Women Missing From Karnataka Cabinet: Gender Gap Overshadows Shivakumar's New Team

DK

Shivakumar was sworn in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Wednesday along with 13 ministers, unveiling a Cabinet that sought to balance caste equations, regional interests, factional considerations and community representation. However, amid this carefully crafted power-sharing arrangement, one omission stood out: not a single woman was included in the new Cabinet.The zero representation of women in Karnataka’s new Cabinet has reopened a larger question: how far have Indian states progressed in ensuring women’s representation in legislative numbers and positions of power?

What About Recently Formed State Governments?

Across several states, women have secured at least some representation in the executive. In West Bengal, the BJP government led by Suvendu Adhikari inducted 35 ministers on June 1, seven of whom were women.While TVK, which formed the coalition government in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Chief Minister Joseph Vijay on May 21 with a 23-member Cabinet, has included four women ministers in its Cabinet.Kerala's new government, headed by Chief Minister VD Satheesan, comprises of two women of the 20 ministers in the Cabinet. Meanwhile, in Assam, where the ministry is yet to be fully expanded, one of the four ministers sworn in so far is a woman.Notably, Women candidates are significantly underrepresented in India’s state legislatures. According to an ADR report, only 390 of the 4,123 MLAs analysed across State and Union Territory Assemblies are women, accounting for roughly 9 percent of all legislators.ALSO READ: Dawn Of DKS Era: Shivakumar Takes Oath As Karnataka Chief Minister

States With Highest Women Representation

Chhattisgarh leads the country in women's representation in state legislatures, with 19 women MLAs in its 90-member Assembly. It is followed by Jharkhand, which has 12 women legislators in an 81-member House, and Tripura, where nine women serve in the 60-member Assembly. Haryana also records a relatively strong presence of women legislators, with 13 women MLAs in its 90-member Assembly, while West Bengal has 40 women MLAs in its 294-member House.ALSO READ: Vokkaliga vs Ahinda: The Caste Math Behind DK Shivakumar's Cabinet

States With Lowest Women Representation

Women's representation remains extremely limited in several states. Himachal Pradesh has just one woman MLA in its 68-member Assembly. Jammu and Kashmir has three women legislators in a 90-member House, while Nagaland and Puducherry have two and one women MLAs respectively.Karnataka fares only slightly better, with 10 women MLAs in its 224-member Assembly, underscoring the continuing gender gap in political representation.