Promoting Women Politicians’ Political Agency through Peer Groups

• In Event: Rural Politics in South Asia

Abstract

While women’s political representation has increased markedly, female elected representatives face challenges to their political agency once in office. This has important policy implications: limited political agency prevents women from meaningfully occupying elected office, encouraging women's political participation, and representing women’s preferences. In a pilot RCT, we develop one potential solution: forming peer solidarity groups among female politicians to improve their political agency. We do so in partnership with RSCD, an innovative community-based organization with decades of experience working with women politicians in Maharashtra, India. Our main pilot intervention forms medium-term, all-women peer solidarity groups among locally elected officials that (a) provide information about their roles and resources and (b) facilitate women’s solidarity networks. Additionally, we compare this intervention to a more typical peer solidarity group, which includes male political gatekeepers. We study these interventions’ effects on women’s political agency and efficacy.

Authors

• Rachel E. Brule, Boston University

• Alyssa Heinze, University of California, Berkeley

• Bhumi Purohit, Georgetown University

• Simon Chauchard, University Carlos 3 of Madrid

• Ishwari Kale