Gender inequality has always been an important subject worldwide. Even the most progressive societies provide only lip sympathy when it comes to discrimination of women over men. Whether public representation or pay parity in employment, whether in US or in India, it has always been men first. Only recently, companies from Netflix to Goldman Sachs sought to make their paid-leave programs more equitable. The gender wage gap was called out again and again, by workers as varied as Hollywood actresses and Google engineers both in the US and elsewhere. What then is this difference? Actually, it is a chicken and egg situation with women able to tear down the external barriers once they achieve leadership roles but then, one needs to eliminate the external barriers to get women into those roles in the first place. Both chicken and egg are right be it in the corporates or in politics.
Come elections and political parties vie with each other to pamper everyone. Electorate is diverse, constituting of men – women, rich – poor and educated – illiterate. In India it is further complicated by a myriad combination of castes. Parties driven by different ideologies, try wedging their electorate precisely on these divisions. Skewing the arithmetic, are several incongruences in a male dominated world and a patriarchal society. The idea of menfolk allowing their womenfolk a fair share in all representations or even debates on matters such, are jarring to say the least.
Be it infant mortality rate in 2017 of 39 to 40 in 1000 live births or secondary level literacy rate of 61% to 83%, or a secondary school participation rate of 46% to 54%, or having an account in a bank of 26% to 44%, it is the women who are at receiving end. Employment Unemployment Surveys (EUS), conducted by Labour Bureau in the year 2015-16, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) on an all-India level that includes both rural and urban areas, was 75% for men and 23.7% for women. In higher education, though a 33% reservation exists, the Post graduate representation at around 35% far outweighs the under graduate education at around 25%.
The same report further states that the female worker population ratio (WPR) was estimated to be 21.7% as compared to the male WPR of 72.1%. As per the Economic Survey of India 2017-18, female workers are highly disadvantaged in the labour market, they are in large part low-skilled informal workers, engaged in low-productivity and low-paying work. India’s gender gap in median earnings of full-time employees is larger than in South Africa, Brazil and Chile, meaning most women earn far less than men in India than in these countries. Discrimination affects many aspects in the lives of women from career development and progress to mental health disorders. That said, probably electoral representation is the place to start with, since women in power could possibly legislate in their own favour. However, will only a percentage representation in electoral politics assuage the age old dogmas and hurt feelings and move women to vote for a certain party or ideology?
It has been a favourite pastime of all parties to discuss Women’s Reservation Bill and women empowerment, if they came to power. The 108th Constitution Amendment Bill, introduced in 2008, to reserve 33% of all seats in the Lok Sabha and in all state legislative assemblies lapsed on dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 2014. It is another matter of debate as to why only 33% representation be discussed when their share should have been around 50%. Probably the legislators were never in a mood, nor interested to see the power shift that might happen.
The 2014 general elections saw the largest ever number of women in the Lok Sabha but at 62, they were just 11% of the winners. Out of a population of 1.36 billion, 0.64 billion are women making them the most influential. No wonder, the ruling party might be walking the extra mile to appease them, for based on a TOI report, if in 2014, only men had voted, the NDA would have won as many as 376 seats, 40 seats more than the 336 that they actually won and if only women had voted, the NDA would have won only 265 seats, 71 seats lower than their final total and 7 seats below the halfway mark of 272. So, it does make political sense in seeking them out with goodies that appeal to them. Not to be left behind, parties like BJD and TMC, announced fielding 33% and 41% respectively women, in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019. The UPA’s resolve to reserve 33 per cent government jobs for women and also pass the Women’s Reservation Bill giving 33 per cent seats in the Lok Sabha if it were to win the battle must be seen to be implemented. Innovative ideas seem to be emerging, to woo women voters but has to be seen how they translate on ground.
Seven decades after India gained independence, women are still woefully underrepresented as political candidates in state and national elections. Yet despite their gross underrepresentation as politicians in the upper echelons of India’s electoral system, women have made great strides as voters, what with 67% exercising their right in the last elections.
Margaret Thatcher had famously said, ‘If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman’. Having women better represented can actually change the conversations being had around policy. On the campaign trail, women tend to spend more time than men, speaking about issues like education, climate change, and minimum wage. Once in office, there’s evidence that women also make better lawmakers. Since they are disposed to better outcomes, women lawmakers tend to spend more and consequently complete more projects than their male counterparts.
Ban-Ki-Moon, the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations once said, ‘Countries with higher levels of gender equality have higher economic growth. Companies with more women on their boards have higher returns. Peace agreements that include women are more successful. Parliaments with more women take up a wider range of issues, including health, education, anti-discrimination, and child support’. Can our political parties walk the talk? Can we see a truly changing India?