Women’s political participation in India

The story so far:

Women’s relationship with electoral politics has undergone a profound transformation over the past six decades. Women today vote in numbers nearly equal to men, and in several State elections, even surpass them. Yet this remarkable rise in participation has not translated proportionately into representation or power. The Indian case presents a striking paradox: electoral inclusion without structural equality.

Women as voters

In the decades after Independence, electoral participation showed clear gender disparities. Although women were formally included in the electoral process, their turnout remained significantly lower than that of men. In the 1967 Lok Sabha election, male turnout was 66.7 percent while female turnout was 55.5 percent—a gap of 11.2 percentage points (Chart 1). Similar disparities continued into the 1970s. In 1971, the gap widened slightly to 11.8 points. These patterns reflected structural constraints such as lower female literacy, restricted mobility, domestic responsibilities, and limited political outreach to women.

Women’s relationship with electoral politics has undergone a profound transformation over the past six decades. 

From the 1980s onward, the gap began to narrow steadily. By 2009 it had fallen to 4.4 percentage points. The most notable shift came in the last decade: in 2014 the gap dropped to 1.5 points, and in both 2019 and 2024 women voted at nearly the same rate as men.

A similar trend is evident in State Assembly elections between 1990 and 2025 (Chart 2). In the early 1990s, women’s voter turnout was on average 4–5 percentage points lower than that of men. This gender gap narrowed steadily through the 2000s, falling to –1.8 percentage points during the 2005–07 elections and to –1 percentage point by 2008–10.

After 2011, the pattern reversed. Women began voting at slightly higher rates than men, with the average turnout gap turning positive at 1.13 percentage points during 2011–13 and widening to 2.82 percentage points in 2015–16. Although the margin moderated in subsequent years, it remained positive at 1.6 percentage points during 2020–25. Overall, the average gender turnout gap in State Assembly elections from 1990 to 2025 shows a clear long-term convergence, followed by a modest but sustained advantage in women’s voter participation.

Electoral participation beyond voting

While voter turnout has approached parity, campaign-level participation continues to show a clear gender gap (Table 3). Across Lok Sabha elections from 2009 to 2024, men consistently report higher involvement in public political activities.

Women’s participation in campaign activities has been gradually increasing, though a clear gender gap persists. Attendance at election meetings and rallies rose from 9 percent in 2009 to around 16 percent in recent elections, while men’s participation has remained roughly double.

Similar patterns are visible in processions and door-to-door canvassing, where women’s involvement increased from about 5–6 percent to 11 percent, yet still lagged behind men. These trends suggest that while women are becoming more visible in public political activities, but they have limited engagement in electoral campaigns.

A key factor limiting women’s public political engagement is the need for family permission. The Lokniti –CSDS Survey on Women and Politics, conducted in 2019, shows that most women report requiring approval for activities such as attending rallies, candidate meetings, or campaigning. These constraints highlight that gender gaps in visible political participation are shaped not only by interest or capability but also by social and familial norms (Table 4).

From participation to representation

If women have achieved parity as voters, representation in Parliament tells a different story.

In the first Lok Sabha in 1952, only 22 women were elected. For decades, women’s representation fluctuated at modest levels. Even in 1977, the number dropped to 19. A visible shift began only in the 21st century. The number of women MPs rose from 59 in 2009 to 62 in 2014, and then to a historic high of 78 in 2019, before declining slightly to 74 in 2024 (Chart 5).

Yet even at its peak, women constituted only about 14 percent of the Lok Sabha—far below their near 50 percent share of the electorate.

The nomination bottleneck

The representational gap becomes clearer when examining candidature. In 1957, only 45 women contested parliamentary elections. By 1996, that number had risen sharply to 599. In recent elections, female candidature has continued to expand—668 women contested in 2014, 726 in 2019, and 800 in 2024 (Chart 6). However, these numbers must be viewed in context: male candidates still number in the thousands. Women remain a small minority among the total contestants.

Political parties often justify limited nominations by arguing that women are less “electable.” Yet success rate data complicates this claim. In 1957, 49 percent of women candidates won compared to 33 percent of men (Chart 7). In 1962, women’s success rate was 47 percent against 25 percent for men. Even in recent elections, women’s success rates are comparable or slightly higher: in 2019, 11 percent of women candidates won, compared to 6 percent of men. In 2024, the success rates were 9 percent for women and 6 percent for men. These figures indicate that when women are given tickets, they are capable of winning.

Autonomy and political socialisation

Women’s underrepresentation in legislatures reflects not only limited candidature and party nominations but also constraints on political autonomy and socialisation. While women now vote at near-parity with men, their decisions are not always independent. In 2014, 51 percent reported voting without advice, a figure that slightly declined to 50 percent by 2024.

These patterns are also reflected in women’s attitudes toward political alignment within the family. A majority of women (52 percent) consider it important to share the same political views as their family (Chart 8)

Structural barriers in the political system

Beyond family and social constraints, women also face systemic obstacles within political institutions. Many perceive that political opportunities are not equally accessible. Data from the Lokniti–CSDS study on women and politics show that 58 percent of women believe it is easier for a woman from a political family to enter politics, while 57 percent feel that women from higher economic backgrounds have an advantage. Nearly half (44 percent) think that political parties prefer men when allocating tickets, and a similar proportion believe that voters favour male candidates over female (Table 9).

Structural and social barriers

When asked about the broader challenges that shape women’s political participation, women pointed to a range of structural and social factors. Patriarchal structures are the biggest obstacle, cited by 22 percent of women, followed by household responsibilities (13 percent) and individual-level constraints such as lack of confidence, awareness or experience (12 percent). Cultural norms (7 percent) and financial or structural constraints (6 percent) were also reported (Table 10).

While women now vote at near-parity, true power and representation remain limited. The passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill provides a structural path to bridge this gap, but the challenge remains to ensure that women’s participation translates into real authority and decision-making.

(Sanjay Kumar is a Professor and Political Analyst. Vibha Attri is a Researcher working with Lokniti-CSDS. Views expressed by the authors are personal.)

Published – March 13, 2026 08:00 am IST