[Panel on Politics of India] - Do Electoral Quotas for Marginalized Ethnic Groups Improve Women’s Representation? Evidence from India
P3-S56-1
Presented by: Priyadarshi Amar
How do electoral quotas focused on a single dimension of identity affect the representation of other disadvantaged identities? In this paper, I examine the impact of quotas for marginalized ethnic groups on women’s representation and argue that, when gender norms are correlated with social status, quotas for marginalized ethnic groups may influence women’s representation. To empirically test this, I use a novel design that leverages quasi-random variation in the assignment of caste quotas for council member seats in rural Maharashtra. I find that, for seats with quotas for marginalized caste groups, the likelihood of women running for and winning political office is higher than for seats without quotas. Consistent with the theory, I find evidence suggesting that these findings are driven by differential gender norms across groups. This paper highlights how norms matter for understanding the effects of electoral quotas on representation.
Keywords: Electoral quotas, local government, gram panchayat, caste, gender, India