competition in the 1990s as voters and shar-
ing of political power at the grass-root level reveal that electoral
politics in India is no more gender exclusive but is quite inclusive.
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january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 EPW Economic & Political Weekly 48
They feel that due to the strength and determination of womens
movements in different parts of India, as well as government-
regulated quotas, female presence in the political arena is increasing,
particularly in terms of voting patterns and decision-making power,
as well as in access to positions in public ofce (Lock 1998; Vyasulu
and Vyasulu 1999; Ahern et al 2000; Banerjee 2003).
It is within this framework of competing and divergent arguments
of the level of participation of women in the electoral process that
the ensuing analysis, based on primary and secondary sources, will
try to ascertain the underlying causal factors. The analysis will not
only focus on levels of inclusion of women in the electoral process
as party candidates and as single interaction voters but also their
engagement in election campaigning and electoral activities that
involves multiple interaction. It will argue that female involvement
is more labour-intensive and involves sustained political inter-
actions over a period of time. It will also attempt to determine the
factors that act as barriers and impediments to women proactively
engaging in electoral politics.
This paper is broadly divided into six sections. Section 1 provides
the denition and markers of female participation in electoral com-
petition in India. Section 2 assesses female participation in elections
from a historical point of view to understand the beginning from
limited electoral activities to more intensive participatory activities
in recent times. Section 3 is about the thematic patterns of gendered
interactions in electoral competition at various levels under-repre-
sentation of women in the Lok Sabha since the rst general elec-
tions, systemic exclusion in allotment of seats as candidates in na-
tional elections by political parties, increasing participation of
women in electoral campaigns in the beginning of 21st century and
the electoral upsurge of Indian women as voters in the 1990s. Sec-
tion 4 is the focal section of the paper as it tries to quantitatively nd
out the main determinants that lead to higher participation of
women in the electoral process as voters and as campaigners, sepa-
rately. It will also attempt to ascertain the best indicators that explain
higher participation of women in formal politics, both as single par-
ticipatory voters and as multi-participatory campaigners that is
more time intensive and requires frequent negotiations outside the
household. Section 5 probes factors that act as barriers and obstacles
in female participation and womens issues in electoral politics
qualitatively. Section 6 is the last section that concludes the paper
and suggests the way ahead for enhanced participation of women
in an intensive electoral process that will pave the way for correct-
ing the present gender inequalities in Indian politics.
1 Definition and Markers
The participation of women in politics in a broader perspective in-
volves interaction in a wide range of activities like participating in
trade unions, cooperatives, womens collectives, informal and formal
political processes. Political participation has been dened as a
citizens active involvement with public institutions, which include
voting, candidacy, campaigning, occupying political ofce and/or
lobbying individually or through membership in a group (Arora
1999; Gleason 2001). However in this paper it is used in a much
narrower sense to cover only female participation in formal/elec-
toral politics at the state and national level in electoral competi-
tion. Female participation in electoral politics at the grass-root
level of panchayati raj institutions has not been included in the
universe of analysis here as afrmative action for reservations of
seats has corrected gender exclusions and dis parity at this level
to a great extent.
For a holistic assessment of electoral participation of women
and status vis--vis men in India and factors that act as barriers
and obstacles in efcacious participation in formal politics, the
following parameters will be used:
(i) Participatory Levels in Electoral Competition: This can be
estimated by analysing the turnout of women as voters and the
representation of women in the lower house of Parliament over a
period of time based on time series data from the Election Commis-
sion of Indias archives. This would be supplemented by a compara-
tive analysis of seats allotted to women by national political parties
during the last three general elections in India.
(ii) Electoral Behaviour and Attitudes: The level of political
awareness, commitment and involvement of participation of
women in electoral politics, their autonomy and independence in
electoral behaviour and choices and barriers that act as impedi-
ments in participating as active campaigners during the elec-
tions. As will be discussed in the relevant section, the data for
analysis is drawn from the Data Unit of the Centre for the Study
of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi.
(iii) Efcacy of Women in Electoral Process: An assessment
would be made of womens roles and efciency in the electoral
process and societys attitude to new political roles of women.
This is indicated by the success of women candidates in elections,
the efciency of womens movements, the nature of leadership
and women elected in government and political parties and the
effectiveness of campaigns for womens mobilisation, particu-
larly on issues that directly concern them. Since quantitative data
is not available to ascertain the efcacy of women in electoral
process, it will be more qualitative and based on gender analysis.
Since empirical data for womens participation in electoral com-
petition in India is mostly available for state and national level
elections, grass-roots electoral participation will be analysed in a
qualitative manner so as to provide a holistic picture about levels
and patterns of participation in electoral competition.
2 An Overview of Electoral Participation
A brief sketch of the historical background of female participa-
tion in electoral competition provides a backdrop both chrono-
logically and thematically.
The Swadeshi movement in Bengal (1905-08) marked the
beginning of Indian female participation in nationalist acti vities
and also brought to the forefront the question of suffrage and
voting rights.
