Crafting Political Pathways through the Exclusionary Mesh in India

Life-course and Cohort Impacts in Women’s Pathways to Politics: Post-active Motherhood as a Time of Political Possibility in India

“…Women remain underrepresented politically throughout the world. A significant barrier women face are familial responsibilities and expectations, with childcare and managing a household preventing women from acquiring the experience and resources required for a political career (Mathur 2014;Teele et al 2018). Without underestimating the gravity of the problem, we argue that the literature has focused too heavily on the problem of women's reproductive roles, rather than seeking the opportunities women have for political activity over their lifetime.…”

“…Women face a double-bind; male and female politicians are perceived as more qualified if they are married and have children, yet these characteristics disadvantage women disproportionately as housework and childcare makes it harder for them to balance family with a career in politics (Teele et al 2018). In South Asia, gender intersects with class, and it is only women who are not compelled vi to work outside the home and are able to outsource childcare who can entertain a career in politics (Nazneen et al 2014;Mathur 2014). Proposed solutions mirror how the problem is framed-that is, the exclusion of women due to reproductive duties-leading to initiatives such as providing childcare for workshops/campaigning (Tadros 2014), and implementing family friendly party environments (Hughes and Paxton 2008).…”

“…The actual details will of course be particular to specific sociohistorical conditions, and shaped by socioeconomic factors and cultural diversity; the lifecycles of low-class women, for example, create very different political opportunity structures compared to the low-and middle-class women who are currently politically active in Dehradun. Blueprints are not useful (Mathur 2014;Tadros 2014) and the basic principle of incorporating women's lifecourse will find local and diverse expressions. ix Overlaying women's life-course onto pathways into politics is but one component in devising an overall strategy to increase women's substantive political representation.…”