Who Run the World? Not Girls: Exploring Voter Preferences, Parties, and Ideologies as Barriers to Women's Representation in Indian Politics

Abstract

Indians have elected a woman Prime Minister, appointed a woman President, and chosen several women Chief Ministers. However, the representation of women in state and national legislative bodies lingers at a mere 9 and 14 percent. Why is the share of women in decision- making bodies so poor, despite several women occupying the highest echelons of political power? In this thesis, I argue that patriarchal ideology and socialization of gender norms constrain women’s access to the political arena at every stage of the electoral process. Furthermore, I argue that more than the demand for women candidates, patriarchal ideology affects the supply of women candidates in India. I examine whether voter preferences are a potential cause for the underrepresentation of women through a candidate conjoint experiment in New Delhi, India. In line with previous literature, I find that voters, in fact, prefer female candidates to male candidates. However, unlike in other countries, voters are indifferent about the marital status and parenthood of candidates. Through a series of interviews, I find that the lack of access to resources, such as monetary, educational, and employment; lack of political patronage for a vast majority of candidates; gendered discrimination; and party nomination systems emerge as potential reasons for the underrepresentation of women in Indian politics. The combination of the empirical analysis and interviews in this thesis engender new research questions, policy implications, and ways forward for researchers and policymakers studying gender and representation in India.