Tracing the origins of the female suffrage movement in India,
Forbes (1979) stated:
the rm insistence of organised women that they be treated as equals
of men on the franchise issue emerged not from the perceptions of the
needs of the women in India, but as the result of the inuence of cer-
tain British women, in the case of the rst demand for the franchise,
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Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 49
1917, and as a response to the nationalist movement, in the case of the
second demand for franchise, 1927-33.
Thus the movement for female suffrage in India in the early
20th century was initiated and replicated on the model in Great
Britain and the work of British women reformers living in India.
But eventually the suffrage movement came to terms with
nationalist concerns and suffragist ideals had to be justied in
Indian terms and linked to the nationalist issues of political
rights and colonial status that dominated public discourse in the
1920s and 1930s in India (Southard 1993).
As a result of the movement, limited suffrage rights were
extended to women in different provinces of India between 1920
and 1929. However the suffrage rights granted were to a very
narrow section of Indian women based on property qualica-
tions. The Government of India Act 1935 provided a wider section
of women suffrage rights but it was still limited and encumbered
by qualications like literacy, property ownership or marriage to
propertied men. The Act enfranchised one woman for every ve
men enfranchised (Visram 1992). In spite of the movements
opposition to reservation of seats on a gender basis, the 1935 Act
granted 41 reserved seats for women in the provincial legisla-
tures as well as limited reservations for them in the central legis-
lature, leading to cleavages in the movement on gender and reli-
gious lines. However, women took advantage of the seats re-
served for them in the elections held in 1937, as 80 women won
the elections to become legislators. Thus, India had the third
highest number of female legislators in the world in 1937, after
the United States and Soviet Union (Visram 1992). After India
gained independence in 1947, the new Constitution adopted did
not reserve seats for women in the legislature. Though reserva-
tion of seats for women in the legislature in the waning days of
the colonial era was quite short-lived and subdivided along
religious lines, it gave women a foothold in legislative life and
set a precedent which women could draw on decades later
(Jenkins 2003).
Though the foundation for electoral participation of women
was laid down during the freedom movement, the post-
Independence period did not witness any concerted or united
effort to create inclusive electoral spaces for women. By and
large, participation after Independence was constrained by social
norms shaping not only opportunities for but also perceptions of
female involvement in politics perceptions that were sometimes
unique to men, at times shared by women (Arora 1999; Gleason
2001; Nair 1996). Overall, the mass participation of women in the
political eld during the freedom struggle seemed to decline
a fter Independence. Their involvement in politics and electoral
competition was conned to familial connections rather than
based on interest and societal encouragement to actively parti-
cipate in politics. Also, political parties that were reecting the
prevailing societal ethos systematically excluded women from
electoral participation (Baseline Report 1998). However, as a token
of appreciation for their contribution in the struggle for Indias
Independence, political parties allotted them a few seats in the
general elections. This becomes evident from the rst Lok Sabha
Elections held in 1952 where women could win and occupy a
p altry 4.4% of the seats in the lower house of Parliament. Even
now, despite the constitutional provisions guaranteeing equality
of sexes, electoral participation of women in terms of legislative
or decision-making bodies is quite low and they continue to re-
main marginalised and under-represented.
The demand for greater representation of women in political
institutions in India was taken up seriously after the Committee
on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) published its report in
1976. The CSWI report suggested that female representation in
political institutions especially at the grass-roots level needed to
be increased through a policy of reservation of seats for women.
In 1988, the National Perspective Plan for Women also suggested
that a 30% quota for women be introduced at all levels of elective
bodies. Womens groups and gender politics strictly insisted that
reservation be restricted to the panchayat level to encourage
grass-roots participation of women in electoral politics.
The national consensus around this demand resulted in the
adoption of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution in
1993 that introduced 33% reservation for women in institutions of
local governance. In 1995 the question of afrmative action for
women was raised again, but this time the focus was on reserva-
tions in Parliament. Initially, most political parties agreed in prin-
ciple to this demand, but soon discord and dissensions surfaced.
When the bill addressing this issue was introduced in the 11th Lok
Sabha in 1997, several parties and groups raised objections. The
objections focused on two main issues: rst, the issue of overlap-
ping quotas for women in general and those for women of the
lower castes and, second, the issue of elitism. The proposed bill is
yet to be passed by the Lok Sabha although it has been passed in
the Rajya Sabha recently.
The following section delves into the issues more specically.
3 Gender Interactions in Elections
The participation of women in various processes of electoral com-
petition in India is multifarious but the levels of participation and
inclusiveness are quite varied, uneven and distorted. Electoral in-
teraction and political participation of women can be systemati-
cally analysed using a pyramidical electoral participation model
stratied at four levels on a quantitative basis: (1) in the top strata
is female representation in the lower house of Parliament and in
legislative assemblies which is the narrowest and most con-
stricted numerically; (2) in the second strata are women as candi-
dates in electoral competition participating as members and func-
tionaries of political parties where their representation in quanti-
tative terms is more than that at the top layer; (3) in the third
strata as active campaigners for political parties where female
participation is much larger in numbers than that in the second
strata; and (4) in the bottom strata with the widest base of women
in numerical terms as single-time voters.
