The Constitutional Amendment Bill to fast-track one-third women's reservation in parliament failed the Lok Sabha test on Friday.
As the debate continues in India, the role of women in parliament remains a global issue, with many nations already adopting quotas to secure specific societal and economic benefits. With the bill's defeat, questions are being raised about what India might lose from the continued delay in increasing female representation.
Studies exploring how high levels of female representation translate to society at large have been conducted worldwide. The results consistently point to positive outcomes in policies related to health, childcare, sexual harassment and the broader economy.
According to research cited by the World Economic Forum, a 10 percentage point increase in women's parliamentary representation is associated with a 0.7 percentage point increase in GDP growth.
The research adds that countries with greater female political representation consistently implement policies that support gender-equal labour markets. These include paid family leave, pay transparency and childcare infrastructure. Such policies not only benefit women, but they also increase workforce participation, boost productivity and fuel economic expansion.
A cross-national analysis of 49 European countries, published in the National Institutes of Health in 2022, showed that a 10-percentage-point increase in the political participation of women is associated with approximately two fewer infant deaths per 1000 live births. The study noted that the rich-poor infant mortality gap within a country also narrowed, with nearly 11 fewer deaths recorded.
Greater female participation in politics also correlates with the health and well-being of adults.
Health inequality among women declined by 3.4 percentage points, while inequality among men decreased by nearly five percentage points. In regions such as Africa, the rise in women's representation has helped address water infrastructure challenges.
A 2025 study showed that gender quotas are associated with a 4.71 percentage point increase in the likelihood of people accessing safely managed water.
"The implementation of gender quotas is associated with a 4.71 percentage point increase, on average, in the likelihood of people accessing safely managed water infrastructure. This effect becomes even more pronounced, rising to a 12.25 percentage point increase, when the quotas mandate reserving more than 20 per cent of seats for women," the study said.
Further evidence comes from India, where research on local councils discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those led by men, according to the World Economic Forum.
While there are many other established instances of how women in Parliament positively affect society at large, gender quotas also make sense due to women's equal share in the total population. Women in policymaking are crucial for women-friendly policies.
The study, 'The Effect of Women's Representation in Parliament and the Passing of Gender Sensitive Policies', carried out in 159 developing countries and published by the American Economic Association, showed that women-friendly policies are more likely to emerge with greater women's participation in Parliament.
While many countries have made progress, it is estimated that the world is still 169 years away from achieving full gender parity in politics.
