Indian state sets 50% quota for women in local government

65,000 roles to be filled by women within four months.

Indian state Tamil Nadu has set a quota that 50 percent of local government roles must be held by women in the next four months. The legislation will see that 65,000 women are hired in municipalities, town and village councils within four months. Last year, India’s central government approved a law to reserve one third of posts for women in the police task force. The government hoped to instill confidence among women when approaching the police for protection and assistance. In the same year, Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India also carved out 33 percent of local government jobs for women. A 1993 constitutional amendment called for one-third of all village council leadership positions to be reserved for women. The leader is the only full time member of village councils in India, and has significant control over the council’s decisions. An evaluation of this amendment has shown that female village leaders make policy decisions that better reflect women's preferences. Image by Julia Maudlin, licensed under CC BY 2.0