The levels of female participation at the top tiers/levels of elec-
toral competition are fairly low as compared to Indian men and the
only levels of electoral participation where they have achieved
some degree of parity are as voters in elections. Thus womens par-
ticipation in electoral competition has been restricted to being peri-
odic electors, something that is not only promoted and encouraged
by the political parties and society but also by the state organs in
India. Female electoral participation is grossly skewed and lopsided
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Table 1: Representation of Women in Lower House
of Indian Parliament from 1st to 15th Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha Total No of Women % of the
No of Seats Members Total
(Elections Held) Who Won
First (1952) 489 22 4.4
Second (1957) 494 27 5.4
Third (1962) 494 34 6.7
Fourth (1967) 523 31 5.9
Fifth (1971) 521 22 4.2
Sixth (1977) 544 19 3.4
Seventh (1980) 544 28 5.1
Eighth (1984) 544 44 8.1
Ninth (1989) 529 28 5.3
Tenth (1991) 509 36 7.0
Eleventh (1996) 541 40* 7.4
Twelfth (1998) 545 44* 8.0
Thirteenth (1999) 543 48* 8.8
Fourteenth (2004) 543 45* 8.1
Fifteenth (2009) 543 59 10.9
* Including one nominated member.
Source: Election Commission of India.
vis--vis men in India when it comes to contesting elections as
c andidates and representation in legislative assemblies. Indian
electoral politics reveals exclusionary trends in providing space to
women to participate as candidates in national and state level elec-
tions that causally stem from their marginalisation within the party
hierarchy and structure.
Before analysing the representation levels of women in the
lower house of Parliament it would be contextual to see how they
fare as compared to women in other countries of South Asia pres-
ently. The representation of women in the lower house of Af-
ghanistan parliament is the highest (27%) among the countries
in South Asia. Afghanistan witnessed its rst parliamentary elec-
tions after the downfall of the Taliban rule. Apart from Afghani-
stan, Iraq (25.45%) and Pakistan (21.35%) are the two countries
in the region where women representatives occupy more than
20% seats in the lower house of parliament. The reason for other
countries being ranked higher than India is mainly due to reser-
vation of seats for women in Parliament. Thus India (10.86) and
Sri Lanka (4.89) are two countries in the region where womens
representation in the Parliament is below the world average
20% representation of women.
Women in India are still not well represented in political life as
members in Parliament and in state legislative assemblies that
would require them to be active in the public sphere (Chhibber
2002). Womens representation in the Lok Sabha since the rst
general elections reveals that they continue to be grossly excluded
from electoral participation at the top even after so many years of
Independence (Table 1). In 1952, they constituted 4.4% of the total
members in the lower house which has increased to around 11% in
2009, but it is still below the world average of 20%. There was a
signicant rise in the number of women representatives elected to
the Lok Sabha in 2009 as compared with 2004. Although this has
important symbolic connotations for the future of womens poli-
tics, it had nothing much to do with effective political mobilisation
of women in the 2009 elections (Deshpande 2009).
Reasons for Low Representation
The mains factors attributed to low representation could be
(a) socio-historic forces
inherited from nationalist
movements, current social
policies and the gendered
nature of citizenship in
hampering womens po-
litical participation in
government structures,
elections and community
organisations (Vissandje
et al 2006); (b) lack of
reservation of seats for
women in the Parliament
and state legislatures;
(c) the lack of national
consensus and willing-
ness among political par-
ties to give more tickets
to women in elections (Basu 1992); (d) perpetuation of a patriar-
chal political structure together with class, caste and gender sub-
ordination acting as strong deterrents to women contesting elec-
tions (Baseline Report 1998); and (e) the lack of awareness and
knowledge of electoral politics combined with a lack of support
from the family and political parties in resources, severely affects
womens chances to contest and win elections.
Even at the second strata of womens participation in electoral
process as candidates in elections there are inherent barriers and
restrictions imposed by political parties that severely restrict
their chances of candidature. This becomes fairly evident by nu-
merical analysis of the number of seats allotted to women by four
prominent political parties in the last three general elections
(Table 2). It can be seen that the number of women candidates
who contested the elections has increased and almost doubled
from 284 in general elections held in 1999 to 566 in the general
elections of 2004. But the number of women candidates elded
by national parties, except for the Bharatiya Janata Party, has
r emained almost the same during this intervening period. Thus,
national parties have followed a discriminatory and gender
e xclusionist policy in allotment of seats to women in elections for
Lok Sabha over the years and discouraged active participation in
formal politics. The policy of exclusion of women in granting
seats at the national and state level is not only being followed by
national parties, but also by regional political parties that are in
competition in various states of the country.
The political decision to not allot seats to women by political
parties at the national and state level electoral has been attributed
to lack of winnability of women (Deshpande 2004). However, an
analysis of the success rates of women candidates in Indian general
elections as compared to men reveals that it has been higher in the
last three general elections. In the 2009 national hustings, the
success rate for women candidates was 11% as compared with the
success rate of 6% for men. This clearly demolishes the apprehen-
sions about winnability that are raised by political parties in al-
lotting seats to women in elections. The complete lack of support
to women by political parties is corroborated by Kishwar who
states, In our country, even the best of women parliamentarians
feel sidelined and powerless within the party. The few women
leaders have not been able to facilitate the entry of greater number
of women in electoral and party politics, and so remain an ineffec-
tive minority (Kishwar 1996). Kishwar recommended that in allo-
cating tickets for elections, parties should be compelled to give at
least one-third of their tickets to women by amending the Repre-
sentation of People Act in India.
