Beyond Reservations: Why Caste Matters in Women's Political Participation in India
Beyond Reservations: Why Caste Matters in Women's Political Participation in India Women continue to be underrepresented in elected office in nearly all countries, a concerning fact given the evidence that female politicians are more active in advocating positions important to women. At the same time, in many countries other ascriptive identities such as ethnicity, caste, race, and religion are highly salient to both parties and voters and correspond to differences in political representation. To rectify these problems of descriptive representation, many countries and political parties have introduced electoral quotas to benefit either women or underrepresented minorities. India has historically seen low levels of descriptive representation of both women and members of specific caste groups. This has led to the implementation of a complicated series of quota policies. India boasts a vibrant democracy, yet women remain significantly underrepresented in political spheres. While initi...