Amruta Magar
We often say numbers don’t lie — but the truth they tell depends on where, and how, we look.
In my recent study, “Quantitative Assessment of Women’s Representation and Influence in Maharashtra’s Governance and Public Policy (2005–2025),” I set out to do exactly that: measure how visible and influential women are in the state’s decision-making spaces.
Based on official statistics, electoral rolls, government reports, and hard data, the goal was simple: understand where Maharashtra stands in its journey toward a governance structure that reflects the voices of half its population.
Two Levels, Two Realities
Maharashtra is often held up as a progressive state, both economically and socially. It was among the first to introduce a dedicated Women’s Policy, signalling a commitment to gender equality. But policy intent is one thing; lived political reality is another. When the data is broken down, two distinct narratives emerge — one at the grassroots, another at the higher echelons of power.
- The Grassroots: Women Making Their Mark
At the village and municipal levels, the story is largely positive. The turning point came with the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1992, which made it mandatory for at least onethird of seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to be reserved for women. Maharashtra went further in 2011, increasing that to 50%.
The effect has been transformative. Today, about half of Gram Panchayat members in the state are women, a figure in line with the national average of over 46%.
But the significance lies beyond the statistics.
A study in Sangli district found that villages led by female Sarpanches saw marked improvements in basic services — drinking water, sanitation, and schooling — especially after the leaders had served for at least three years. These improvements were most pronounced in lower-income communities, showing that women leaders are not just filling seats; they’re delivering tangible benefits.
Such outcomes make a compelling case for why representation matters. It’s not just symbolic — it’s service delivery that changes lives.
- The State Level: A Persistent Glass Ceiling
The optimism fades when we move to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Here, women’s representation has hovered stubbornly in single digits for decades. The high-water mark came in 2019, with 24 women MLAs (8.3%), but by 2024, that number had dipped to 22 (7.6%).
For context, smaller states like Chhattisgarh (18%) and Jharkhand (15%) are doing significantly better. And part of the issue is the starting point — in the 2024 elections, only 9.2% of candidates were women.
Even among those elected, half came from political families. This dynastic dominance means that political connections often matter as much as competence or public service track records.
In the State Cabinet, women are present, but mainly in portfolios like Women and Child Development — important, but also traditionally “gendered” domains. Key economic or infrastructure portfolios remain largely male-dominated. This is the classic “glass ceiling” in action: women can get in, but their influence is often channelled into certain areas.
Behind the Scenes: Bureaucracy and Law Enforcement
Governance isn’t just about elected leaders — it’s also about the bureaucracy and enforcement machinery.
In the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), women make up 23–25% nationally. But in Maharashtra, the figure is lower: only 14% of IAS recruits from 2011–2020 listed the state as their home cadre.
In the police, the gap is wider still. Maharashtra pioneered a 30% reservation for women in the force more than 40 years ago, yet by 2014, women made up just 10.5% of officers. Nationally, fewer than 1% of supervisory police roles are held by women — a sign of a “glass pipeline,” where women join but fail to advance into leadership.
Even competitive exams reflect the imbalance. In the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exams, women benefit from slightly lower cut-off marks as affirmative action, but the bigger problem is participation: far fewer women apply in the first place, hinting at deeper societal and structural barriers.
Policy Commitments: Progress with Gaps
On paper, Maharashtra is pushing forward. The Women’s Policy 2024, launched in March, sets out eight guiding principles, from gender-responsive governance to stronger political participation.
The Gender Budget Statement (GBS) for 2024–25 earmarks ₹21,951 crore — 3.28% of the total budget — for women-focused schemes. Women’s economic footprint is expanding too: the share of women-owned businesses doubled from 5.45% in 2005 to 10.82% in 2016, and financial literacy is growing rapidly, with 27 million women tracking their credit in 2024, up 42% from the year before.
But these gains sit alongside worrying gaps. An RTI revealed that between 2017 and 2020, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women funded 152 research studies costing ₹2.22 crore, and none of them were acted upon. Meanwhile, in 2022–23, the Commission received over 10,000 new complaints, with 5,800 cases still pending resolution. These numbers suggest that while money and policy frameworks are in place, follow-through remains inconsistent.
How the Numbers Map Out the Future
Taken together, the data shows an uneven landscape: – Strong performance at the grassroots, where reservation has created space for women to lead and deliver. – Weak representation in higher politics and bureaucracy, where structural barriers and party-level dynamics limit access. – Mixed results in policy implementation — progressive budgets and laws exist, but the translation into measurable outcomes is patchy. The lesson is clear: the fight is no longer just about adding more women to the system. It’s about ensuring that once they are in, they can access diverse roles, rise to leadership positions, and have their decisions backed by effective administrative action.
Why More Data Matters
If there’s one takeaway from this research, it’s that data is not just descriptive — it’s a tool for accountability. By tracking how many women are recruited, promoted, given key portfolios, or have their policy initiatives implemented, we can pinpoint exactly where progress is stalling. Maharashtra already has proof that women’s leadership works — the improvements seen in villages under female Sarpanches are living evidence. The challenge now is to scale that up to the state level and into the bureaucratic machinery. Without consistent, granular data, we risk mistaking good intentions for progress. With it, we can ensure that the next decade isn’t just about counting women in, but about counting on them to shape Maharashtra’s future.
About the contributor: Amruta Ravindra Magar is from Pune, Maharashtra, India, and holds an M.A. in Political Science. She is a fellow of the YWLPPF 3.0 – Young Women Leaders in Public Policy Fellowship, Cohort 3.0.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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Acknowledgement: This article was posted by Rashmi Kumari, a research intern at IMPRI.