The third level of electoral participation in formal politics is the
role played by women in election campaigns that forms an integral
and crucial part of the electoral process. Womens participation
Table 2: Seat Allotted to Women Contestants in General Elections by National Parties
National Parties 1999 2004 2009
Contested Won Contested Won Contested Won
All India 284 49 355 45 556 59
Congress 51 41 45 12 43 23
BJP 25 15 30 10 44 13
CPI 4 1 2 - 4 -
CPM 5 3 8 5 6 1
Source: Election Commission of India, New Delhi.
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Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 51
in election campaigning is a multi-interaction activity that re-
quires investing time and moving in public spaces outside their
household. Political parties in India in recent times have engaged
in intense election campaigns and have relied heavily on both
print and electronic media to put forward their agenda among
the voters and solicit votes for their party during the elections.
But traditional campaign methods like holding rallies and meet-
ings, distributing party agenda leaets, door to door canvassing
by party workers and supporters, and road shows by party lead-
ers still remain the more popular methods. Women in India have
been actively participating in election campaigns but their levels
of participation need to be numerically estimated to get a fair
assessment of their engagement in this process.
For analysing the levels and trends of womens participation in
electoral competition as campaigners in the last two general elec-
tions an electoral participation index
1
was constructed on the fol-
lowing variables: attended election meetings, participated in ral-
lies, door to door canvassing, donations to parties and distribut-
ing party agenda leaets. Table 3 indicates that on the one hand
the incidence of low participation of women in campaign
activities has dropped by 7 percentage points in the 2004 general
elections as compared to the general elections of 1999.
On the other, the number of women with high levels of partici-
pation in election campaigns has increased signicantly from 13%
in the 1999 general elections to 20% in the 2004 general elections.
This suggests that relatively more Indian women are now actively
participating in campaign activities that are not only more inten-
sive but very much a form of active participation as compared to
voting in elections. One of the main reasons for increased partici-
pation of women in election campaign activities is due to higher
mobilisation by political parties by including women in their cam-
paign programmes. It seems that political parties seem quite keen
and enthusiastic in treating women as constituencies and cam-
paigners, but run shy of allotting adequate number of seats to
them in elections and in sharing political power (Kishwar 1996).
Though there has been a slight decrease in female voting in the
2004 general elections as compared to 1999, participation in the
electoral process as voters has steadily increased from 46.6% in
1962 to around 55.8% in the year 2009 (Table 4). The difference in
voter turnout among men and women that was as wide as 16.7% in
1962 has narrowed down to 4.4% in 2009. Despite the difference
in voting levels remaining signicant vis--vis men, there was not
only a denite participatory upsurge among Indian women in the
1990s, but also in their turnout (Yadav 2000). In fact, the general
elections in 2009 had witnessed the highest voter turnout among
women. Thus, Indian womens participation as voters at the na-
tional level electoral competition has shown a signicant upsurge.
What are the reasons for the upsurge of womens participation
as voters in general elections held in the 1990s? The reasons could
Table 3: Womens Participation as Voters and Election Campaigners
(1999 and 2004 General Elections)
Levels of Participation NES 1999 NES 2004 Increase/Decrease (%)
Non-voters 44 46 + 2
Voters 56 54 - 2
Low campaigners 87 80 - 7
High campaigners 13 20 + 7
Source: National Election Study 1999, 2004, CSDS Data Unit, Delhi.
Table 4: Turnout of Women Voters in General Elections in India
General Elections Total Turnout Mens Turnout Womens Turnout Difference in Turnout
First (1952) 61.2 - - -
Second (1957) 62.2 - - -
Third (1962) 55.4 63.3 46.6 16.7
Fourth (1967) 61.3 66.7 55.5 11.2
Fifth (1971) 55.3 60.9 49.1 11.8
Sixth (1977) 60.5 66.0 54.9 11.1
Seventh (1980) 56.9 62.2 51.2 11.0
Eighth (1984) 64.0 68.4 59.2 9.2
Ninth (1989) 62.0 66.1 57.3 8.8
Tenth (1991) 57.0 61.6 51.4 10.2
Eleventh (1996) 58.0 62.1 53.4 8.7
Twelfth (1998) 62.0 66.0 58.0 8.0
Thirteenth (1999) 60.0 64.0 55.7 8.3
Fourteenth (2004) 58.8 61.7 53.3 8.4
Fifteenth (2009) 58.2 60.2 55.8 4.4
Source: Election Commission of India, New Delhi.
be, rst, the liberalisation and opening up of Indian economy in
the 1990s resulted in an explosion of electronic media creating
awareness and educating women about their political and elec-
toral rights. Second, the civil society and womens organisations
awareness campaigns and advocacy at grass-root levels encour-
aged and educated women about their voting rights and impor-
tance of vote in favour of right candidates and political parties.
