The need for gender equity in urban bureaucracy, Pg6

Context:

• As India undergoes rapid urbanisation, concerns rise about the lack of gender diversity in urban bureaucratic institutions, despite growing women’s representation in politics.

Key Highlights:

• By 2050, over 800 million Indians (nearly 50% of the population) will live in cities — making India the largest contributor to global urban growth.
• Though 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments mandate 33% reservation for women in PRIs and ULGs (raised to 50% in 17 States + 1 UT), the urban bureaucracy remains male-dominated.
• Women constitute only 20% of the IAS (IndiaSpend, 2022), with even lower shares in planning, transport, and engineering roles.
• In policing, only 11.7% of personnel are women (BPRD, 2023), largely confined to desk jobs, limiting their impact on community safety.
• Women’s urban experiences are different — they rely more on public/shared transport, make multi-stop journeys, and require well-lit and accessible neighborhood spaces.
• A 2019 Safetipin audit across 50 cities showed over 60% of public spaces were poorly lit, impacting women's mobility and safety.

Detailed Insights:

1. Gender diversity improves outcomes: Studies by ICRIER and UN Women show that women officials prioritise water, health, safety, and enhance public trust through empathetic governance.

2. Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), introduced in India in 2005-06, remains underutilised in cities.

• Delhi funded women-only buses and lighting,
• Tamil Nadu applied GRB across 64 departments (2022-23),
• Kerala integrated GRB in its People’s Plan Campaign.

3. However, weak monitoring, low institutional capacity, and tokenism limit GRB's effectiveness in most Urban Local Governments (ULGs).

4. In contrast, other nations demonstrate strong gender-mainstreaming tools:

• Philippines – 5% of local budgets earmarked for gender programmes
• Uganda – gender equity certificates required for fund approvals
• Mexico – GRB tied to results-based budgeting
• South Korea – gender impact assessments guide infrastructure design
• Tunisia – parity laws increased women in technical roles

Way Forward:

• Move beyond political quotas to ensure women’s presence in technical and bureaucratic decision-making roles.
• Institutionalise GRB across ULGs with clear monitoring, capacity-building, and community participation.
• Create gender equity councils and strengthen models like Kudumbashree for bottom-up inclusion in smaller cities.
• Link planning and budgeting with mandatory gender audits, and ensure that representation translates to real agency.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Gender-responsive Budgeting (GRB): A fiscal tool to integrate gender equity in public spending, preventing gender-neutral budgets from reinforcing inequality.
• Urban gender gap: Underrepresentation of women in city governance roles, reducing effectiveness in inclusive infrastructure, mobility, and safety.
• Affirmative Action: Use of quotas, scholarships, and capacity-building to ensure equal opportunity in administrative and technical urban posts.
• Intersectionality in planning: Recognition of how gender, class, and mobility needs intersect in shaping urban experiences.

Mains Mock Question:

Q. Discuss the significance of gender equity in urban governance. How can gender-responsive budgeting and inclusive bureaucratic reforms contribute to building equitable and sustainable Indian cities?