Reservation in India and the Achievement of More Substantive Equality for Women

Series Abstract: The discussion as to whether or not India’s affirmative action policy of reservation (guaranteeing women 30% of the Ward Councilor seats in local government councils) brings about substantive equality is based upon an in-depth ethnographic case study of one Mumbai administrative ward. This discussion will be presented in three articles. The first will discuss a missing component in current reservation research—the absence of empirical network analysis—and discuss the inter-disciplinary approach I fashioned for this purpose in my thesis field work, the second will engage the gender justice rationale of reservation (the creation of a level playing field), and the third will address the gender interest rationale for reservation (more gender aware governance[1]).

Paper 1 Abstract: This paper argues that focusing on networks is important when assessing the affects of affirmative action measures like reservation, because that is where government actors draw the politically relevant social capital (PRSC) necessary (in the form of information, influence, money, time and labor, advice, and emotional support) one needs to effectively influence policy, push their agendas, and to fulfil the requirements of their post in general. It is also important to focus on networks when assessing affirmative action measures benefit to women as research on the gender of social capital shows that women, in general, are able to mobilize less instrumental social resources then men, even when they occupy similar positions within an institution (Ibarra, Sapiro). In addition, the political character or ‘political apprenticeship’[2] (conservative, progressive, socialist, feminist, ethnic or caste-centric, homogenous or heterogeneous) of one’s network can be considered a variable that points to both how aware one is of women’s issues and how inclined one may be to promote them once in office. It is this researchers opinion, that serious qualitative and quantitative analyses of both affirmative action beneficiaries networks and their male peers is necessary to understand better what needs to be addressed in order to better “even the playing field” between them and to offer more in terms of an thorough investigation as to why the, ‘politics of presence’ theory has yet to bear much in terms of substantive equality between men and women politician and men and women as political interest groups. This article describes the theories and methods I drew upon to put together a hybrid approach to the study of networks in this context and shares some of the data and analysis garnered in Mumbai in order to argue for an expanded research agenda regarding affirmative action and substantive equality for women.
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[1] Gender aware governance is governance that is aware of women’s practical and strategic gender needs (Moser 1989) and which sees these needs as political and within the jurisdiction of government to address.
[2] Term coined by Cornwall and Goetz 2005