Does Political Representation Empower Women? The Case of Women in India’s Political Parties

Abstract

It is a widely held belief that political participation enhances the position of any community by enabling their grievances to be heard by the state and policy-makers who decide how, when and to whom resources and benefits would be distributed in a democratic polity. The present chapter moves away from the descriptive analysis of viewing increased women voting percentage as a sign of empowerment, thereby takes an inward look at women representation in the Indian Party system. It further probes the hypothesis whether mere presence of women in political parties translates into them getting powerful positions and portfolios within the party? The question is seemingly significant as the women reservation bill seeking to guarantee 33 percent reservation for women have made an exit from most party manifestos and even the women members seem to have accepted its fate. By utilizing the methodological framework of power-sharing in representative democracies, the study analyzes reasons for low representation of women in Indian Party system. The chapter questions the widely accepted norm that representation leads to empowerment while suggesting that this may not hold true.