Under-Representation of Women in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections: A Persistent Challenge

As India anticipates the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, women's under-representation among candidates is evident. Despite the women's reservation bill, only 797 out of 8,337 candidates are women, marking a minor increase. Major parties show varied female representation, with regional parties often leading in gender balance.

As the nation eagerly awaits the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a glaring issue has come to the forefront: the under-representation of women among the candidates. Official data reveals that only 9.6 per cent of the 8,337 candidates are women. This election is the first since the passage of the women's reservation bill, which targets reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. However, this bill, though passed, remains unimplemented.

Despite the landmark legislation, the representation of women in this election has only marginally increased. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms, 797 out of the 8,337 candidates are women, highlighting the persistent gender disparity. Each of the election's seven phases reflected this issue: the first phase had only 135 out of 1,618 candidates who were women, with similar trends in subsequent phases.

The trend of increasing women's representation in general elections has shown slight improvement over decades, rising from 3 per cent in 1957 to nearly 10 per cent in 2024. Analysis by think tank PRS notes a rise from 7 per cent in 2009 to 9.6 per cent in 2024. Major parties have varied female representation, with the BJP fielding 69 women out of 440 candidates, while Congress has 41 women out of 327 candidates. Smaller parties often have higher female representation, with Naam Tamilar Katchi achieving 50 per cent gender parity among its candidates.