How One Law Measurably Lifted the Status of Women in India

The impact of female political leaders goes beyond their policies. One way this occurs is through the role model effect, where the public exposure to women at the top has been shown to reduce social bias and improve living conditions for women. In this study, which analyzed the ratio of male and female babies born to rural Indian women before and after a law was passed to require one-third female representation in local government. The research reveals that significantly more high-birth-order girls were still alive if they were born after their particular state had reserved seats for women. Why? One possibility is that proximity matters — that the closer you are to visible progress when it comes to female leadership, the more likely it is that it will improve other aspects of life for women.