The gender gap is the difference between genders as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. The gender gap is visible in the political arena now more than ever. Political participation refers to the right to vote, participation in decision making processes, political activism and consciousness.
Studies show that higher number of women in government bodies usually lead to more attention towards women`s issues. Political representation of women is prerequisite of genuine democracy and gender equality. It helps women be an active part of decision making and ensures accountability.
Political accountability to women must not stop at increasing the number of women in decision making positions it also requires is gender sensitive governance reforms that will make elected officials more effective at promoting and implementing gender equality in public policy.
To tackle the low participation of women candidates, India in 1994 established quotas in the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments to reserve 33 percent of seats in local governments for women. The Women’s Reservation Bill (108th amendment) has been introduced in the national parliament to reserve 33% of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats for women. The bill is yet to be be passed by the Lok Sabha and signed into law.
Women’s representation in local governments can make a difference. Research on panchayats in India discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those with men-led councils.
In rural India, there have been many cases where women from wealthy households have run for elections and have been elected because of the influence the male members have in the society. The elected women are usually namesake leaders and their male counter parts tend to fulfil their responsibilities.
There have been several introduction of training programmes conducted towards rural women’s empowerment in India. These trainings are usually conducted by NGOs. For example, Mahila Samakhya introduced an innovative mode of communication to strengthen the panchayat system in rural India.
The message conveyed by the campaign focused on the fact that it was not merely enough to vote, stand for elections or to win. It helped raise awareness among uneducated women to know why one is voting for a particular candidate, traits of good candidate and what a candidate stand for.
Efforts to improve female representation in politics have often focused on quotas and reserved shares. But that isn’t enough. A more systematic approach focusing on eliminating the underlying, interconnected barriers that women face in getting nominated for elected office and conducting successful campaigns. Such obstacles include lack of access to financing, weaker professional networks, and outside responsibilities that make it harder to take on punishing and unpredictable working conditions. Overcoming such structural barriers requires a thorough strategy for supporting women candidates.
Money is a powerful tool to overcome barriers such as campaigning. The cost of campaigning is high regardless of gender. But women seem to have it worse than men. Even though there is a limit on expenditure for campaigning in India by the election commission there have been cases on exceeding the limit. Wealthy candidates which are usually men finance their own campaigns. Women tend to rely on their husband’s earnings and fortune. This is not necessarily true.
Other than financial constraints, women find themselves tied down by significantly high social and cultural barriers. Women are expected to adhere to their gender roles which undermines their ability to run for election in many cases. Culturally women are overlooked as people tend to consider them for roles in lower cadre and not capable of holding leadership positions. The root of this mentality arises from the fact that many women tend to have pre-existing commitments and other domestic responsibilities.
Media plays a significant role in the portrayal of candidates and their policies. A general observation reveals the very fact that men and women are portrayed very differently. Many news channels and other publications portray women in a sexist and derogatory manner rather than focusing on their main agenda and policies. Many media outlets tend to attack women who fail to adhere to their gender roles and raise questions on her morals. Attitude towards women candidates are still largely characterised by deep ingrained stereotypes and are used to question their capabilities as leaders.
Gender neutrality has gained momentum in all spheres of public life in recent times. Politics has also seen a significant increase in women in leadership positions. There is a scope of improvement and the fight for gender equality in politics persists. More conscious measures need to be taken for this latent and subtle discrimination to be eradicated in due course of time.
Comments