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Journalism of Courage
India has elected 74 women MPs to Lok Sabha this year, four fewer than in 2019 and 52 more than in India’s first elections in 1952. These 74 women make just 13.63% of the elected strength of the Lower House, much less than the 33% that will be reserved for women after the next delimitation exercise.
Over the years, Lok Sabha’s gender composition has shown a general trend towards increasing women’s representation. But progress has been slow and not linear. (See chart)
In 1952, women made up just 4.41% of the strength of the Lower House. This number increased to more than 6% in the election held a decade later, but again dipped to below 4% in 1971 (ironically, with Indira Gandhi, India’s first and only woman Prime Minister, at the helm). Since then, there has been a slow, but steady rise in women’s representation (with a few exceptions), which crossed the 10% mark in 2009, and peaked in 2019 at 14.36%. India still lags behind several countries — 46% of MPs in South Africa, 35% in the UK, and 29% in the US, are women.
In 2024, women Lok Sabha MPs come from 14 parties. The BJP leads this list with 31 women MPs, followed by the Congress (13), TMC (11), SP (5), DMK (3), and Chirag Paswan-led LJPRV and JD(U), both with two. Seven parties have one woman MP each. Among the 3 parties with double-digit women MPs in the Lok Sabha, the TMC boasts the highest proportion (37.93%), followed by Congress (13.13%) and BJP (12.92%).
Of the 74 women MPs elected, 43 are first time MPs, and one (Misa Bharti of the RJD) is a first time Lok Sabha MP. This is higher than the overall percentage of newcomers in the House (59% vs 52%).
Women MPs have only 0.76 Lok Sabha terms of experience (one term is generally 5 years long) .
Women MPs, with an average age of 50 years, are also younger. The overall age of the House is 56. They are as educated as their male counterparts, with 78% completing undergraduation.
Out of the total 8,360 candidates, who stood in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, just around 10% were women. This number too has increased over time — it stood at 3% in 1957. This is the first time that women candidates’ proportion touched 10%. Roughly 16% of BJP’s candidates were women, as opposed to 13% of Congress candidates — both higher than the overall average.