Third, the Election Commissions initiatives in conducting free,
fair and violence-free elections in the 1990s may have contributed
in larger women turnout as it inculcated a sense of safety and se-
curity among them. Fourth, the reservation of 33% seats for
women at the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in the 1990s gave
women in the country a sense of sharing power with men equally.
It may have acted as a catalyst and resulted in the upsurge of
womens electoral participation as voters. Finally, the dominant
perception (Vissandje et al 2006) that women generally think
that politics is a dirty word and tend to stay away from it also saw
a change in this period as a result of reservation and their partici-
pation in large numbers at the grass-root level (PRIs). The success
stories of women in panchayats dispelled the perception among
women that politics is not a domain of activity for them.
4 Key Determinants and Factors
Levels of participation of women in formal politics are deter-
mined by a host of factors some of which are universal and gender-
specic in nature, while some are country-specic and localised.
In India and elsewhere it has been suggested that womens par-
ticipation in electoral competition is generally lower than of men
either because they have been socialised differently, especially as
far as marriage, motherhood, employment, and property owner-
ship are concerned, or because they have fewer resources (Burns
et al 2001). Similarly, the socio-economic demographics of
women and gender-specic reasons have been mostly cited in re-
search as factors that determine their level of participation in the
electoral process at the various tiers as outlined above.
In order to assess crucial factors that determine womens level of
participation in formal politics like voting and campaigning in
India, this section uses data from the National Election Study (NES)
2004, conducted by the CSDS and womens electoral participation
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january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 EPW Economic & Political Weekly 52
index created from NES data sets. It is again reiterated that elec-
toral participation is used in a restricted ambit. Womens participa-
tion in election competition is restricted to covering voting and
campaigning during the general elections held in India in 2004.
There has been a visible upsurge of women as voters in Indian
elections and they have achieved parity with men voters in elec-
tions. One of the reasons cited has been pro-
motion by state and society in encouraging
women to participate and vote in elections.
What are the other factors that determine their
levels of participation and non-participation in
the voting process? One of the key factors that
determines their high level of participation in
casting their votes is womens interest in poli-
tics. Table 5 shows that a large number of the
women with an interest in politics are also the
ones who participate actively in the voting
process. Eighty-nine per cent of women who
had an interest in politics also had high levels
of voting participation in the 2004 general
elections as compared with those who did not
have an interest in politics in general (82%).
Thus, we can assume that womens interest in
politics is a prerequisite for encouraging higher
participation of women in formal politics.
Individual socio-demographics including
e d ucation and income, sociocultural norms and
caste are also associated with womens opportu-
nities in political participation (Agarwal 1997;
Gleason 2001; Banerjee 2003). Womens level
of participation in electoral politics depends
on their societal background and the levels of
liberty and freedom enjoyed by them. Thus
women who exercise their own discretion in de-
ciding whom to vote for show a higher level of
electoral participation as voters in electoral
competition than those whose decisions are in-
uenced by family and friends. Accordingly, women with their own
voting decisions show a higher voting participation (4 percentage
points in the 2004 general elections) than women whose decisions
were inuenced by others. But the attitudinal factor that seems to
drive women in India to cast their votes in elections is the percep-
tion that their vote matters in electing and running the govern-
ment. Thus 87%, who felt that their vote matters in elections, voted
in general elections 2004 in India as compared with the smaller
number of women (78%) who felt that it did not matter for run-
ning the government and yet voted.
Location and Region
The other important factors that play a crucial role in ensuring
higher participation in voting are location and region. Table 5
reveals that women living in rural areas of India vote higher as
compared to those living in urban locations, as rural women are
ahead by 5 percentage points in voting in the 2004 general elec-
tions. Similarly, women located in the southern and eastern re-
gion of India exercised their ballot options more as compared to
women residing in the western and northern regions of the coun-
try. Thus, more women from southern (90%) and eastern (87%)
regions voted in 2004 as compared with their counterparts resid-
ing in the other two regions of India. The reason that can best
explain a higher percentage voting by women in the southern
and eastern regions of India is the matriarchal social structure
prevalent in these regions which allows them
more freedom to access and negotiate interac-
tions in the public sphere and in electoral
competition.
What are the other factors that determine
womens participation in election campaigning
and are the reasons same as those for partici-
pation in voting or different from it? Womens
interest in politics emerges as the key factor
that determines their level of participation in
election campaigns. Women with an interest in
politics had higher levels of participation
(41%) in election campaigning in 2004, as
compared to those who were not interested in
politics and still campaigned in elections
(11%). The ndings are corroborated by earlier
research that arrived at similar outcomes
(Burns et al 2001).
It is acknowledged that educated employed
women and those of a higher social standing
in terms of class, and urban women are more
likely to be interested as well as more active in
politics (Chhibber 2002). The observations in
Table 6 support this as women who are em-
ployed have a higher participation in election
campaigns (22%) as compared to women who
are not working (18%). The ndings are sup-
ported by earlier reports (Gleason 2001). Al-
though in some cases, the differences are not
very signicant, they are suggestive of the po-
tential roles the demographic background
plays in active participation of women in electoral process.
