Women’s Political Empowerment in India and Bangladesh: Gender Quotas and Socio-economic Obstructions

India and Bangladesh have introduced gender quotas to increase women’s presence in politics and bring the desired substantive inclusionary effects at the level of emergent policy outcomes. This qualitative study analyzes the socio-economic barriers that quota-elected women representatives encounter in affecting policies regarding their political empowerment at the local council level—in the Gram Panchayat in India and the Union Parishad in Bangladesh. I contribute to the comparative literature on gender quotas and policy outcomes. Results reveal that women members in both countries face serious social and economic impediments to political participation at this local level. Social barriers such as household responsibilities, lack of family support, and lack of social safety and physical mobility, are no longer a major hindrance for women members in offering services to their constituents. However, in Bangladesh, a majority of women members fail to function effectively because of lack of education—more so than the women members in India. Women members in both countries lack sufficient political training, which makes it challenging to claim their rights when offering goods and services to voters, particularly to women. I also find that women members in both countries have failed to perform their political activities due to financial incapability, although in different ways. Indian women members receive a small amount of money per month, whereas Bangladeshi women members cannot meet the demands of three times higher constituents with irregular honoraria. Lack of financial incapability further leads to corruption in the cases of some women members in both countries. To ensure women’s political empowerment through reserved seats in both countries, it is vital to make certain that enough government resources are provided for local councils, together with enough training for elected women members.