Female Political Representation and Gender Attitudes in Rural India

Various cultural and social values regarding gender roles have perpetuated gender inequality in India. One factor that can challenge stereotypical gender norms is increasing female political representation. Enacted in 1993, the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution formalized local government structures in rural India. It also mandated that at least one-third of local political seats be reserved for women. This paper investigates the impact of this policy on the gender attitudes of resident women and men in rural areas. The empirical strategy relies on two sources of variation to identify the impact of introducing women in political leadership positions. First, there is considerable variation across states in the timing of the first election held under the purview of this legislative change. Second, the length of an individual’s exposure to female leaders also varies based on their age. Data on timing of the first election with reserved seats for women is obtained from Iyer et al. (2012). Individual-level information comes from the 2015-16 round of the National Family and Health Survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional dataset. The survey interviewed women aged 15-49 years and men aged 15-54 years. Results from logistic regression models confirm that the gender attitudes of women and men are positively influenced by this legislative change, which is consistent with previous literature. Specifically, this study finds a lowering of stated son preference among men and women, a reduction in the justification of violence among women, and greater preference for involving women in household decisions particularly among men. These effects are likely driven by changes in norms and beliefs as well as the weakening of stereotypes about gender roles in the domestic sphere due to provision of female role models and exposure to female leadership. All in all, the results are notable since a move towards gender-egalitarian attitudes may amend various other gender unequal outcomes and behaviors.