Women’s representation in Lok Sabha Election 2024 remains flat, lags behind 150 countries

This year, the Lok Sabha Election in India welcomed 74 female MPs, a slight decrease from 2019 but a significant increase from the 22 elected in the country’s inaugural 1952 elections. These 74 women constitute a mere 13.63% of the total elected members of the Lower House, a figure that falls short of the 33% quota that will be implemented for women following the upcoming delimitation exercise.

Gradual Increase in Women’s Representation in Lok Sabha Elections

The gender distribution in the Lok Sabha has generally trended towards a greater representation of women over time, although the progress has been gradual and inconsistent. In the first elections in 1952, women accounted for a scant 4.41% of the Lower House.

This figure rose to over 6% in the subsequent decade, only to fall below 4% in 1971, a period ironically marked by the leadership of Indira Gandhi, India’s first and only female Prime Minister. Since then, there has been a slow yet consistent increase in the representation of women, surpassing the 10% threshold in 2009 and reaching a high of 14.36% in 2019.

Despite these strides, India’s representation of women in politics lags behind several other countries. Women make up 46% of MPs in South Africa, 35% in the UK, and 29% in the US.

Party Representation

In terms of party representation in 2024, female Lok Sabha MPs hail from 14 different parties. The BJP has the highest number of female MPs at 31, followed by the Congress with 13, the TMC with 11, the SP with 5, the DMK with 3, and both the LJPRV led by Chirag Paswan and the JD(U) with two each. Seven other parties each have one female MP. Among the parties with double-digit female MPs in the Lok Sabha, the TMC has the highest proportion at 37.93%, followed by the Congress at 13.13% and the BJP at 12.92%.

Out of the 74 elected female MPs, 43 are serving their first term, including Misa Bharti of the RJD who is a first-time Lok Sabha MP. This figure is higher than the overall percentage of first-time MPs in the House (59% vs 52%). On average, female MPs have served 0.76 terms in the Lok Sabha (with one term typically lasting five years).

The average age of female MPs is 50 years, younger than the overall average age of the House, which is 56. In terms of education, they are on par with their male counterparts, with 78% having completed an undergraduate degree.

Approximately 10% of the total 8,360 candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were women. This figure has seen a gradual increase from 3% in 1957, marking the first time the proportion of female candidates has reached 10%. The BJP fielded women for roughly 16% of its seats, while the Congress did so for 13% of its seats, both figures exceeding the overall average.

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