Commissioned by ALIGN (Advancing Learning and Innovation on Gender Norms), a programme at ODI Global, PDAG undertook a comparative study examining how caste, gender and class shape the political journeys of elected women representatives in India’s Panchayati Raj Institutions. Moving beyond women’s numerical representation in local government, the research explored a more fundamental question: what enables women to convert elected office into meaningful political authority?

Conducted across Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the study examined two distinct political and social contexts to understand how women experience and exercise leadership within local governance. PDAG conducted 88 life-history interviews with elected women representatives across different tiers of Panchayati Raj and eight key informant interviews with civil society actors and state-level women leaders, complemented by field observations and administrative records.

The research found that representation does not automatically translate into authority. While reservations have expanded women’s entry into local government, their ability to exercise power continues to be shaped by caste hierarchies, household mediation, political finance, party gatekeeping and everyday interactions with the bureaucracy. The study also challenges simplistic understandings of ‘proxy’ leadership, showing how women’s political agency can evolve as they gain experience, procedural knowledge, networks and confidence through the everyday practice of governing.

The study makes the case for moving from capacity-building to authority-building. It recommends sustained institutional support that enables women to navigate budgets, files, meetings and administrative systems, strengthens peer and collective networks and creates pathways for political experience to carry across electoral cycles. The findings provide actionable recommendations for governments, political parties, civil society organisations and donors seeking to strengthen substantive and sustained leadership by women, particularly Dalit and Adivasi women, within India’s local democracy.