When and how do women participate in politics in Bihar?
This policy brief presents preliminary findings from a study investigating why women vote more in some Indian villages than others. It highlights the significance of social norms and political relationships, asking whether increased participation reflects co-optation or the emergence of alternative political dynamics.
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Prillaman-and-Phillips-Policy-Brief-July-2021.pdf
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- Politics in Indian villages continues to be dominated by men. Yet, women have recently begun to vote at a higher rate than men, even in the most deprived regions.
- Women’s electoral turnout varies dramatically between neighbouring districts, with the south-west maintaining the long-run historical pattern of women’s under-participation.
- Comparison with other datasets’ spatial patterns suggests that factors such as gendered differences in literacy or labour force participation, the presence of scheduled tribes or castes, and women’s participation in self-help groups cannot fully explain the gender gap in voting.
- Instead, preliminary findings suggest that differences in the organisation of social and political relationships within villages, governed by contrasting social norms and expectations, are central to explaining gendered turnout decisions.
- This study seeks to understand what drives women to vote in some villages but not others, and whether similar patterns hold for other forms of political participation. To measure social relationships and norms, it collects census data on the residents of 12 villages in Bihar.
- The analysis focuses, in particular, on the nature of women’s increased political participation, exploring whether it reflects co-optation into existing traditional clientelist political relationships or the emergence of an alternative form of politics practised by women.