Thread by @IndiaSpend

With 4 states and 1 UT due to get new govts next month, we looked at political representation of women in India. Of the 4,235 members of legislative assemblies (MLAs) in India, only 11% are #women. Follow the thread to know more:
#Elections2021

Among states that had elections in March & April 2021, #WestBengal had the highest representation of #women, at 13% of all MLAs. 7% of MLAs in #TamilNadu are women, 6% in #Kerala & 6% in #Assam, data from @GoIStats recent collation of #gender data show:
mospi.nic.in/sites/default/…

In the last 20 years, no more than 6% of MLAs in Kerala have been #women. Our report on how mainstream political parties in the state have denied women political and leadership roles at the state level:
indiaspend.com/women/no-more-…

Women make up 14% (78) of the 542 members of parliament (MPs) in India. Of the 266 MPs who were elected for the first time, 17% (45) are #women. 11 female MPs were elected from Uttar Pradesh and #WestBengal

Women’s #representation in the union council of ministers is at the lowest in a decade with only 2 female cabinet ministers and 3 female ministers of state

20 states in India have reserved 50% of seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions. As a result, there is a higher representation of women in these rural bodies with women making up for 44% of the total elected representatives

However, higher representation may not mean power as many women representatives act as proxies for men. Our October 2020 report from Bihar on the struggles women representatives face in the state’s local bodies:
indiaspend.com/let-the-men-sa…

In 2017, we reported on how reservations for women leaders have changed the face of rural governance in Tamil Nadu. The 1st report in our series that looked at how women are succeeding despite limited finances, caste oppression and violence: indiaspend.com/the-triumph-of…