In a pluralistic society like India, the media is the major means
for political and social groups to reach out to target groups and
forge strategic alliances with them. The increased participation
of women as election campaigners in recent electoral competi-
tions could be attributed to Indian media to some extent as data
in Table 6 reveals. But to what extent does media exposure of
women lead to their increased participation in election cam-
paigns? To test this efcacy, a Media Exposure Index
2
was
created which is a combination of CSDS National Election Survey
2004 data variables on newspaper reading habits and listening to
news on radio and television. As per Table 6, women who had a
high exposure to media also had higher political participation in
e lection campaign (30%) as compared to those who had no
exposure to the media (15%).
Social networking and regional factors also determine their
levels of participation in election campaigns. Women in India
are part of social networking groups like local religious
o rganisations and other self-help groups. Thus, women with
Table 6: Key Determinants of Womens
Participation in Election Campaigning
Factors Participation in Campaign (%)
Low High
Interest in politics 59 41
No interest in politics 89 11
High media exposure 70 30
No media exposure 85 15
High social networking 79 21
Low social networking 87 13
Employed 78 22
Unemployed 82 18
Eastern region 69 31
Northern region 83 17
Southern region 83 17
Western region 89 11
Source: National Election Study 2004, CSDS Data
Unit, Delhi.
Table 5: Key Determinants of Womens
Participation in Voting
Factors Voting Participation (%)
Vote Do Not Vote
Interest in politics 89 11
No interest in politics 82 18
Own voting decision 89 11
Not own voting decision 85 15
Vote is important 87 13
Vote is not important 78 22
Rural location 85 15
Urban location 80 20
Southern region 90 10
Eastern region 87 13
Western region 81 19
Northern region 79 21
Source: National Election Study 2004, CSDS Data
Unit, Delhi.
SPECIAL ARTICLE
Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 53
Among demographic variables, region is the key factor that de-
termines and explains womens level of participation as voters in
2004. Keeping the northern region as constant, the southern
r egion is one of the best predictors of women who voted in elec-
tions. This implies that women in southern region of India fol-
lowed by women in the eastern region of the country had the
highest levels of participation in voting process as compared to
other regions. Womens participation in voting is also determined
by the rural-urban divide that is a signicant predictor of their
l evels of voting in elections. Women living in rural areas voted
more in 2004 as compared to the urban areas of India. The rea-
sons could be manifold, but low parti cipation in electoral politics
is a common phenomenon among urban voters in India and urban
women are no exception (Chhibber 2002).
Are the determinants and predictors of female participation in
electoral competition as voters and women who participate in
election campaigns the same or are there variations? A logistic
regression of the number of women campaigners as the depend-
ent variable by independent determinants like womens interest in
politics, own voting decision, vote matters, media expo-
sure, social networking, locality, language and region
reveals that among attitudinal variables, interest in politics
is one of the strongest predictors of women who campaigned
in general elections 2004. Thus women who had interest in
politics had the highest levels of participation in electoral
campaigning. Apart from interest in politics being the best
predictor, social networking of women is the second best pre-
dictor of womens participation in campaign activities during
the 2004 elections. Media exposure of women is also a good
predictor of womens participation in election campaigns.
F actors that d etermined and predicted womens participation as
voters like their vote mattered and own decision are not
statistically signicant in determining their participation in
campaign activities.
Women in non-Hindi states participated more in election cam-
paigns in 2004 as compared to Hindi-speaking states. The em-
ployment status of women is a crucial factor, as employed women
participated more in election campaigning than those who were
not. Women who have a life outside of the household are more
interested in politics and more politically active (Chhibber 2002).
This means working women who are more exposed to public life
participate more in election campaigns than non-working
women/housewives.
Different Determinants
Thus we can conclude that the determinants of womens
participation as voters and campaigners are different and the
best predictors of their levels of participation in two key electoral
activities are also dissimilar. The best predictor for womens
participation in voting is the vote matters factor, whereas for
election campaign activities womens interest in politics is the
strongest predictor. Social networking and media exposure do
not have a signicant correlation with voting patterns and
behaviour of women during elections in India, but are strong
deter minants of gender participation in campaign activities
during electoral competition.
higher social networking (21%) had higher levels of participa-
tion in election campaign activities in 2004 as compared to
those with low social networking (13%). Similarly, women living
in the eastern region of the country where the social structure is
matriarchal reported high levels of participation in election
campaigns (31%) in 2004 as compared to other regions of
the country.
Thus we see that
there are a host of attitu-
dinal determinants like
media exposure, social
networking, interest in
politics, voting discre-
tion, the importance of
the vote and demo -
graphic variables that
determine womens par-
ticipation in electoral
competition both as vot-
ers and campaigners.
Which among these are
the most important de-
terminants of womens
participation in the elec-
toral process as voters?
A logistic regression
(Tables 7 and 8) of the
number of women vot-
ers as the dependent
variable by independent
determinants like inter-
est in politics, own vot-
ing decision, vote mat-
ters, media exposure,
social networking,
locality, language and
region reveals that
among attitudinal varia-
bles, Vote matters is
one of the best predic-
tors of women who
voted in 2004. This im-
plies that women who
feel that their vote
matters in electing a
new government had the highest parti cipation in voting.
