Legislative Presence and Substantive Representation: The Case of Women Legislators in India

Abstract

Political representation is a central aspect of contemporary democratic politics. Similarly, the idea of representation points to a crucial mechanism in the construction of one’s gender identity. This chapter examines the question of whether an increase in the political representation of women in the formal institutions of democratic politics allows an intervention in the dynamics of gender construction. The chapter does this by looking at women’s political representation, through a comparative lens, in different countries, and by focusing specifically on the Indian story, discussing several aspects of the debate around increasing women’s political representation in India, including the travails of the Women’s Reservation Bill.