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Do Gender Quotas Hurt Less Privileged Groups? Evidence from India
Author(s) -
KarekurveRamachandra Varun,
Lee Alexander
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of political science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.347
H-Index - 170
eISSN - 1540-5907
pISSN - 0092-5853
DOI - 10.1111/ajps.12511
Subject(s) - caste , ethnic group , disadvantaged , representation (politics) , politics , inclusion (mineral) , hinduism , demographic economics , affect (linguistics) , constitution , inequality , political science , constitution of india , gender studies , psychology , sociology , economics , law , mathematical analysis , philosophy , theology , mathematics , communication
How do political gender quotas affect representation? We suggest that when gender attitudes are correlated with ethnicity, promoting female politicians may reduce the descriptive representation of traditionally disadvantaged ethnic groups. To assess this idea, we examine the consequences of the implementation of random electoral quotas for women on the representation of caste groups in Delhi. Constituencies reserved for women are less likely than unreserved constituencies to elect members of groups where the status of women is low. In practice, this means they are less likely to elect members of several traditionally underprivileged groups (especially OBC castes) and more likely to elect candidates from the Hindu upper castes. The results highlight the difficulties of balancing descriptive representation on multiple, crosscutting dimensions, and the possible unintended consequences of the type of single‐dimension quotas currently proposed for inclusion in the Indian constitution.