Apart from women who feel their vote matters, interest in
p olitics is also an important predictor of their degree of parti-
cipation in election voting. Similarly, women who decide on
their own to vote went to the polls in larger numbers in 2004
elections and this factor is an important determinant
in statistically predicting their higher voting participation
p atterns. W omens exposure to media, social networking and
linguistic differentials does not play an important role in
d etermining their levels of higher voting behaviour as Table 7
clearly reveals.
Table 8: Electoral Participation of Women as
Campaigners in General Elections 2004 in India
(Logit Model Campaigning in General Elections as
Dependent Variables)
Variables Multiple Interactions
Campaign in Elections
Coefficient Standard Error
Interest in politics 1.469** 0.05
Voting decision 0.030 0.05
Vote matters 0.037 0.07
Media exposure 0.207** 0.02
Social networking 0.272** 0.12
Employment 0.227** 0.05
Language 0.318** 0.08
Rural/urban 0.485** 0.06
Southern region -0.259** 0.08
Eastern region 0.516** 0.06
Western region -0.268** 0.10
Constant -5.183 0.23
Source: National Election Study 2004, CSDS Data Unit, Delhi.
*P <.05; **P <.01 N: 8942 Chi
2
1226.707
Prob > chi
2
0.0000 -2 Log Likelihood Per cent Correctly
9574.6374 Predicted: 78
Table 7: Electoral Participation of Women as
Voters in General Elections 2004 in India
(Logit Model Voting in General Election as Dependent
Variables)
Variables Single Interaction Voting in Elections
Coefficient Standard Error
Interest in politics 0.276** 0.07
Voting decision 0.204** 0.06
Vote matters 0.402** 0.07
Media exposure 0.007 0.03
Social networking 0.109 0.13
Employment 0.130* 0.06
Language 0.077 0.08
Rural/urban 0.304** 0.07
Southern region 0.579** 0.10
Eastern region 0.478** 0.08
Western region 0.189 0.10
Constant -0.045 0.23
Source: National Election Study 2004, CSDS Data Unit, Delhi.
*P<.05; **P<.01 N: 8892 Chi
2
164.525
Prob > chi
2
0.0000 -2 Log Likelihood Per cent Correctly
6647-7529 Predicted: 88
SPECIAL ARTICLE
january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 EPW Economic & Political Weekly 54
5 Barriers and Obstacles
The Constitution of India grants universal suffrage to both men
and women with equal rights to participate in electoral competi-
tion, but the existing societal value system, the private-public
divide in terms of domain identication and male preponderance
in political institutions restrict women from exercising their
electoral rights and a fair participation in electoral competition.
These factors also act as key barriers and obstacles in womens ac-
tive participation in the Indian electoral system and in the larger
issue of womens advancement as a whole. The lack of critical and
quality representation of women in key decision-making positions
results in womens agenda not getting reected and addressed in
public policies and programmes (Baseline Report 1998).
The public agenda of Indian men and women elected through
the electoral fray as peoples representatives are quite different
and their priority of public works undertaken is also not similar.
While elected women representatives addressed issues of long-
term benets such as education, health, violence against women
and basic amenities that affect community, men concentrated on
issues that needed immediate attention such as roads, com-
munity and commercial centres, tanks, bridges, etc (Interim
Narrative Report 2002-03). Thus, an exclusive mens agenda of
public work tends to neglect womens issues and is detrimental
towards women advancement and progress in the larger interest
of the society.
On the one hand, the absence of a critical mass of women
representatives reduces their bargaining and negotiating power
during the allotment of key cabinet berths in India such as
nance, home, defence, health, etc, which are generally allotted
to men and considered heavy-weight ministries. On the other,
Indian women are mostly allotted ministries during cabinet for-
mation which are not only termed as feminine ministries like
women and children welfare, information and culture, social
welfare, etc, but which are perceived as relatively less important.
To this extent, women in India seem to have failed in breaking
the glass ceiling and have been relegated to the fringes in power
sharing at the top level, which, in turn, has an adverse impact on
their overall political status in the country and has acted as barri-
ers and obstacles in higher electoral participation.
The low proportion of women in the inner political party struc-
ture of India further erodes womens efforts to lobby and garner
resources and support for nurturing and building their political
constituencies as well as mobilising nancial and human re-
sources required to meet the demands and aspirations of their
constituencies. This inevitably results in women being perceived
as weak representatives generally unaccepted as political lead-
ers by people in their constituency. At times, their insignicant
numbers may put them in a vulnerable position resulting in seek-
ing alliances along caste, religion and regional identities rather
than along common gendered interests (Baseline Report 1998).
Thus, Indian women in public life as peoples representatives
often become co-opted in the men-centric structure of develop-
ment agendas. At the grass-root levels of panchayati raj institu-
tions, there have been strong roadblocks and obstacles to wom-
ens entry into politics and a backlash of violence to keep them
away from electoral politics (Baseline Report 1998).
