{"id":68900,"date":"2026-03-13T18:20:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=68900"},"modified":"2026-03-13T18:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:51:14","slug":"women-political-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-03-2026\/women-political-leadership","title":{"rendered":"Women in Political Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity\/Social Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent data released during the <strong>70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70)<\/strong> highlights the persistent under-representation of women in political leadership worldwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Findings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It shows women hold<strong> just 22.4% of cabinet posts and 27.5% of parliamentary seats worldwide.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Only 28 countries<\/strong> are currently led by a woman, while 101 countries have never had a female head of state or government.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of January 2026, 54 women serve as parliamentary speakers, representing 19.9% of all speakers, marking the first decline in 21 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Women are highly concentrated in social policy ministries:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>90% of gender-equality ministries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>73% of family and children\u2019s affairs ministries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Men dominate core power ministries such as Defence, Home affairs, Justice and Economic affairs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Political Representation of Women in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The percentage of women MPs in the Lok Sabha had been very low between 5% and 10% till 2004.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It rose marginally to 12% in 2014 and currently stands at <strong>14% <\/strong>in the 18th Lok Sabha.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The representation in State Legislative Assemblies is even poorer with the national average being around 9%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of 2024,<strong> India ranked 143<\/strong> in the list of countries in the <strong>\u2018Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments\u2019<\/strong> published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a global organisation for national parliaments.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reservation for Women in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, mandated the reservation of <strong>one-third of seats for women<\/strong> in Panchayati Raj institutions and offices of the chairperson at all levels of Panchayati Raj institutions, and in urban local bodies respectively.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Out of the total 1\/3rd seats reserved for women,<strong> 33% had to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One-third of the seats of office-bearers and chairpersons at all levels had to be reserved for women as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>106th Constitutional Amendment:<\/strong> It reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including those reserved for SCs and STs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for the Reservation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The current Lok Sabha has the <strong>highest-ever percentage<\/strong> of women MPs, at 14 percent, which is <strong>lower than the global average of 24 percent.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is the necessity of <strong>affirmative action<\/strong> to improve the condition of women. Some recent studies on panchayats have shown the <strong>positive effect of reservation on empowerment of women <\/strong>and on allocation of resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The World Economic Forum\u2019s Gender Gap Index, has<strong> four dimensions<\/strong> \u2013 Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and <strong>Political Empowerment.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is also an argument that having a <strong>diverse group of people<\/strong> in powerful positions helps institutions view things from a<strong> variety of perspectives.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges Faced by Women while working in Powerful Positions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gender Bias: <\/strong>Despite progress, many women encounter stereotypes that question their competence and leadership abilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Work-Life Balance: <\/strong>Balancing professional responsibilities with traditional family roles can be particularly demanding, often leading to burnout.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harassment and Discrimination:<\/strong> Workplace harassment remains a significant issue, creating hostile environments that discourage women from asserting themselves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural Expectations: <\/strong>Societal norms impose additional pressures on women, such as expectations to conform to traditional roles, which conflict with career ambitions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Networking Barriers: <\/strong>Political networks remain male-dominated, limiting opportunities for women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Women Representation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Diverse Perspectives: <\/strong>Women bring unique experiences and viewpoints that contribute to more comprehensive decision-making, leading to better solutions and innovation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role Models:<\/strong> Increased visibility of women in leadership roles inspires younger generations and helps challenge stereotypes about gender roles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Equity and Justice: <\/strong>Fair representation promotes gender equality, ensuring that women&#8217;s voices and needs are considered in policymaking and organizational decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balanced Policies: <\/strong>Women\u2019s involvement in governance can lead to policies that address issues specifically affecting women and families.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Growth:<\/strong> Empowering women and ensuring their representation can significantly contribute to economic development, as it expands the talent pool and encourages inclusive growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural Change:<\/strong> Increasing women&#8217;s representation can challenge societal norms and promote a culture of equality, benefiting society as a whole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a perennial issue to promote higher representation for women who constitute half the population in all countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women\u2019s representation is essential for creating equitable, just, and progressive societies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/governance\/women-still-shut-out-of-global-political-power-only-1-in-7-countries-led-by-women-un-data-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DTE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Recent data released during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) highlights the persistent under-representation of women in political leadership worldwide.\n <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Key Findings <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It shows women hold just 22.4% of cabinet posts and 27.5% of parliamentary seats worldwide. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Only 28 countries are currently led by a woman, while 101 countries have never had a female head of state or government. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> As of January 2026, 54 women serve as parliamentary speakers, representing 19.9% of all speakers, marking the first decline in 21 years. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-03-2026\/women-political-leadership\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68900"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68904,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68900\/revisions\/68904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}