The absence of afrmative action for 33% reservation of seats for
Indian women at state legislature and Parliament is having a nega-
tive impact on womens share in the institutions of representations.
However, treating women as a blanket category for the benets of
reservation would further complicate the issue of womens repre-
sentation and participation in Indias electoral competition. For,
such benets would largely be appropriated by those women who
belong to the upper stratum of society or to those already having a
political background. Hence, women from the lower economic
strata, backward castes and marginalised groups would get further
excluded from contesting elections and sharing political power.
Thus, the disadvantaged sections among the women in India
who are already denied their political rights to participate in
elections as candidates arising out of their situational decien-
cies and lack of political connections would be further relegated.
The absence of proportionate and qualitative representation of
Indian women in top legislative and decision-making bodies is
leading to a lopsided working of democracy in the country. For
Indian democracy to become successful at the ground level, men
and women should get a free and proportionate chance to enjoy
and exercise their political rights and participate in electoral
competition. The inclusion of women in the political structure
and their proportionate electoral participation will not only cor-
rect the existing gender gaps in the electoral arena and remove
barriers and obstacles confronting them, but also bring gender
issues to the forefront leading to womens empowerment and
advancement in the society in the long run.
6 Conclusions
To conclude, there has been a marked increase in voter turnout and
election campaigning among women in India. While there have
been signicant gains among Indian women in these two areas of
electoral participation, they continue to be under-represented in
legislative bodies both at national and state level and within political
parties. The under-representation of women in the Lok Sabha and
state assemblies and in crucial decision-making positions like im-
portant cabinet berths are clear pointers of their systematic exclu-
sion from electoral competition on a gender basis. Though women
head a signicant number of national and state level political par-
ties as party leaders, their representation within the rank and le of
prominent political parties is not in signicant numbers. Women
who have made their presence felt in inner party structures are also
relegated to the second rung leadership and have failed to break
the glass ceiling. They rarely play any role in formulating policies
and strategies in political parties and are assigned the job of keep-
ing an eye on womens issues that could bring electoral benets
and dividends for the party in future hustings.
However, the silver lining over womens participation in elec-
toral politics in India is the participatory upsurge witnessed
among women as voters in the 1990s. The difference in voting
based on gender remains signicant, but the participation of
women as voters is clearly on the upswing at the national level as
more and more women have started exercising their electoral
rights and participating in electoral competition. Similarly,
womens participation in formal politics has also increased in
campaign activities during the election. Thus, the political
SPECIAL ARTICLE
Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 15, 2011 vol xlvI no 3 55
parti cipation of women in electoral politics and activities con-
nected with it is witnessing a denite upswing as their increased
participatory trends make it quite evident.
The levels of political participation of Indian women as voters
and as campaigners are determined by a host of factors as revealed
by the NES 2004 such as interest in politics, importance of voting,
voting discretion, social networking, exposure to media and de-
mographics like location, educational attainments, economic class
and employment status. A regression analysis of key determinants
of womens participation in the electoral process as voters re-
vealed that the factor vote matters in electing a new government
is one of the best predictors of Indian women voting in elections.
The determinants that predict higher participation of Indian
women in elections campaign during the electoral competition
are different from the factors that determine their higher voting
patterns. A regression analysis of women campaigners as the de-
pendent variable with independent variables revealed that, inter-
est in politics is one of the strongest predictors of women who
campaign in elections.
Womens movement and gender politics in India is currently
divided over the question of afrmative action for women in
Parliament and state legislatures around two main issues: rst,
the issue of overlapping quotas for women in general and those
for women of the lower castes and, second, the issue of elitism.
Afrmative action for women in legislative bodies it would go a
long way in removing obstacles that inhibit their participation
in election competition and bridging the existing gap in the
electoral political set-up.
The key barriers that restrict womens proactive participa-
tion in the electoral process, that need to be addressed on a
priority basis, apart from afrmative action, are more represen-
tation of women in political parties, including them in the deci-
sion-making bodies and providing them key cabinet berths in
government at the central and state level. Women should be
promoted and encouraged by the concerted effort of govern-
ment in partnership with civil society for enhanced and quality
participation in formal politics. An increased political parti-
cipation by women in all spheres of political life and electoral
competition in particular will not only ensure political parity
and equality with men, but would also serve the larger issues
concerning women, i e, upliftment and empowerment of
Indian women.
Notes
1 An Electoral Participation Index was created
from women who participated in the following
activities in NES 2004 data set: women, who at-
tended election meetings, participated in election
rallies and meetings, door to door canvassing, do-
nations to parties and distributing party agenda
leaets. The participation levels of women in
election campaign were indexed into two catego-
ries: Low, women who participated in one or two
activities and High, women who participated in
three or more activities.
2 An Media Exposure Index was created from wom-
ens exposure to the following media from NES
2004 data sets: newspaper reading habits, listen-
ing to news on Radio and watching news on
Television. Womens exposure to media were in-
dexed into three categories: Low, women who
were sometimes exposed to any one medium and
never in rest; Medium, women who were some-
times exposed to two or three mediums and High,
women who were mostly exposed to three or
more medium.
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